Lesser Cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus)
About the Lesser Cuckoo
The lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is native to East Asia and the Himalayas; it winters to East Africa and Sri Lanka. In Japan, the bird is called hototogisu (ホトトギス/杜鵑) and frequently praised in senryu for its song. It has been celebrated by numerous waka poets since the anthology Kokin wakashū (920). Sei Shōnagon in her essay The Pillow Book (1002) mentions a trip she and other courtiers mounted on just to hear this bird, and it was expected of them that they would compose poetry on the occasion. It is also the central image in poem 81 by Tokudaiji Sanesada in the anthology of 100 poems, the Hyakunin Isshu.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 122 recordings for this species: 45 CC BY-NC-SA · 21 CC BY-NC-ND. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in China, India, Japan, Nepal in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- African CuckooCuculus gularisrecording
- Common CuckooCuculus canorusrecording
- Indian CuckooCuculus micropterusrecording
- Red-chested CuckooCuculus solitariusrecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.