CreatureData

Himalayan cuckoo

Cuculus saturatus Blyth, 1843

LCLeast Concernbirds

The himalayan cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus) is a species in the family Cuculidae, order Cuculiformes. Recorded adults weigh 73 g to 102.8 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Himalayan cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus)
Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the himalayan cuckoo

Weight
73 g – 102.8 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the himalayan cuckoo live?

Not recorded

What is the himalayan cuckoo?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Himalayan cuckoo or Oriental cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus) is a brooding parasitic bird that is part of the Cuculidae family. The species breeds from the Himalayas eastward to southern China and Taiwan. It migrates to southeast Asia and the Greater Sunda Islands for the winter.

It was formerly known as "Oriental cuckoo" and contained several subspecies found over most of Asia. In 2005, it was determined that this "species" consists of three distinct lineages:

Himalayan cuckoo, Cuculus (saturatus) saturatus

Oriental cuckoo proper, Cuculus (saturatus) optatus

Sunda cuckoo, Cuculus (saturatus) lepidus

These are usually seen as distinct species nowadays. As the type specimen of the former "Oriental" cuckoo is a bird of the Himalayan population, the name saturatus applies to the Himalayan cuckoo if it is considered a species.

From the Wikipedia article “Himalayan cuckoo” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Himalayan_cuckoo&oldid=1357280168), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the himalayan cuckoo endangered?

The himalayan cuckoo is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the himalayan cuckoo classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCuculiformes
  5. familyCuculidae
  6. genusCuculus
  7. SpeciesCuculus saturatus Blyth, 1843

Synonyms Cuculus kelungensis, Cuculus saturatus saturatus, Cuculus waigoui

Other names and names in other languages (53)
  • Oriental cuckooEnglish
  • وقواق الهيمالاياArabic
  • Koukoug ar reterBreton
  • cucut orientalCatalan
  • kukačka dudkohlasáCzech
  • kukačka prostředníCzech
  • cog ddwyreiniolWelsh
  • SkovgøgDanish
  • HimalajakuckuckGerman
  • HimalayakuckuckGerman
  • HopfkuckuckGerman
  • Orienta kukoloEsperanto
  • himalaja kukoloEsperanto
  • Cuco orientalSpanish
  • lõuna-taigakäguEstonian
  • idänkäkiFinnish
  • kiinanidänkäkiFinnish
  • Coucou orientalFrench
  • Coucou de l'HimalayaFrench
  • Coucou de l’HimalayaFrench
  • Cuach oirthearachIrish
  • קוקיה הימלאיתHebrew
  • azijska kukavicaCroatian
  • keleti kakukkHungarian
  • Kangkok rantingIndonesian
  • TágagaukurIcelandic
  • Cuculo dell'HimalayaItalian
  • ツツドリJapanese
  • ヒマラヤツツドリJapanese
  • 벙어리뻐꾸기Korean
  • 남방벙어리뻐꾸기Korean
  • kurčioji gegutėLithuanian
  • Himalaju dzeguzeLatvian
  • HimalayakoekoekDutch
  • orientgjøkNorwegian
  • kukułka wschodniaPolish
  • cuco-orientalPortuguese
  • cuco-do-himalaiaPortuguese
  • cuco-dos-himalaiasPortuguese
  • Глухая КукушкаRussian
  • Гималайская кукушкаRussian
  • TaigagiehkaNorthern Sami
  • kukučka dutohlasáSlovak
  • ruska kukavicaSlovenian
  • Himalajska kukavicaSerbian
  • himalayagökSwedish
  • นกคัคคูพันธุ์หิมาลัยThai
  • Tayga GuguğuTurkish
  • зозуля глухаUkrainian
  • 筒鳥Chinese
  • 中杜鵑Chinese
  • 中杜鹃Chinese
  • 喜馬拉雅中杜鵑Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the himalayan cuckoo

Other species in the same genus Cuculus.

CompareHimalayan cuckoo vs Common cuckooHimalayan cuckoo vs Lesser cuckooHimalayan cuckoo vs Indian cuckooHimalayan cuckoo vs African cuckoo

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the himalayan cuckoo?

An adult himalayan cuckoo weighs 73 g – 102.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the himalayan cuckoo endangered?

The himalayan cuckoo is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the himalayan cuckoo?

The himalayan cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus) belongs to the family Cuculidae in the order Cuculiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Himalayan cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/himalayan-cuckoo

MLA

“Himalayan cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/himalayan-cuckoo.

BibTeX
@misc{himalayan_cuckoo_2026,
  title = {Himalayan cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/himalayan-cuckoo},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}