Jacobin Cuckoo

The Jacobin cuckoo, also called the pied cuckoo or pied crested cuckoo, is a medium-sized, slim, black and white cuckoo with a crest, found in Africa and Asia. The white wing patch on the black wing makes it unmistakable even in flight. It is partially migratory, and in India it has been considered a harbinger of the monsoon rains because of the timing of its arrival (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is very vocal in the breeding season, with a ringing series of whistling 'piu-piu' notes. It is a brood parasite whose eggs match the host's, typically turquoise blue, with common and jungle babblers named as hosts and the red-vented bulbul as another. Eggs are laid hurriedly in the morning, sometimes cracking host eggs. In India the subspecies serratus is a summer breeding visitor to the north.