The Common Hawk-Cuckoo

 The Common Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius), popularly known as the brainfever bird, is a medium-sized cuckoo resident in the Indian subcontinent. This fascinating bird is renowned for its distinctive call and remarkable hawk-like appearance, which serves as evolutionary camouflage. It bears a close resemblance to the shikra, even in its style of flying and landing on a perch The bird features a distinctive yellow eye ring and broadly barred tail.

The common hawk-cuckoo occurs in most of the Indian subcontinent. Its habitat includes garden land, groves of tree, deciduous and semi-evergreen forests. Like many other cuckoos, this species is a brood parasite, preferring babblers. A single egg is laid in each nest, blue, like that of the host. The young cuckoo typically evicts host eggs and is raised by foster parents, following them for nearly a month after fledging.