Banded Bay Cuckoo

Banded Bay Cuckoo

Cacomantis sonneratii

Silhouette: Nicolas Huet le Jeune and Jean-Gabriel Prêtre (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Kuala Lumpur

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

142 Verified sightings at Kuala Lumpur
3,695 In all 28 parks From 2019 to 2026
March Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Banded Bay Cuckoo

The banded bay cuckoo or bay-banded cuckoo (Cacomantis sonneratii) is a species of small cuckoo found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Like others in the genus they have round nostrils. They are usually founded in well-wooded areas mainly in the lower hills. Males sing from exposed branches during the breeding season, which can vary with region. They are distinctive both in their calls as well as plumage with a white eyebrowed appearance and the rufous upperparts with regular dark bands and the whitish underside with fine striations.

The adults are bright rufous or bay on the head and back and are broadly barred with dark brown. The bill is long and slightly curved. A whitish supercilium is distinctive above a dark eye-line. The wing is darker and tail is graduated with a dark brown centre. The tail has a subterminal black band and white tips to the feathers. The sexes are alike. The iris is yellow and the bill is black while the base of the lower mandible is greenish grey. The tarsi are grey. The juvenile is similar but has a pale lower mandible and white fringes to the feathers of the upper body.

The overall length is about 22 cm making it about the... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:39

Malaysia · 2024

© Ding Li Yong · XC957353 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:50

Thailand · 2024

© Greg Irving · XC941514 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Begging call0:20

Malaysia · 2024

© wengchun · XC930966 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~20%
2 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~20%
3 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~20%
4 Khao Luang National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~20%
5 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
6 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
7 Khao Sok National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
8 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
9 Bali Barat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
10 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
~10%
11 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
12 Manas National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
13 Cuc Phuong National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~10%
14 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
15 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
16 Kerinci Seblat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
17 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
18 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
19 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
20 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
21 Gunung Leuser National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
22 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
23 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
24 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
25 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%
26 Kinabalu Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
27 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
28 Namdapha National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
2 Thrissur 🇮🇳 India
<5%
3 Jakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
4 Singapore 🇸🇬 Singapore
<5%
5 Kozhikode 🇮🇳 India
<5%
6 Dehradun 🇮🇳 India
<5%
7 Mumbai 🇮🇳 India
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Banded Bay Cuckoo in Kuala Lumpur?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Banded Bay Cuckoo sighting in Kuala Lumpur on a given day, based on 142 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 87th most-seen of the 228 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Banded Bay Cuckoo in Kuala Lumpur?

February–April, July, October and December

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Banded Bay Cuckoo in Kuala Lumpur on a given day, against under 5% in January, May–June, August–September and November, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Banded Bay Cuckoo?

Between 2 and 5 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Banded Bay Cuckoo sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Kuala Lumpur the best place to see a Banded Bay Cuckoo?

Yes

Of the 7 cities where we can rate Banded Bay Cuckoo sightings, Kuala Lumpur has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Thrissur (India, under 5%) and Jakarta (Indonesia, under 5%).

Where does the Banded Bay Cuckoo sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Banded Bay Cuckoo is recorded against all the birds logged in Kuala Lumpur (142 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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