NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Himalayan Cuckoo
Cuculus saturatus Blyth, 1843
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
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.
Wikipedia contributors, Himalayan cuckoo; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:26:13.090075+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cuculus saturatus Blyth, 1843
- Name authority
- Blyth, 1843
- Common name
- Himalayan Cuckoo
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
- Genus
- Cuculus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderCuculiformes
- familyCuculidae
- genusCuculus Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesCuculus saturatus Blyth, 1843
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cuculus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Madagascar CuckooCuculus rochii Hartlaub, 1863 | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-chested CuckooCuculus solitarius Stephens, 1815 | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Indian CuckooCuculus micropterus Gould, 1838 | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Oriental CuckooCuculus optatus Gould, 1845 | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sunda CuckooCuculus lepidus S. Müller, 1845 | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lesser CuckooCuculus poliocephalus Latham, 1790 | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Cuculus saturatus saturatus Blyth, 1843 Blyth, 1843 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Oceania
Southern Asia
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=177823 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:329F6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.