Rusovil John IFS (Rtd)
It is a wonderful feeling to wake up to the sound of birds chirping at the break of dawn. Nagas; who are believed to have migrated to the present settlement in the northeast India and west of the Chinwind river in Sagain state of Myanmar, have learnt the art of observing nature viz seasonal flowering of plants animal and birds behavior and accordingly timing their various agricultural activities such as time to clear the forests, till, sow, transplant paddy and harvest crops and so on since ancient times.
A very interesting connection between Naga farmers and the common cuckoo bird (called Kohki locally) is that with the onset of the south-west monsoon which brings rains in the Northeast India for about six months (May-September) the common cuckoo bird migrates to the Naga hills during spring season and begins to give its unique call; koh-ki, kohki repeatedly and the villagers wakes up to the melodious call and reminded that it is time to sow paddy seeds in the nursery for transplanting later in the wet-terrace.
Acknowledging this important role played by the kohki, it is taboo to kill the common cuckoo bird (kohki) in Viswema village for instance. This, the younger generation should know and follow and protect the kohki and the host birds. In the year 2023 the first kohki call was heard in the morning of the 24th March ( Mena-o khru) and last heard on th 14th July at 2.30pm and last call was heard on the 17th July 2023. In 2024 it was heard on 25 th Match and this year; its first call was heard on 24th March 2025 ( Mena-o Khru zo 25 as per Naga Lunar calendar).
The common cuckoo is a migratory bird and does not make its own nest. While a female cuckoo lays about 20 eggs per season, each in a different host nest, only some will successfully hatch and reach fledging age. The female kohki lays her egg in the nest of other smaller birds such as drongo (motan kika), yellow warbler, green warbler, reed warblers, etc which then feed the cuckoo chick believing it as its own. This habit is known as broad parasitism. Cuckoo chicks are able to develop rapidly that they become bigger than the host parents and in about 18 to 20 days of hatching fledge or leave the nest.
After fledging, the young cuckoo continues to be fed by its foster parents for another 2 to 3 weeks. During this period, it develops its flying skills and learn to hunt food independently. The fledging begging call is loud to maintain contact with its smaller foster parents. The actual parents migrate without waiting for its young who migrate south wards alone and to return to its place of birth the next year.
With the end of the paddy cultivation season the sound of kohki fades into silence from the Japfu range forests as the common cuckoo migrate to the south and return the next year.
Common Cuckoo is scientifically called Cuculus canorus (Linnaeus)
Local names: Phuphu, Kupwah (Kumaon); Kukku (Lepcha); Akku (Bhutea); Hor kuk, Shakuk, Kuki \Kashmir); Kohki (Naga).
Field Characters: Males have dark ash grey above, pale below on chin, fore neck and breast. Otherwise white below cross-barred with black. Tail blackish brown, spotted and tipped with white.
Female has a rufous tinge on upper breast, throat and sides of neck occasionally with upper parts chestnut and blackish brown. Length about 13 inches. Breeds in the Himalayas from mid-March to August. Otherwise, dispersed throughout the Peninsula. It arrives in Nagaland and starts to call for mate after mid March and retreats south silently by the second half of July.
Habits: Shy and is more heard than seen because it is arboreal keeping to the canopy in well-wooded forests. Silent and non-obtrusive in non-breeding season, and thus easily overlooked. Feeds on Insects, predominantly hairy caterpillars, grasshoppers, termites and cicadas.
Call: The distinctive Koh-ki, koh-ki repeated in long unbroken runs at the rate of about one per second.
Nesting: Common cuckoo does not built its own nest but watch the host birds built their nest and when the cuckoos finds a suitable nest, and the hosts aren’t looking, the female removes one of their eggs and lays her own egg in its place while the male keeps vigil. Cuckoo egg hatch in just 12 days, and then the cuckoo chick push the hosts’ eggs or chicks out of the nest, getting all the food brought by the host bird who thinks it is her chick even after the cuckoo chick grows bigger than the host. Nesting takes place around mid-March to August in Himalayas and mid March to mid July in Naga hills.
The future of this interesting bird is in danger due to habitat destruction by way of deforestation, urbanization, shortage of hosts and you know what- hunting. Let us create a favorable habitat so that this beautiful creature may continue to be a part us.
~ Rusovil John IFS (Rtd)