Hierococcyx sparverioides (Vig.).
The Large Hawk - Cuckoo.

Hierococcvx sparverioides (Vig.), Jerd. B. Ind. i, p. 331; Hume, Rough Draft N. & E. no. 207.

A single egg of the Large Hawk - Cuckoo, brought me from the Nilghiris by Mr. Davison, is a perfectly pure white, moderately glossy, and very like the eggs of Goracias indica; his authority was Mr. R. H. Morgan, of the Madras Forest Department, who averred that he had watched the bird build the nest and had then taken the eggs, of which four were laid. If there be no mistake about this egg, the fact that the Hawk - Cuckoos build their own nests is interesting.

The egg measures 1.39 by 1.05 inch.

Mr. Hodgson's MSS., however, tell a very different story; his notes are to the following effect : -" This species occurs both in the hills and plains ; in March or April they arrive in the central hills, and remain till about August, when they begin to descend the hills, rarely more than a pair is seen together. They may very often be seen sitting on the naked branch of a tree darting at any passing insect, seizing it in their bills and returning to their perch to devour it. Sometimes they descend to the ground in search of insects, soon, however, returning to the branch. When the breeding season arrives in March and April, the pair may often be seen seated upon some high branch, repeating continually their loud call {chuck dol - dol) or again uttering a note like that of the Koel, or another cry which exactly resembles the cough of a human being. These varied cries are continually repeated not only during the day, but also during parts of the night, until the end of June or the early part of July. Then they steal and devour the eggs out of the nests of other birds, laying their own instead, which these other birds duly incubate; thus quite recently a Trochalopterum nigrimentum was observed feeding a bird of this species  which must have been nearly a year old, and again we obtained another young one about two months old in the act of being fed by a male Ixops nepalensis."

Miss Cockburn has furnished me with the following very interesting note from the Nilghiris  : -" On Saturday, April 11th, 1874, I sent two servants (good nest - finders) to a small swamp at an elevation of about 4000 feet, where there were a few pairs of White - breasted Water - hens (Gallinula phaenicura), to seek for their eggs.   Not finding any their attention was drawn to a clump of trees at the edge of the swamp, from one of which a Hawk - Cuckoo flew out. On watching it they saw it return to the same spot, and on looking up into the tree there was a large nest, of mere sticks, resembling a Common Crow's nest, but with the Cuckoo sitting in it ! One of the men immediately climbed up, and found three eggs in the nest. He descended again, and the other servant, who had a gun, fired at the bird and missed. The Cuckoo flew away, but returned after some time, to be fired at again. This shot being a long one it was again missed, and as it was then very late, one egg from the nest was brought away. Next day being Sunday nothing could' be done. On Monday the I3th they started very early, and reached the place about half - past eight o'clock. The Cuckoo was still there, and was shot. Though the people were there for about three hours on Saturday, and an hour or two on Monday, they only saw this one bird. Is the work of nidification, which may be called ' a labour of love,' left to the female entirely by this species ?

“The nest was placed between three upright branches, at the measured height of 27 feet from the ground ; it was tied together and brought to me. Its dimensions are 21 inches in length, 15 in breadth, 6 1/2 in depth. The hollow in the centre for the eggs is oval, 5 inches long, 3 broad, 1 1/2  - deep. The nest is almost entirely built of the same kind of twigs; two or three of them are thick, and have a little lichen sticking to them. Nothing like lining is added. The eggs were three in number, perfectly white, with a few touches of light brown on two of them; they were much incubated. The inner skin of these eggs has a greenish - blue colour.

"On May 21st, 1874, I went to see another nest of the large Hawk - Cuckoo, which had been discovered a few days previously. It was placed along several branches (which grew horizontally) of a very large tree, on the side of a steep hill, the ground stony and ploughed, and at about 4500 feet of elevation. The nest was more to one side of the tree than the centre, situated among thick foliage. A ladder had to be ascended to reach the nest; it contained no eggs or young, but a quantity of the droppings of the birds. It appeared to be a nest that had been used for several seasons, as there was a large accumulation of thin sticks, giving the idea of a few fresh ones having been added when the abode was required at the return of each breeding - season.

"I saw the birds near the tree, but they did not approach the nest while I was there. However, my servant said that he saw - one of them sitting on the nest a few days before.

"I have no doubts as to the identity of this nest, as it was exactly like the one found a short time ago containing three eggs."