Well, April 6th has come and (almost) gone, and there have been no signs or reports of any Indian cuckoos, so no records will be broken this year (unless one appears and starts calling before midnight, which is unlikely, because they usually don’t start calling for a day or two after they arrive). But I’m sure we won’t have long to wait.
Meanwhile, another species of cuckoo, the koel, is in good voice, with that persistent, far-carrying “coo-EEE” often starting well before dawn.
Yet another species of cuckoo arrived a few days ago and has been calling since then - it is the Plaintive Cuckoo (Cacomantis merulinus), a small, brownish cuckoo with a call of around 7 notes, the first one highest, and gradually getting faster and lower pitched until it tails off into an asymptotic descending jumble. Here is the only picture I have managed to get yet. Just after this picture was taken, the bird flew on to a wire just a few metres from me, and I was just about to press the shutter when the autofocus shot back to infinity, so this is the best one I’ve got. So it’s is a challenge to others to get a better shot - I think you will agree that I have set the bar pretty low - but the hard part is actually locating the bird. Although they are easy to hear, they stay hidden and motionless for long periods, and are very difficult to get a clear shot of.
Plaintive Cuckoo (Cacomantis merulinus)