The Grey-bellied Cuckoo

The Grey-bellied Cuckoo (Cacomantis passerinus) moves through Sinharaja like a quiet presence, often heard before it is ever seen. Its slender form slips through the mid to upper canopy, while its distinct, high-pitched call carries across the forest, echoing through open patches and edges.

Males appear soft grey with a pale underside, while females take on a richer rufous tone marked with darker barring. Like many cuckoos, it follows a brood parasitic strategy, placing its eggs in the nests of smaller birds, a behaviour shaped by survival and adaptation within complex forest systems.