---
title: "Pied Cuckoo"
description: "Clamator jacobinus — Birds. The Jacobin cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus), also pied cuckoo or pied crested cuckoo, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds that is found in Africa and Asia."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/pied-cuckoo
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Pied Cuckoo

> Clamator jacobinus — Birds. The Jacobin cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus), also pied cuckoo or pied crested cuckoo, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds that is found in Africa and Asia.

- Scientific name: *Clamator jacobinus*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 2997
- Wikidata: [Q839535](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q839535)
- iNaturalist taxon: [1789](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1789)

## Names

- en: Pied Cuckoo
- de: Jakobinerkuckuck
- es: Críalo Blanquinegro
- fr: Coucou jacobin
- nl: Jacobijnkoekoek
- pt: Cuco-jacobino
- pl: Kukułka czarno-biała

## Countries with the most observations

IN (1670), ZA (498), LK (128), KE (64), TZ (49), NA (43), BW (27), DZ (27), MW (25), ZW (23), UG (20), BD (18)

## Summary

The Jacobin cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus), also pied cuckoo or pied crested cuckoo, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds that is found in Africa and Asia. It is partially migratory and in India, it has been considered a harbinger of the monsoon rains due to the timing of its arrival. It has been associated with a bird in Indian mythology and poetry, known as the chātaka (Sanskrit: चातक) represented as a bird with a beak on its head that waits for rains to quench its thirst.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobin_cuckoo

## Photo

![Pied Cuckoo](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/pied-cuckoo/medium.jpg)

Photo: Akshay · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/216705848

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/pied-cuckoo?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).