Lesser cuckoo

Lesser cuckoo
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Cuculiformes
Family:	Cuculidae
Genus:	Cuculus
Species:	C. poliocephalus
Binomial name
Cuculus poliocephalus Latham, 1790

The lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus) is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.

It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kenya, North Korea, South Korea, Laos, Malawi, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

In culture

Lesser cuckoo on a 1954 Japanese stamp

In Japan, the bird is called hototogisu (ホトトギス^?) and is frequently praised for its song, and ranked as her favorite bird by Sei Shonagon in her account of court life in Heian Japan, The Pillow Book. It is also a pivotal image in poem 81 of the Hyakunin Isshu poetry anthology.

In Korean literature, the song of the lesser cuckoo represents the sound of sadness.