The koel (<em>Eudynamis honorata</em>) occurs on the Nilgiris and has been shot at Ootacamund. It betrays its presence by its loud <em>ku-il</em>, <em>ku-il</em>, <em>ku-il</em>. The common cuckoo of the hills is the hawk-cuckoo (<em>Hierococcyx varius</em>) or brain-fever bird. Its crescendo <em>brain-fever</em>, BRAIN-FEVER, BRAIN-FEVER prevents any person from failing to notice it. It victimises laughing-thrushes and babblers. It has a large cousin (<em>H. sparverioides</em>), which also occurs on the Nilgiris, and which likewise screams <em>brain-fever</em> at the top of its voice. Both species are like sparrow-hawks in appearance. The handsome pied crested cuckoo (<em>Coccystes jacobinus</em>), which cuckolds the seven sisters, is a bird easy to identify. It has a conspicuous crest. The upper plumage is glossy black, save for a white wing bar and white tips to the tail feathers. The lower parts are white.
The common coucal or crow-pheasant (<em>Centropus sinensis</em>) is a cuckoo that builds a nest and incubates its eggs. It is as big as a pheasant, and is known as the Griff's pheasant because new arrivals in India sometimes shoot it as a game bird. If naturalists could show that this cuckoo derived any benefit from its resemblance to a pheasant, I doubt not that they would hold it up as an example of protective mimicry. It is a black bird with rich chestnut wings. The black tail is nearly a foot long. The coucal is fairly abundant on the Nilgiris.