From the archive record
A crested pied cuckoo or Jacobin cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus), perches on a curved branch. It is also known as rain bird because of its migratory nature of arriving few days before the monsoon kicks off. "A few years ago, birdwatchers set out to test the truth behind whether the bird does signal the coming of the monsoon. We began a monitoring process, collecting data around bird sightings, and other habits. This is being documented online on ebird.org, an Ivy-League initiative for birdwatchers all around the world. A large number of birdwatchers reported the sighting of the Pied Cuckoo on the online documentation forum, and when these dates of sightings were compared to the monsoon's arrival, as available with the Indian Meteorological Department, the results were fairly clear. Pied Cuckoo