Yesterday this Striped Cuckoo was in the grass by our house and I was able to get a really good look at his hunting behaviors. The foot long bird would take several steps with the body and head horizontal to the ground, then he would stop, stand up and raise and lower the crest feathers on his head several times. Next he did something so strange with his wings that I thought another bird was appearing from underneath him. I had to look on the internet to learn this bird has abnormally large, dark alulas feathers. The tips of them are visible in this photo. When they are flexed it appears the bird has four wings. It was fascinating to watch. I hear the call of this bird just about every day and have seen it several times, but watching this behavior was a first.
