Bao Zhao (c.414-466) of the Southern Dynasties state of Song, writes of the cuckoo: "Its plumage is ragged like the shorn head of a convict; it flies among the trees and pecks up insects and ants."
宋人鮑照就形容杜鵑「羽毛憔悴似人髡，飛走樹間啄蟲蟻」，本草綱目更說它「狀如雀鷂，而色慘黑。」