Cuculus canorus
common cuckoo
(Also: Eurasian cuckoo)

Common cuckoos are found throughout the Old World, from Spain to Japan. Western populations migrate south to sub-Saharan Africa during the winter, eastern populations to the Philippine Islands and southeast Asia. (Gooders, 1982)

Cuculus canorus can live almost anywhere, ranging from heaths and forests, to farmlands, open moorlands and marshes. (Hammond and Everett 1980; Gooders 1982)

Cuculus canorus is approximately 33 cm in length. Adult males are generally gray above, including the throat and breast, while the underparts are white with close black bars. The tail, which is long and graduated, is black with white spots. The cuckoo has short legs and a non-hooked bill. A noticeable feature of C. canorus is that it has very pointed wings. The adult females are occasionally brown above, white below, and barred black. The juvenile cuckoos resemble the rare brown phase of the female. Juveniles are brown, barred, and have a white patch on the back of the neck. The voicing of C. canorus differs between males and females. The males have an unmistakable coocoo call, while the females have a babbling call. (Hammond and Everett 1980; Heinzel and Fitter 1972; Bruun 1970)

Cuculus canorus is a brood parasite. The female cuckoo lays her egg in the nest of another species. The cuckoo egg closely resembles the egg of the host species' egg. The eggs of cuckoos are either spotted or solid in color, depending upon the color of the host species' egg. The egg mimicry is an adaptation to parasitism. When the host species leaves the nest unattended, the female cuckoo removes one of the host's eggs from the nest, then lays her own before the host returns. The cuckoo egg is incubated for about 12 ½ days and usually hatches before the host eggs. Once the cuckoo has hatched, it will eject the other eggs or young so that it will receive all the food brought by the "foster parents." The young cuckoo is fed and brooded by the host for 20- 23 days, and grows several times larger than the hosts. (Campbell and Lack 1985; Gooders 1982)

Cuckoos are mostly shy and live solitary lives, except during the breeding season. During the breeding season the cuckoos become noisier, males with the well-known coocoo song, while the females give a "bubbling" call. (Campbell and Lack, 1985; Gooders, 1982)

This cuckoo is an insectivore, eating mainly insects and their larvae. Hairy caterpillars, which are rejected by most birds, are eaten by C. canorus. The cuckoo is not poisoned after eating the caterpillar because before eating it, the cuckoo will bite one end of the caterpillar, slice the caterpillar using its beak, then shake the insect at one end until the toxic contents are released. (Campbell and Lack, 1985)