Cuckoo

The Cuckoo is a dove-sized bird which is generally bluish-grey with dark barred white under parts. Their tail is long and black with white spots. The iris, orbital ring, the base of the bill and their feet are yellow. They have a sleek body and pointed wings and can be mistaken for sparrowhawks. Males and females are similar and juvenile birds are brown. The male and female calls also differ, with males having the unmistakeable cuc-koo call, whereas the female makes a babbling call.

The Cuckoo is a summer visitor to Britain. It is a brood parasite, with the females laying their eggs in the nests of other birds, including meadow pipits, dunnocks and reed warblers. Although its eggs are larger than those of its hosts, the Cuckoo egg will resemble the eggs in the host’s nest. With the adult resembling a sparrowhawk, which is a predator, the female Cuckoo has time to lay her egg without being seen to do so.

Adult birds arrive from Africa in late March or April and leave in July or August. Their offspring leave a month or so later. The adult birds return to Africa before their young have fledged.

The Cuckoo’s preferred food is hairy caterpillars, but they also eat various insects.