cuckoo

The cuckoo Cuculus canorus migrates northwards in spring to breed, and in April the characteristic call of the male can be heard in Britain. During May the female begins searching for suitable nests in which to lay her eggs. The host she chooses must be an insect-eater, and a female cuckoo always chooses nests belonging to one species to lay in, probably the same species that reared her. Before laying an egg, she removes one of the host's own eggs from the nest. She may lay up to 12 eggs in this way, each in a separate nest.

Species of bird, any of about 200 members of the family Cuculidae, order Cuculiformes, especially the Eurasian cuckoo Cuculus canorus, whose name derives from its characteristic call. Somewhat hawklike, it is about 33 cm/1.1 ft long, bluish-grey and barred beneath (females are sometimes reddish), and typically has a long, rounded tail. Cuckoos feed on insects, including hairy caterpillars that are distasteful to most birds. It is a ‘brood parasite’, laying its eggs singly, at intervals of about 48 hours, in the nests of small insectivorous birds. As soon as the young cuckoo hatches, it ejects all other young birds or eggs from the nest and is tended by its ‘foster parents’ until fledging. American species of cuckoo hatch and rear their own young.

The North American roadrunner Geococcyx californianus is a member of the cuckoo family, and the yellow-billed cuckoo, Coccysus americanus, incubates its own eggs.

cuckoo

Toy musical instrument that imitates the call of the cuckoo, used in Leopold Mozart's Toy Symphony.