Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)

Читати українською(переклад на редакторській перевірці)

BirdBrood ParasiteMigratory

A common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) perched on a branch, showing its grey upperparts and barred underparts. — A common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) photographed in Kerala, India.
Image: Shino jacob koottanad, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Overview

The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is a slim, long-tailed migratory bird of Europe and Asia, grey above with barred underparts. In flight and posture it looks strikingly like a small hawk — a resemblance thought to help it approach nests, because host birds react to it as a predator.

The cuckoo is the classic brood parasite. Females lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species and provide no parental care at all. The host raises the cuckoo chick as its own.

The two-note call that gives the bird — and the clock — its name is made by the male. It is one of the most recognisable sounds in the northern spring.

Habitat & Range

Common cuckoos breed across Europe and northern Asia in woodland, scrub, heath, reedbed, moorland and farmland — wherever suitable host species are common. They are long-distance migrants, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa, and satellite tracking has revealed that individuals depart the breeding grounds remarkably early, often by midsummer.

Diet

Cuckoos eat insects, and are notable for taking hairy caterpillars that most birds avoid because the irritant hairs make them unpalatable. Cuckoos deal with these by periodically shedding the stomach lining. They also take other insects and invertebrates.

Behavior

A female cuckoo watches host nests, then lays quickly — often in a matter of seconds — usually removing one host egg as she does so. Females belong to lineages called gentes, each specialising on a particular host species and laying eggs that closely mimic that host's eggs in colour and markings. The cuckoo chick hatches early and, while still blind and naked, pushes the host's eggs or chicks out of the nest, monopolising all the food its foster parents bring. Hosts and cuckoos are locked in an evolutionary arms race: hosts get better at spotting foreign eggs, and cuckoos get better at matching them.

Human Interaction & Conservation

The cuckoo's call is deeply embedded in European culture, from the cuckoo clock to folklore about the arrival of spring, and 'cuckoo in the nest' has passed into ordinary language. Populations have declined markedly in parts of Europe, with causes thought to include reductions in host species and in large insect prey, and conditions along the migration route and in African wintering areas. Satellite tagging programmes have transformed understanding of where individual cuckoos go. Verify current status at the IUCN Red List.

Sourced facts

Each value below is traced to the specific reference that states it. Open a row's evidence to see the source, where to look in it, and how firmly it supports the value. Sources checked 2026-10-09.

Sourced facts about the Cuckoo, with the reference supporting each
Fact	What the source states	Evidence
Geographic range	Breeds across much of Europe, north to Sweden and Russia; after breeding migrates to central and southern Africa, Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka.ADW also reports breeding as far south as China and India and absence from much of western China and Mongolia. Its east/west wording ('as far east as Spain and as west as Japan') is inverted and should not be reused.	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Geographic Range Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Habitat	Open areas such as fields and marshes, also alpine areas, forests and farmland, at elevations up to 3800 m; habitat choice depends on food availability.	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Habitat Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Diet	Insects, including hairy caterpillars that many birds avoid, plus crickets, beetles, larvae and dragonflies; females also eat host species' eggs and nestlings.ADW names the main caterpillar prey inconsistently between sections (see concerns).	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Food Habits Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Body size	Total length (bill to tail) 32–34 cm, including a 13–15 cm tail.ADW says males and females are approximately the same size. Wingspan is stated inconsistently ('up to 55 cm' in prose, 55–60 cm in the data summary) and is not carried here.	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Physical Description Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Lifespan	The longest recorded wild cuckoo lived 12.9 years.A longevity record, not a typical lifespan. ADW says the species has not been studied in captivity, though its data summary also lists 12.9 years under captivity; that figure is not used.	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Lifespan/Longevity Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Activity pattern	Seasonal long-distance migrant that migrates at night and alone; adults leave for Africa before the young hatch. No general day/night pattern is stated.'Nocturnal' in ADW refers to migration only, not to daily activity outside migration.	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Behavior Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Social structure	Generally not social and isolated outside the breeding season; forms no pairs — both sexes mate with multiple partners in the April–September mating season.ADW adds that both sexes hold breeding-season territories (only males defend them), that birds become social with conspecifics while migrating from Africa to Europe, and that there is no parental care (brood parasite).	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Behavior; Reproduction Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Distinguishing traits	Males grey with a white, dark-barred belly; females either male-like with a tan, dark-barred breast or reddish-brown overall.Juveniles are brown with white patches on the back. ADW's Predation section says adults resemble the sparrowhawk and other raptors.	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Physical Description Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Conservation status	Least Concern (LC), global assessment, 2024	Matches source · IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — how we know IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits Read from the Red List export IUCN publishes to GBIF; iucnredlist.org itself does not answer automated reads. Categories are reassessed over time.

Not stated here, and why

Body mass— no source accepted yet: The ADW account gives two incompatible masses — 2.0–2.5 g in its text and 110–130 g in its data summary — so no figure is published until another source is accepted.

References for the facts above

UniversityAnimal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of ZoologySupports: Range, habitat, diet, body size and mass, lifespan, activity and social structure, as the account states them. Retrieved 2026-10-09.Limitations: A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
ReferenceIUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesSupports: The global Red List category and the year of the assessment. Retrieved 2026-10-09.Limitations: Read from the Red List export IUCN publishes to GBIF; iucnredlist.org itself does not answer automated reads. Categories are reassessed over time.

Frequently Asked Questions — Cuckoo

Do cuckoos really lay eggs in other birds' nests?

Yes. The common cuckoo is a brood parasite: the female lays in the nests of other species, usually removing one host egg as she does so, and gives no parental care at all. The host bird incubates the egg and raises the chick.

How do cuckoo eggs match the host's eggs?

Female cuckoos belong to lineages called gentes, each specialising on one host species and laying eggs that mimic that host's in colour and markings. The match is the product of an arms race — hosts improve at detecting foreign eggs, and cuckoos improve at imitating them.

What happens to the host's own chicks?

The cuckoo chick usually destroys them. Shortly after hatching, while still blind and naked, it manoeuvres the host's eggs or chicks onto its back and pushes them out of the nest, so that all the food the foster parents bring goes to it alone.

Why do cuckoos look like hawks?

Adult common cuckoos resemble small hawks in plumage and flight, and host birds often respond to them as if they were predators. The resemblance is generally interpreted as helping the female approach nests, since a bird that flees a suspected hawk is not defending its nest against a parasite.

Sources and further reading

Authoritative wildlife references used for general educational context. Conservation status should always be verified against current IUCN Red List data. External links open in a new tab.

UniversityAnimal Diversity Web — Cuculus canorus (common cuckoo) — University of Michigan species account
UniversityCornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds — Cornell University ornithology reference for bird species
Wildlife referenceIUCN Red List of Threatened Species — Authoritative source for current conservation status