What a cuckoo looks like. Interesting facts from the life of the cuckoo. Social structure and reproduction

Ordinary cuckoo (lat. Cuculus Canorus) - view of the Birds of the Cube-shaped Detachment, Family Cuckoo, Cuckoo.

The bird's name received thanks to the methodically repeated cries of "Ku-Ku", published by the cuckoo male during the marriage period.

What does a cuckoo look like?

The length of the body of an adult individual is 32-34 cm when mass from 80 to 190 g, the wingspan reaches 55-65 cm. Its structure, partly the plumage and nature of the cuckoo flight resemble small hawks, for example, the rewtage, but noticeably differ in a longer, wedge-shaped tail .

Cuckoo wings are sharp and long. Legs short, yellow. Structure of the foot, like a dyatlov: 2 fingers are directed back and 2 forward, which allows you to keep on the vertical surface, but it makes it difficult to move on the ground.

The beak is black, slightly swept, in the lower part is marked with a characteristic yellow rode. A bright orange ring formed by skin growth is noticeably allocated around the eye.

Cuckoo in flight.

Flying cuckoo.

Cuckoo is preparing to take off.

Cuckoo red color (female).

Cuckoo in flight.

In flight female cuckoo.

Male cuckoo sits on a branch.

Head and back adult males painted in dark gray. The front of the neck is distinguished by the ashes-gray shade, white belly crosses dark strips. Steering feathers have white finishes, specks along the entire length of the rod.

The color of the cuckoo females is two types: the first variety is very similar to the male individuals, with the exception of the brownish shade of feathers on the back and rare oaths on the front of the neck. The second variety differs sharply from males rust-growing back and transverse liabilities throughout the body.

For young individuals, a variegated plumage of gray, brown and red tones is characterized in various combinations and rare white mark on the head.

Area and habitats

The nesting places of the ordinary cuckoo pass through all the climatic zones from the tundra to the subtropics. The most numerous populations are distributed for most of the European territory and the countries of Asia Minor. For the winter, the cuckoo migrates into Africa, south of the Sahara and in tropical Asian latitudes.

European populations inhabit all types of wooded areas with the exception of a dense taiga massif. Inhabitants of Central Asia live in cane thickets.

What do bugs eat?

Cuckoo - hidiment and insensitive birds, most of the day engaged in eating a variety of insects, including poisonous shaggy caterpillars, which other birds bypass.

The diet also includes butterflies and their dolls, beetles and their larvae, grasshoppers, fuels, cabbage worms, ant and bird eggs, as well as small lizards. Berries prefer bodies from plant food.

And only in the marriage period of cuckoo becomes less voracious, and unusually noisy and active, filling the forest with call cries.

Cuckoo with prey.

Features of breeding

The male, similar to the plumage on the haastle, is circling over the selected nest, while the scared bird does not leave the space being disappeared. The female - the cuckoo is enough of 10-16 seconds to demolish your egg and kidnap one master.

If the cuckoo sees that the masonry is already well nailed, she eats all the eggs of the owners, forcing them to re-reproduction.

Cuckoo chick in a forest skate nest.

Cucuchonok waiting for receiving parents (meadow skates).

Cuckoo chick and receiving parent.

The incubation period and the peculiarities of the chick

The dimensions and mass of the eggs of most cucks are identical and amount to 2-2.5 cm x 1.5-1.9 cm, which is only 3% of the body weight of the female. But the color and the drawing is distinguished by a rare variety and directly depends on the color of the eggs of the owners of the nest.

Eggs can be pink, blue, brown, lilac, monochrome or coated with specks and divorces. The coloring and details of the drawing of master eggs and the "elevation" in most cases are identical.

The incubation period is 11.5-12.5 days, and if the egg fell into the nest at the beginning of reaching, the cuckoo hatches first, which gives it a real advantage over the consolidated brothers and sisters.

The newborn cuckoo is covered with absolutely naked, pink-orange skin and weighs from 2.5 to 3.6 g. But such helplessness does not prevent him from methodically to push all the eggs of adoptive parents from the nest. If the cuckoo appeared on the light of the Master's chicks, in the same way, he comes with newborn brothers and sisters, and in the end, one remains.

Some species of birds can recognize and get rid of someone else's egg, but never touches chicks. The chick is capable of sharing sounds similar to the pisch of the whole brood, which noticeably stimulates the care of adoptive parents.

The chick is leaning after 3 weeks, but parents feed the adopted "child" much longer than fed their own chicks.

For the entire period of reproduction, the cuckoo demoloses about 10 eggs, each time in a new nest. It happens that the cuckoo cannot find the nest of a suitable type of birds, and is forced to throw an egg in the first thing. In such, disadvantaged seasons, out of 10 "twines" survives no more than 2 chicks.

The life expectancy of the cuckoo is about 10 years.

Case: Cuckoo and Wagtail

Young cuckoo squeezed with a little wagtail.

This is a young cuckoo, female. Her focused on a small wagtail. First, the chick of cuckoo killed all native chickens. The feeding process could not be photographed. This young cuckoo surprisingly accurately copies the troll of the shaking.

It is very difficult to notice the cuckoo in the forest, but each of us probably had to make a fate of her melodious and slightly sad riding. The same simple "ku-ku" sounds and in the title of this secretive bird almost in all European languages.
Habitat. It lives in Europe, Asia and North Africa. Winter in Southeast Africa and Southeast Asia.

Habitat.
Cuckoo inhabits the whole of Europe, the extensive regions of Asia and small regions of Asia and small areas in the north of Africa. Like all migratory birds, she flies to winter in southeastern Africa or Southeast Asia, and in the native edges settle on the meadows, fields, among the hills and in the edges of the bogs thickly overgrown with reeds. In the mountains of Europe, cuckoo is found at an altitude of up to 2500 m, and in Asia - up to 4000 m above sea level. In winter places, they choose the area similar to their homeland, resolutely avoiding deserts, dense forests, open to all winds of the tundra and districts of dense urban development.

View: Ordinary cuckoo - Cuculus Canorus.
Family: Cuckoo.
Detachment: Cuckoo.
Class: Birds.
Subtype: vertebrae

Security.
In a number of European and African countries, the cuckoo is a guarded view and, feeding in insect pests, brings considerable benefits. Many cucks die from the hand of hunters who mistakenly take them for feathered predators. During flights over Africa, part of the birds falls on the net for quail fishing. Many cucks die, fastening insect-poisoned pesticides.

Did you know?

Reproduction.
In the nesting sites, cuckoo arrive at no first of May. The male from year to year is returned to the same home plot and immediately begins to call the girlfriend the "ku-ku". If the female manifests interest in a potential partner, he fulfills the marriage dance in front of her: dropping his head and wings, dissolves a long tail and gracefully cheat them like a fan. In the final, Kavaler presents the lady of the heart of the grass and a twig, and if it favors a gift, mating. Some time later, the female leaves the segment of the male and goes in search of nests of other birds in which the eggs can be postponed. In each nest, the female lays down one egg, after throwing one alone so that the hosts are not suspected of non-carrying. The incubation of the cuckoo egg lasts 12 days - a little less than that of the mastering of the owners, therefore cubes hatching before all and after 8 hours after the rest is taken out of the nest of the other eggs. Sometimes the cuckoo too late puts his egg.

Lifestyle.
Cuckoo live secluded, forming a couple only for a short time in the midst of the marriage season. Each bird occupies a certain home plot, which, however, does not have strictly mounted borders - its area depends on the age and size of the owner. The territory of females is usually less and can partially coincide with the possessions of the male. The male notifies the neighbors about his presence with loud crooked and vestically guarding the boundaries of the site. Cuckoo feeds insects; The basis of its diet is the caterpillars, beetles, dragonflies and grasshoppers, on whom she hunts from the ambush, holding out the branches in the thick of the branches. After viewing the production at a distance of up to 50 m, the bird instantly grabs her and immediately returns to his supervisory point. Favorite cuckoo delicacy - hairy caterpillars of pine cocooner. Grabbing the sacrifice, she first tasks her head, and then, holding in his beak, vigorously turns her in the air to empty the intestine of production. When there are few insects, cuckoo eat rainworms, slugs and small frogs.

Cuckoo ordinary - Cuculus Canorus.
Body Length: 32-34 cm.
Wingspan: 55-60 cm.
Weight: 100-130
The number of eggs in the masonry: 8-12.
Incubation time: 12 days.
Food: Insects.
Life expectancy: up to 12 years old.

Structure.
Beak. A short pointed beak slightly bent down.
Eyes. Eyes are bordered by thin rings of naked skin. The color of the randomy varies from gray to yellow.
Wings. Wings are long, pointed. The primary fly feathers have a grayish painting.
Tail. The edge steering feathers of a long tail shorter.
Legs. Short legs covered with feathers to the most fingers.
Fingers. Two fingers look ahead, and two - back. All fingers are armed with curls.
Plumage. Back and head bluish-gray or brownish. The bottom side of the body is light with dark transverse stripes.

Bird cuckoo is distributed almost everywhere. With her unchanged scream "Ku-ku" is not only associated with the name, but also many people will accept. Interesting such a fact that these familiar to all screams are published by males Cuckoo to attract a female during the start of the marriage games.

What a cuckoo looks like

The cuckoo ordinary has an inconspicuous color, but its flight can be confused with hawk. Therefore, birds around whose nests go cuckoo, often accept her predator. With close consideration of the structure of this bird, it can be noted that it has a long wedge-shaped tail, the wings of the sharp, and the legs are short. The structure of the foot allows you to hold on the surface in a vertical position, as Dyatli do it. Adult cuckoo reaches 34 centimeters in length, and weigh up to 190 grams. Eyes outlined with bright orange skin. In the color of the birds dominate dark gray and ash colors, only abdomen white with dark stripes.

Where the cuckoo lives

This species of birds are not elected at their habitat. The cucks will fall in the tundra and subtropics, nest on the territory of Europe and in Asia Minor. But wintering in those places where the spring flew, they do not remain, they are attracted:

Africa;
Sahara;
asian countries.

The thicks of the Taezhni thickets do not like the birds, in all other wooded plantings these individuals will be easily nesting.

What feeds

Cuckoo - Birds are not harmful, but rather useful, as they are able to destroy many pests that are unsuitable for other birds. They are extremely voracious. Appetite becomes moderate only in the married period. At this time, they are noisy and become very active, forgetting about their secrecy and caution, loudly announced their love of the whole district.

Eggs cuckoo acquire a color and drawing of those eggs that are near in the nest, so the owners do not notice the substitutions. After eleven - twelve days a helpless chick appears. If he was lucky to hatch first, he will push all the eggs lying next to him. He is still blind and naked back, but already quite strong and has an instinct of throwing out of all, as for his back. The chick does it very quickly, because after four days his instinct will not act.

If his pivot brothers and sisters were already born, he also cruelly deal with them. He must stay alone in the nest, otherwise the little Ptakhi, who was thrown into his real parents, will not be able to feed the meal of chicks, and cuckoo is incredibly voracious. Therefore, even the nests left in the living chick, the nests will simply come to eat, and he will die anyway.

Three weeks later, the chick will begin to appear to appear, and the receptionable baby parents still continue to feed. When they finish only their broods, their children become independent much faster.

Why do birds behave like this? Cubuschuk managed to publish such sounds against which parents cannot resist. Creek chick sometimes mimics a cry of several chicks.

Other Features Bird Cuckoo

Live cucks for almost ten years, but for the whole life period do not change reproduction tactics. The cuckoo is common and the most ordinary bird, but its lifestyle with difficulty is to be learning, as the bird behaves very secretly. And the females and the males of the ordinary cuckoo live apart before the period of creating a couple.

Nests of birds are not screwed, but the territory they can examine in search of foreign nests is quite extensive, it is measured by several hectares. Carefully watching other birds, it makes a decisive choice: who will become mom and dad to her future chick. Ordinary cuckoo is not so simple, as it seems at first glance. This bird carefully watches Behind what is happening in the forest, and if it does not suit the nest, it will be able to determine his future chick in the hollow.

The cuckoo ordinary is not an exemplary mom and hardworking bird:

neither the nest will say;
neither the baby will irrigate.

No wonder about women who gave birth to children and threw them to upbringing grandparents or other relatives, they say that they are like ordinary cuckoo.

The bird has the ability to adapt. Eggs it is disproportionately small compared to their weight. Their weight can only be three grams, sometimes more. After all, she needs to "please" by future educators of his offspring. There are approximately one hundred and fifty species of birds, which the unfair poinnaya mother makes receiving parents.

Benefit or harm

Most likely, this unusual ordinary forest bird benefits. She grabs one hour to deal with hundreds of caterpillars. But I want most of the day, and her stomach will easily revise any kind of pest. Secretive lifestyle This bird helps her to hunt, but this power is not allowed to monitor the cuckoo flight. In flocks, they are not going to the flight, sitting on the wires and trees, are not prepared. All flights are performed at a slow pace, the feathers protect the strength, since they do not stop anywhere and overcome huge distances. Their wintering lasts in warm edges for three months.

Most of the types of cucks are capable of filling their offspring themselves, which is successful and doing.

As usual a little biology

Cuckoo ordinary (lat. Cuculus Canorus) is a bird from the subclass of new-handed, family of cuckoo, or cuckoo (lat. Cuculidae).
Externally similar to a small hawk. Modern scientists emphasize only the superficial resemblance of cuckoo with hrictest birds: for example, the described form of the head, the details of the plumage and the nature of the flight are somewhat reminded by the rebel. The flying bird can notice the dark transverse pendans on the belly and the lower part of the wing, like the hawk, however, the tail is noticeably longer and begged around the edges in the form of a wedge, and not cut in a straight line. Cuckoo sitting on a tree, unlike hawks, holds a torso horizontally, often with lowered wings and a raised tail. Wings at the bird are pointed and as well as the tail, quite long. The legs, on the contrary, are very short - for this reason, the observer from the side is noticeable with only clamping fingers. Like other related species, the legs of the ordinary cuckoo have the so-called zygrodactive structure: two fingers are directed forward and two backs like Sov. This position allows you to better hold on the vertical plane, but it makes it difficult to move on the surface of the Earth.

The total length reaches 32-34 cm, the scope of the wings is 55-65 cm, the weight to 80-190 g. In an adult male, the entire upper side of the body, including the head, painted in a dark gray color. The throat and goiter are also gray, but a lightest ashona. Belubo white, with dark transverse stripes. Steering with white ends and stains along the rods. The color of the female plumage is two types. The most common repeats the details of the male's plumage in such a way that in the field it is very difficult to distinguish between singular sex; The specialist can see the brought tint on the back and sometimes rare oath feathers on the throat and Zob. The second variety of coloring, on the contrary, makes a female absolutely unlike the male. Representatives of this phase of rust-redheads on top and white from below, on both sides with dark transverse stripes. On the back of the pendine are not only in the lower back area.

The incubation period of the ordinary cuckoo is 11.5-12.5 days. If the egg was asleep at the beginning of reaching, the chick hatching a few days earlier than his chicks of his receptional parents, and this circumstance gives him a noticeable advantage in the fight for survival. In the newly appeared on the light of the cuckoo, naked, without traces of the embryonic fluff, the skin is painted into pinkish-orange color, orange orange orange cavity; Weight varies from 2.5 to 3.6 g. Just like the chicks of sparrow birds just hatched, the eyelids are tightly closed, but the auditory passages remain open. The chick of cuckoo methodically throws all the eggs or chicks of receiving parents from their nest. It is much more than his receiving parents, therefore, as expected, he seeks to monopolize all the food by the owners of the nest. Cuckoo pushes other eggs through the edge of the nests. If the chicks of the owners hatch before Cubuschonka, he, appearing on the light, will in a similar way push all the chicks from the nest. On the 14th day, the chick of an ordinary cuckoo is about three times more in size than adult reed replacement.

The region of reproduction of an ordinary cuckoo covers all climatic zones from Festourprot to deserts and subtropical forests of the Palearctic region, throughout the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Almost everywhere this is usual, in some places a numerous appearance. Being a typical flighting bird, the bird spends the winter in Africa and in the tropical latitudes of Asia.
The ordinary cuckoo is almost everywhere considered a pilot bird that is not delayed in the nesting areas of more than three or four months a year. At the same time, information about the areas of its wintering is fragmentary and sometimes contradictory, which is associated with an extremely secretive way of life. Birds are able to overcome up to 3,600 km in one flight without stopping on vacation, and the overall remoteness of winter stations from the nesting reaches 5-6 thousand km and more. Winter in Africa and Southeast Asia.

In the nature of the cuckoo live about 10 years.
- The word "cuckoo" comes from the sonorous "ku-ku" pronounced by the bird. Her name is similar to many nations: Cukuvitsa - in Bulgaria, Kukačka - in the Czech Republic, Kuckuck - in Germany, Coucou - in France, Cucul - in Romania, Cuculo - in Italy, Cuckoo - in the UK.
- The most famous fact about the cuckoo: it does not live its own nests and puts her eggs in other people's eggs.
- In the flight, the cuckoo of the painting resembles a predatory bird. Thanks to this, the cuckoo male scares the owner of the nest, and at this time the female throws the egg.
- The cuckoo is enough for only 10-16 seconds to put the egg into the nest.
- The fallen eggs almost coincide in the color of the nest owners. The cuckoo female in one season can postpone from 8 to 25 eggs, though, for every 5 thrown eggs, only one chick is survived.
- The term from the laying of eggs to the hatp of the chicks in the cuckoo is shorter than those species, in whose nests they are.
- The proven fact that the period of reproduction of the bunch of cuckoo protects the "nesting plot" of those birds, where the female should postpone the eggs, since there will be two eggs in one birds in one nest, then the chicks are most likely both will die from the lack of feed.

In particular, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle in the "History of Animals", comparing two birds, referred to belief, according to which they are both various appearance of the same creature capable of reincarnation
- Loose curtains (Spotted / Lychnis Flos Cuculi Yatrynik) often used as a magic agent to ensure good relationships between spouses. For the root of grass, you were guessing about the field of the future child, young women also drank decoction from this root with the words: "Coccage, rusting to me a son-daughter."
- And in Denmark, and in Sweden torture the bird for longevity, in Japan they consider the traveler to the next world, closely related to death. And she dresses on trouble, and to Moru, and to the fire.
- The first of April, known to us as "Day of Fools," in Scotland is called "Cuckoo Day".
- During the Soviet-Finnish war, 1939-1940. Finnish snipers, leading fire from the tops of the trees, called cuckoo. Cuckoo - also the source name of the locomotives of the "Ku" series ("Kolomensky Street"), produced in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.

For those who are too lazy to read

Cuckoo is one of the hidden birds that are not only a buggy, but also love to hide. Therefore, to see them is quite difficult. Interesting and lifestyle they lead, as well as special attention deserves feeding cuckoo. Next, we will tell you about this bird in more detail.

Exterior cuckoo

Cuckoo ordinary weigh about 100 grams, and its body length is 40 centimeters. The female and the male is distinguished by the color of the plumage. So, in the male spin - dark gray, and the rest of the rest has a light gray and white plumage with stripes. The beak of such an individual is black and bend a little, and his legs are short.

The females also have a drowned plumage, but the rest of the rust-red and with white or black stripes. In young individuals, in advance, it is impossible to determine the floor, as they are either gray or red, but necessarily have dark strips throughout the body.

Distribution of cuckoo ordinary

Cuckoo spread quite widely. It usually nests in the following territories:

Europe.
Africa.
Asia.
Arctic Circle.

Cuckoo - Fresh Bird, Therefore, it can be found in the taiga, and in the steppe, and in reservoirs, in the parks, and in the gardens, and in the outskirts of cities and villages, and in the mountains, and in the outskirts of the desert, and even high above sea level. When flying, they move in the northeast direction and over the day overcome the way equal to 80 kilometers.

In Russia, these birds are usually appear in late May - July. They will settle almost everywhere, except for the northern tundra. Forests and parks, forest edges and glades, coastal thickets and low bushes remain favorite places of cuckoo.

Reproduction of cuckoo ordinary

Cuckoo try to throw their eggs In such nests, where they would correspond to those eggs that demolished the nest owners themselves. The correspondence is usually determined by both color and size. At first she watches a little about how the nest is built, choosing those who can put their eggs in advance. When the owners of the nest begins the egg layer, then the bird flies to the jack, one egg is removed by his bent, eating it or losing it with it, and puts his own. This procedure of throwing his eggs in the bunch of ordinary lasts no more than 10 seconds.

It is worth noting that for one summer, the female can produce up to 20 eggs, But of them, throw it about it only 5 eggs. If she does not find a nest, then leaves his egg right on Earth or in any abandoned nest. If necessary, the female is able to delay the egg for several days, which is already ready to demolish.

Rare feathers Nights notice the enemy of eggs. But the embryo in the egg cuckoo is developing very quickly And already for 13 days ready to hatch from the shell. They hatch naked and blind. First, small crocks are very similar to the chicks of their receptional parents, sometimes even the voice becomes similar to the sounds published by receiving parents. The hatched cuckoo has a sensitive back and a slight recess in the coccyx area. If some of the chicks touch it, then this deepening it can throw an egg or the chick itself from the nest.

Cucuchonok is very demanding: He often and widely opens orange mouth, demanding food. For the permanent demands of food Cucuchonka, the hosts of the nest do not even have time to see the fall of the chick and help him, and sometimes just ignore this fall. Cooks grows very quickly. It is known that for 22 days it not only exceeds in the sizes of its receiving parents, but at that time he leaves the nest. But the owners of the nest rushed after him, feeding a few more weeks by his insects.

Lifestyle Cuckoo Ordinary

Males cuckoo immediately occupy a fairly large plot, attracting his loud and multivalued scream of females. Thanks to such a Cook, this bird got its name. The females are not so melodic and prefer to be silent more, but sometimes in flight they can also publish a ringing trill, attracting males for mating.

The male flies off his possessions to mate with females in turn. The females are distributed on a specific site, where in advance trying to find receiving parents for their future offspring. In the summer, these birds are usually lonely: they do not build nests, do not cause eggs, and the marriage period is already ends at that time.

Today more than 120 species of birds are known., in the nest of which the cuckoo threw their eggs ever. But usually they are trying to choose the singer birds of the sparrow squad. Therefore, the cucks in the eggs are so easy to throw in the socket, because they coincide in size and color. It is known that if the cuckoo rose in the nest - the female, then the next summer it will return to the terrain, where it was the nest of her receiving parents, remembering the appearance of those who raised them. Young begins to multiply later than an old bird. By the way, the life expectancy of the cuckoo in the wild does not exceed 5-10 years.

Food Cuckoo ordinary

It is known that cuckoo, as well as her cubs, very voracious. But what does it eat? It is worth noting that cuckoo is the bird that is not picky in food. The main nutrition for this bird is insects and their larvae. She especially loves shaggy caterpillars, eats them in large quantities. But many birds avoid eating such hairy caterpillars. Among insects, whom the cuckoo eats, there may be beetles, butterflies, mare, rider. They eat and bird eggs, and sometimes there may be berries.

Food cuckoo significantly it differs from what other insectivore birds eat. In order to more fully imagine the diet of this bird, a whole study was held in Russia, where everything was tracked for the day. The result of this study showed that the cuckoo ordinary in the middle lane in Russia in one day can eat the following food:

Another study was conducted, where the cuckoo was fed only by caterpillars. It turned out that for one day she is able to eat them more than 1900 pieces.

Of course, the cuckoo is strong stand out against the rest of the avian world, After all, the image itself is unusual. But, despite all the difficulties, the population of this bird is quite stable and the number of cucks today does not decrease at all. It is worth noting that the cuckoo is still a beneficial bird, as it easily finds those places where insects are breeding or inhabited and contribute to suppressing this very dangerous focus of their distribution.

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