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

The common cuckoo (lat. Cuculus canorus) is a species of birds of the cuckoo-like order, the cuckoo family, the cuckoo genus.

The bird got its name due to the methodically repeated cuckoo calls made by the male cuckoo during the mating season.

What does a cuckoo look like?

The body length of an adult is 32-34 cm with a weight of 80 to 190 g, the wingspan reaches 55-65 cm. In their structure, partly plumage and the nature of the flight, cuckoos resemble small hawks, for example, a sparrowhawk, but noticeably differ in a longer, wedge-shaped tail .

The wings of a cuckoo are sharp and long. Legs are short and yellow. The structure of the foot, like that of woodpeckers: 2 fingers point back and 2 forward, which allows you to stay on a vertical surface, but makes it difficult to move on the ground.

The beak is black, slightly curved, in the lower part it is marked with a characteristic yellow coating. Around the eyes, a bright orange ring, formed by a skin growth, stands out noticeably.

Cuckoo in flight.

Flight of the cuckoo.

The cuckoo is getting ready to fly.

Red cuckoo (female).

Cuckoo in flight.

A female cuckoo in flight.

The male cuckoo sits on a branch.

The head and back of adult males are dark grey. The front part of the neck is distinguished by an ash-gray tint, the white belly is crossed by dark stripes. Tail feathers have white ends, spots run along the entire length of the shaft.

The color of female cuckoos is of two types: the first variety is very similar to males, with the exception of a brownish shade of feathers on the back and rare buffy feathers on the front of the neck. The second variety differs sharply from males in the rusty-red plumage of the back and transverse striping throughout the body.

Juveniles are characterized by variegated plumage of gray, brown and red tones in various combinations and rare white markings on the head.

Range and habitats

The nesting sites of the common cuckoo pass through all climatic zones from the tundra to the subtropics. The most numerous populations are distributed over most of the European territory and the countries of Asia Minor. For the winter, cuckoos migrate to Africa, south of the Sahara and tropical Asian latitudes.

European populations inhabit all types of wooded areas with the exception of the dense taiga massif. The inhabitants of Central Asia live in reed beds.

What do cuckoos eat?

Cuckoos are secretive and wary birds, spending most of the day eating a variety of insects, including poisonous hairy caterpillars, which other birds bypass.

The diet also includes butterflies and their pupae, beetles and their larvae, grasshoppers, grasshoppers, cabbage worms, ant and bird eggs and small lizards. From plant foods, cuckoos prefer berries.

And only in mating season cuckoos become less voracious, and unusually noisy and active, filling the forests with inviting cries.

Cuckoo with prey.

Reproduction features

The male, similar in plumage to a hawk, circles over the selected nest until the frightened bird leaves its home. It takes 10-16 seconds for a female cuckoo to lay her egg and steal one of her hosts.

If the cuckoo sees that the clutch is already well incubated, it eats all the eggs of the owners, forcing them to re-breed.

A cuckoo chick in a forest pipit's nest.

Little cuckoo waiting for foster parents (meadow pipits).

Cuckoo chick and foster parent.

The incubation period and features of the behavior of the chick

The size and weight of the eggs of most cuckoos are identical and are 2-2.5 cm x 1.5-1.9 cm, which is only 3% of the female's body weight. But the coloring and pattern 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, purple, solid or speckled and streaked. The coloring and details of the pattern of the host eggs and "foundlings" in most cases are identical.

The incubation period is 11.5-12.5 days, and if the egg gets into the nest at the beginning of incubation, the cuckoo hatches first, which gives him a real advantage over half-siblings.

A 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 pushing all the eggs of his adoptive parents out of the nest. If the cuckoo was born later than the owner's chicks, he does the same with newborn brothers and sisters, and as a result remains alone.

Some species of birds are able to recognize and get rid of someone else's egg, but never touch the chicks. The chick is able to make sounds similar to the squeak of a whole brood, which noticeably stimulates the care of foster parents.

The chick fledges in 3 weeks, but the parents feed the adopted "baby" much longer than they would feed their own chicks.

During the entire breeding season, the cuckoo lays about 10 eggs, each time in a new nest. It happens that the cuckoo cannot find a nest of a suitable bird species, and is forced to throw an egg into the first one that comes across. In such unsuccessful seasons, out of 10 "foundlings" no more than 2 chicks survive.

The life span of a cuckoo is about 10 years.

Case: cuckoo and wagtail

A young cuckoo fed by a small wagtail.

This is a young cuckoo, female. She was fed by a little wagtail. First, the cuckoo chick killed all the relatives of the wagtail chick. The feeding process was not photographed. This young cuckoo mimics the warble of the wagtail with surprising accuracy.

It is very difficult to notice a cuckoo in the forest, but each of us probably had a chance to guess the fate of her melodic and slightly sad cuckoo. The same unpretentious “ku-ku” sounds in the name of this secretive bird in almost all European languages.
Habitat. It lives in Europe, Asia and North Africa. Winters in Southeast Africa and Southeast Asia.

Habitat.
The cuckoo inhabits all of Europe, vast regions of Asia and small regions of Asia and small areas in northern Africa. Like all migratory birds, it flies to winter in Southeast Africa or Southeast Asia, and in its native lands it settles in meadows, fields, among hills and along the edges of swamps densely overgrown with reeds. In the mountains of Europe, cuckoos are found at an altitude of up to 2500 m, and in Asia - up to 4000 m above sea level. In wintering areas, they choose terrain similar to their homeland, resolutely avoiding deserts, dense forests, windswept tundra and areas of dense urban development.

Species: Common cuckoo - Cuculus canorus.
Family: Cuckoo.
Squad: Cuckoos.
Class: Birds.
Subtype: Vertebrates

Security.
In a number of European and African countries, the cuckoo is a protected species and, eating insect pests, brings considerable benefits. Many cuckoos are killed by hunters who mistake them for raptors. During flights over Africa, some of the birds fall into the nets for catching quails. Many cuckoos die by eating insects poisoned by pesticides.

Did you know?

Reproduction.
Cuckoos do not arrive at nesting sites until May. The male from year to year returns to the same home area and immediately begins to call his girlfriend with a sonorous “cuckoo”. If the female shows interest in a potential partner, he performs in front of her mating dance: lowering his head and wings, spreads his long tail and gracefully waves it like a fan. In the finale, the gentleman presents the lady of the heart with a stalk of grass or a twig, and if she favorably accepts the gift, mating takes place. Some time later, the female leaves the male's territory and goes in search of nests of other birds in which to lay her eggs. In each nest, the female lays one egg, after throwing out one alien, so that the owners do not suspect something was wrong. The incubation of a cuckoo egg lasts 12 days - a little less than that of the hosts' clutch - therefore, the cuckoo hatches before everyone else and already 8 hours after birth, it begins to push the rest of the eggs out of the nest. Sometimes the cuckoo lays its egg too late.

Lifestyle.
Cuckoos are solitary, forming pairs only for a short time at the height of the mating season. Each bird occupies a certain home area, which, however, does not have a strictly established boundaries- its area depends on the age and size of the owner. The territory of the female, as a rule, is smaller and may partially coincide with the possessions of the male. The male notifies neighbors of his presence by loud cuckooing and vigilantly guards the boundaries of the site. The cuckoo eats insects; the basis of her diet is caterpillars, beetles, dragonflies and grasshoppers, which she hunts from ambush, motionlessly hiding in the thick of branches. Having looked out for prey at a distance of up to 50 m, the bird instantly grabs it and immediately returns to its observation post. The favorite delicacy of the cuckoo is the hairy caterpillars of the pine cocoon moth. Having seized the victim, she first of all breaks her head, and then, holding it in her beak, vigorously twists it in the air in order to empty the prey's intestines. When insects are scarce, cuckoos eat earthworms, slugs, and small frogs.

Common cuckoo - Cuculus canorus.
Body length: 32-34 cm.
Wingspan: 55-60 cm.
Weight: 100-130 g.
Number of eggs in clutch: 8-12.
Incubation period: 12 days.
Food: insects.
Life span: up to 12 years.

Structure.
Beak. The short pointed beak is slightly bent down.
Eyes. The eyes are bordered with thin rings of bare skin. The color of the iris varies from gray to yellow.
Wings. The wings are long and pointed. Primary flight feathers are grayish-brown in color.
Tail. Edge tail feathers long tail shorter than average.
Legs. The short legs are covered with feathers down to the very toes.
Fingers. Two fingers look forward, and two - back. All fingers are armed with claws.
Plumage. The back and head are bluish-gray or brownish. The underside of the body is light with dark transverse stripes.

The cuckoo bird is distributed almost everywhere. Not only the name, but also many folk signs are associated with her invariable cry “cuckoo”. An interesting fact is that these familiar to everyone calls are made by males cuckoos to attract a female during the start of mating games.

What does a cuckoo look like

The common cuckoo has an inconspicuous coloration, but its flight can be confused with that of a hawk. Therefore, birds around whose nests the cuckoo winds often mistake it for a predator. On closer examination of the structure of this bird, you can see that it has a long wedge-shaped tail, sharp wings, and short legs. The structure of the foot allows you to stay on the surface in an upright position, as woodpeckers do. Adult cuckoos reach 34 centimeters in length and weigh up to 190 grams. The eyes are lined with bright orange skin. The color of the bird is dominated by dark gray and ashy colors, only belly white with dark stripes.

Where does the cuckoo live

This bird species is not selective in its habitats. Cuckoos settle in the tundra and subtropics, nest in Europe and Asia Minor. But they don’t stay to winter in those places where they flew in in the spring, they are attracted:

Africa;
Sahara;
Asian countries.

Birds do not like dense taiga thickets; in all other wooded plantations, these individuals readily nest.

What feeds

Cuckoos are not harmful birds, but rather useful ones, as they are able to destroy many pests that are unsuitable for other birds to eat. They are extremely voracious. Appetite becomes moderate only in the mating season. At this time, they make noise and become very active, forgetting about their secrecy and caution, loudly proclaiming their love to the whole neighborhood.

Cuckoo eggs take on the color and pattern of those eggs that are nearby in the nest, so the owners do not notice the substitution. After eleven to twelve days, a helpless chick is born. If he is lucky to hatch first, he will push out all the eggs lying next to him. He is still blind and bare-backed, but already strong enough and has the instinct to throw away everything that touches his back. The chick does this very quickly, because after four days his instinct will not work.

If his half-siblings have already been born, he will also brutally deal with them. He must remain alone in the nest, otherwise the little birds, to whom his real parents were thrown, will not be able to feed a horde of chicks, and cuckoo is incredibly gluttonous. Therefore, even the surviving native chick of the owners of the nest simply will not get food, and it will die anyway.

After three weeks, plumage will begin to appear in the chick, and the parents still continue to feed the foster baby. When they feed only their own brood, their children become independent much faster.

Why do birds behave this way? The cuckoo manages to make sounds that parents cannot resist. The cry of a chick sometimes imitates the cry of several chicks.

Other features of the cuckoo bird

Cuckoos live for almost ten years, but for their entire life period they do not change their breeding tactics. The cuckoo is the most common and common bird, but its lifestyle is difficult to study, as the bird behaves very secretively. Both females and males of the common cuckoo live separately until the pairing period.

Birds do not build nests, but the territory that they can explore in search of other people's nests is quite extensive, it is measured in several hectares. Carefully watching other birds, she makes a decisive choice: who will become mom and dad for her future chick. The common cuckoo is not as simple as it seems at first glance. This bird closely following what is happening in the forest, and if the nest does not suit her, she will be able to identify her future chick in a hollow.

The common cuckoo is not an exemplary mother and a hardworking bird:

will not build a nest;
won't feed a baby.

It is not without reason that women who have given birth to children and abandoned them to be raised by grandparents or other relatives are said to be like ordinary cuckoos.

The bird has the ability to adapt. She lays eggs that are disproportionately small compared to her weight. Their weight can be as little as three grams, sometimes more. After all, she needs to “please” the future educators of her offspring. There are about one hundred and fifty species of birds that an unscrupulous feathered mother makes foster parents.

Benefit or harm

Most likely, this unusual common forest bird is beneficial. One hour is enough for her to deal with a hundred caterpillars. And you want to eat most of the day, and its stomach will easily process any kind of pest. Secretive lifestyle this bird helps her to hunt, but this secrecy does not allow her to observe the flight of cuckoos. They do not gather in flocks, they do not prepare for the flight, sitting on wires and trees. All flights are made at a slow pace, the birds conserve their strength, as they do not stop anywhere and travel great distances. Their wintering lasts in warm regions for three months.

Most of the cuckoo species are able to feed their offspring themselves, which they do with success.

As usual, a bit of biology

The common cuckoo (lat. Cuculus canorus) is a bird from the new-palatine subclass, the cuckoo family, or cuckoo (lat. Cuculidae).
Outwardly similar to a small hawk. Modern scientists emphasize only a superficial similarity between the cuckoo and hawk birds: for example, in the described species, the shape of the head, the details of plumage and the nature of the flight are somewhat reminiscent of those of the sparrowhawk. In a flying bird, dark transverse streaks can be seen on the belly and underside of the wing, like a hawk, but its tail is noticeably longer and beveled at the edges in the shape of a wedge, and not cut in a straight line. A tree-sitting cuckoo, unlike hawks, holds its body horizontally, often with lowered wings and a raised tail. The wings of the bird are pointed and, like the tail, are quite long. The legs, on the other hand, are very short - for this reason, only the fingers clasping the support are visible to the observer from the side. Like other related species, the legs of the common cuckoo have the so-called zygodactyl structure: two fingers are directed forward and two back, like in owls. This position allows you to better stay on a vertical plane, but makes it difficult to move on the surface of the earth.

The total length reaches 32-34 cm, wingspan 55-65 cm, weight up to 80-190 g. In an adult male, the entire upper side of the body, including the head, is painted dark gray. The throat and goiter are also gray, but of a lighter ash color. The belly is white, with dark transverse stripes. Tail feathers with white ends and spots along the stems. The coloration of the plumage of females is of two types. The most common repeats the details of the plumage of the male in such a way that it is very difficult to distinguish between individuals of different sexes in the field; a specialist can see a brownish tint on the back and sometimes sparse buffy feathers on the throat and crop. The second type of coloration, on the contrary, makes the female completely different from the male. Representatives of this phase are rusty-red above and white below, with dark transverse striping on both sides. There are no streaks on the back only in the lumbar region.

The incubation period of the common cuckoo is 11.5-12.5 days. If the egg was thrown at the beginning of incubation, then the chick hatches a few days earlier than its chicks of its adoptive parents, and this circumstance gives it a noticeable advantage in the struggle for survival. In a newly born cuckoo, naked, without traces of embryonic fluff, the skin is colored pinkish-orange, the oral cavity is orange; weight varies from 2.5 to 3.6 g. Just like in newly hatched chicks of passerine birds, the eyelids of the cuckoo are tightly closed, but the auditory canals remain open. The cuckoo chick methodically throws out all the eggs or chicks of the adoptive parents from their nest. It is much larger than its adoptive parents, so it is assumed that it seeks to monopolize all the food brought by the owners of the nest. The cuckoo pushes other eggs over the edge of the nest. If the host chicks hatch before the cuckoo, it will push all the chicks out of the nest in the same way when it is born. At day 14, a common cuckoo chick is about three times larger than an adult reed warbler.

The breeding area of the common cuckoo covers all climatic zones from forest-tundra to deserts and subtropical forests of the Palearctic region, all the way from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Almost everywhere it is a common, sometimes numerous species. Being a typical migratory bird, the bird spends the winter in Africa and in the tropical latitudes of Asia.
The common cuckoo is almost universally considered a migratory bird that does not stay in nesting areas for more than three to 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 cover up to 3600 km in one flight without stopping for rest, and the total distance of winter stations from nesting sites reaches 5-6 thousand km or more. Winters in Africa and Southeast Asia.

In nature, cuckoos live for about 10 years.
- The word "cuckoo" comes from the sonorous "cuckoo" pronounced by a bird. Its name is similar in many nations: kukuvitsa - in Bulgaria, kukačka - in the Czech Republic, Kuckuck - in Germany, coucou - in France, cucul - in Romania, cuculo - in Italy, cuckoo - in Great Britain.
- The most famous fact about the cuckoo is that it does not build its own nests and lays its eggs in others.
- In flight, the cuckoo resembles bird of prey. Due to this, the male cuckoo frightens the owner of the nest, and at this time the female throws an egg.
- It only takes 10-16 seconds for the cuckoo to lay an egg in the nest.
- Tossed eggs almost match the color of the eggs of the owners of the nest. A female cuckoo can lay 8 to 25 eggs in one season, however, for every 5 eggs thrown, only one chick survives.
- The period from laying eggs to hatching of chicks is shorter in cuckoos than in those species in whose nests they are located.
- It is a proven fact that during the breeding season, the male cuckoo guards the “nesting site” of those birds where the female should lay her eggs, since if there are two eggs of these birds in one nest, then the chicks, most likely, will also both die from lack of food.

In particular, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle in his History of Animals, comparing two birds, referred to the belief that both of them are different forms of the same creature capable of reincarnation.
- Cuckoo's tears (orchis spotted / Lychnis flos cuculi) were often used as a magical means to ensure good relations between spouses. From the root of the grass, they wondered about the field of the unborn child, young women also drank a decoction from this root with the words: "Kokushka, give me a son-daughter."
- Both in Denmark and Sweden they torture a bird for longevity, in Japan they consider it a traveler to the next world, closely associated with death. And she cries for trouble, and to the sea, and to the fire.
- The first of April, known to us as "fools' day", is called "cuckoo day" in Scotland.
- During the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. Finnish snipers firing from the tops of trees were called cuckoos. Cuckoo is also the common name for steam locomotives of the Ku (Kolomensky Reinforced) series, produced in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.

For those too lazy to read

The cuckoo is one of the hidden birds that are not only shy, but also love to hide. Therefore, it is quite difficult to see them. The lifestyle they lead is also interesting. special attention deserves cuckoo food. Further in the article, we will tell you in more detail about this bird.

Appearance of the cuckoo

common cuckoo weighs about 100 grams, and the length of her body is 40 centimeters. Male and female differ in plumage color. So, the back of the male is dark gray, and the rest of the body has a light gray and white plumage with stripes. The beak of such an individual is black and slightly curved, and its legs are short.

Females, on the other hand, have brownish plumage, but the rest are rusty-red and with white or black stripes. In young individuals, it is impossible to determine the sex by plumage, since they are either gray or red, but they always have dark stripes throughout the body.

Distribution of the common cuckoo

Cuckoo fairly widespread. It usually nests in the following territories:

Europe.
Africa.
Asia.
Arctic Circle.

Cuckoo - migrant , therefore, it can be found in the taiga, and in the steppe, and on reservoirs, and in parks, and in gardens, and along the outskirts of cities and towns, and in the mountains, and along the outskirts of deserts, and even high above sea level. During the flight, they move in a northeasterly direction and cover a path equal to 80 kilometers in a day.

In Russia, these birds, as a rule, appear at the end of May - July. They settle almost everywhere, except for the northern tundra. The favorite places of the common cuckoo are forests and parks, forest edges and glades, coastal thickets and low bushes.

Reproduction of the common cuckoo

Cuckoos trying to throw their eggs in such nests, where they would correspond to those eggs that were laid by the owners of the nest themselves. Compliance is usually determined by both color and size. At first, she observes a little how the nest is being built, choosing in advance those to whom she can lay her eggs. When egg-laying begins at the owners of the nest, the bird flies up to the nest, takes out one egg with its bent beak, eating it or taking it with it, and lays its own. This procedure of tossing your egg in the common cuckoo lasts no more than 10 seconds.

It is worth noting that in one summer, the female can produce up to 20 eggs, but from them she manages to throw only 5 eggs. If she does not find a nest, then she leaves her egg right on the ground or in some abandoned nest. If necessary, the female is able to hold an egg for several days, which is already ready for demolition.

Rare feathered nest owners notice the substitution of eggs. But the embryo in the cuckoo egg develops very quickly and already on the 13th day they are ready to hatch from the shell. They hatch naked and blind. At first, little cuckoos are very similar to the chicks of their foster parents, sometimes even the voice becomes similar to the sounds made by foster parents. The hatched cuckoo has a sensitive back and a small depression in the coccyx area. If one of the chicks touches him, then with this recess he can throw the egg or the chick itself out of the nest.

The cuckoo is very demanding: he opens his orange mouth often and wide, demanding food. Due to the constant demand for food, the cuckoo nest owners do not even have time to see the fall of the chick and help him, and sometimes they simply ignore this fall. The cuckoo is growing very fast. It is known that already on the 22nd day he not only exceeds the size of his adoptive parents, but also at this time he leaves the nest. But the owners of the nest rush after him, feeding him with insects for several more weeks.

Common cuckoo lifestyle

males cuckoos immediately occupy a fairly large area, attracting females with its loud and ambiguous cry. Thanks to this cuckooing, this bird got its name. Females are not so melodic and prefer to be silent more, but sometimes in flight they can also make a ringing trill, attracting males for mating.

The male flies around his domain to mate with the females in turn. Females are distributed in a specific area, where they are trying to find foster parents for their future offspring in advance. In summer, these birds, as a rule, are alone: they do not build nests, do not incubate eggs, and the mating season is already ending at this time.

To date over 120 species of birds are known in the nests of which the cuckoo has ever thrown its eggs. But usually they try to select sparrow songbirds. Therefore, cuckoo eggs are so easy to throw into the nests, because they match in size and color. It is known that if a female cuckoo has grown in the nest, then next summer she will return to the area where her foster parents' nest was, remembering the appearance of those who raised them. Young growth begins to breed later than the old bird. By the way, the lifespan of a cuckoo in wild nature does not exceed 5–10 years.

Food of the common cuckoo

It is known that cuckoo, like her cubs, is very voracious. But what does she eat? It is worth noting that cuckoos are the kind of bird that is not picky about food. The main food for this bird is insects and their larvae. She especially loves furry caterpillars, eats them in large numbers. But many birds avoid eating such hairy caterpillars. Among the insects that the cuckoo eats, there may be beetles, butterflies, filly, rider. They also eat bird eggs, and sometimes they can eat berries.

The nutrition of cuckoos is significantly different from what other insectivorous birds eat. In order to more fully imagine the diet of this bird, a whole study was conducted in Russia, where everything that this bird ate per day was tracked. The result of this study showed that the common cuckoo in central Russia can eat the following food in one day:

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

Of course, the cuckoo is strongly stands out from the rest of the bird world, because the very way of her life is unusual. But, despite all the difficulties, the population of this bird is quite stable and the number of cuckoos today is not decreasing at all. It is worth noting that the cuckoo is still a useful bird, since it easily finds those places where insects breed or live and contribute to suppressing this very dangerous center of their distribution.

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