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Common Cuckoo

Cuculus canorusOrder: CUCULIFORMESFamily: Cuckoos and Roadrunners (Cuculidae)

Breeding Location:

Bushes, shrubs, and thickets, Forest



Breeding Type:

Promiscuous



Breeding Population:

Accidental to casual



Egg Color:

White or can match egg color of host



Number of Eggs:

8 - 25



Incubation Days:

11.13



Egg Incubator:



Nest Material:

Grasses, leaves.



Migration:

Migratory



Splitbar

Overview

Common Cuckoo: Large cuckoo, gray upperparts, paler underparts with dark bars on belly. Dark gray wings; tail is dark gray with spotting on outer edges near base. Feeds on caterpillars, insects and larvae. Wings are held low in flight, depressed far below body at bottom of downstroke.

Range and Habitat

Common Cuckoo: Native of Eurasia; casual visitor to the Pribilofs and Aleutians; accidental in Massachusetts.

Breeding and Nesting

Common Cuckoo: Nest parasite: eight to twenty-five eggs are laid each season in nests of other species. Incubation ranges from 11 to 13 days and is carried out by host species. Eggs are white or match the color of the host species.

Foraging and Feeding

Common Cuckoo: Eats hairy caterpillars and other insects; forages in open trees and shrubs.

Vocalization

Common Cuckoo: Male sings "coo-koo"; female has a loud chirping, gurgling trill "klu-klu-klu."

Similar Species

Common Cuckoo: Oriental Cuckoo has darker upperparts, paler underparts, and buff undertail coverts.

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Family Roadrunners and Cuckoos (Cuculidae)
Species Cuculus canorus
Length12.5 - 14.5 Inches
Wingspan29 Inches

Common Cuckoo

Common Cuckoo: Large cuckoo, gray upperparts, paler underparts with dark bars on belly. Dark gray wings; tail is dark gray with spotting on outer edges near base. Feeds on caterpillars, insects and larvae. Wings are held low in flight, depressed far below body at bottom of downstroke.

● Song: "coo-koo", "klu-klu-klu"

● Foraging & Feeding: Common Cuckoo: Eats hairy caterpillars and other insects; forages in open trees and shrubs.

● Breeding & nesting: Common Cuckoo: Nest parasite: eight to twenty-five eggs are laid each season in nests of other species. Incubation ranges from 11 to 13 days and is carried out by host species. Eggs are white or match the color of the host species.

● Similar species: Common Cuckoo: Oriental Cuckoo has darker upperparts, paler underparts, and buff undertail coverts.

Flight Pattern

Distinctive low-wing flight. Wings are barely raised above horizontal plane and depressed far below the body at the bottom of the downstroke.
Common Cuckoo Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Common Cuckoo: Native of Eurasia; casual visitor to the Pribilofs and Aleutians; accidental in Massachusetts.
BreedingPromiscuous
PopulationAccidental to casual
MigrationMigratory
Weight4 Ounces