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Common Cuckoo

Cuculus canorusOrder: CUCULIFORMESFamily: Cuckoos and Roadrunners (Cuculidae)
Common Cuckoo Breeding Male Head Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: Curved (up or down)
  • Eye Color: Dark brown to brown-black.
  • Head Pattern: Plain
  • Crown Color: Gray
  • Forehead Color: Gray
  • Nape Color: Gray
  • Throat Color: Pale Gray
  • Cere color: No Data
Common Cuckoo Breeding Male Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 32-37 cm (12.5-14.5 in)
  • Weight: 113 g (4 oz)
  • Size: Medium (9 - 16 in)
  • Color Primary: Gray
  • Underparts: Pale gray with narrow dark gray bars.
  • Upperparts: Gray
  • Back Pattern: Solid
  • Belly Pattern: Barred or banded
  • Breast Pattern: Barred or banded
Common Cuckoo Breeding Male Flight Illustration

Flight

  • 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.
  • Wingspan Range: 71-76 cm (28-30 in)
  • Wing Shape: Pointed-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Rounded Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Solid with white edging.
  • Upper Tail: Dark Gray
  • Under Tail: Pale Gray
  • Leg Color: Yellow
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Family
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.
BreedingBrood parasite
PopulationAccidental to casual
MigrationMigratory
Weight4 Ounces