The Common Cuckoo

This bird is really crazy! The common cuckoo is a brood parasite, which means it actually lays its eggs in other birds' nests! Common cuckoos most often lay their eggs in the nests of dunnocks, meadow pipits, and reed warblers because the eggs looks similar. To scare the other birds out of their nests, adult cuckoos mimic the call of the sparrowhawk, a common predator of these birds, and lay their eggs while the nest is empty. Once the eggs hatch, the baby cuckoos are taken care of by the other birds. To me it feels like cuckoos are saying, "Peace out dude, enjoy my eggs!"

There are 150 different species of cuckoos, and most live in woods and orchards throughout the world. The common cuckoo is the most well known. It has gray feathers, a slender body, and a long, rounded tail, which they fan out during courtship displays. Cuckoos make a loud "cuc-oo" sound that gives it its name. The common cuckoo eats mostly insects - they particularly like hairy caterpillars. 

Cool Fact: If cuckoo chicks hatch before the other eggs in the nest, they are known to sometimes push the other eggs out of the nest in order to have all the food for themselves! Scientists are studying why the parents continue to feed the cuckoo chicks, and whether they recognize the different eggs laid in their nests.