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European Cuckoo - Cuckoo-(Cuculus canorus)

The sound of the Cuckoo is one of Childhood memories where the two note 'cuck-oo" sound was heard around the mountains and valleys but rarely seen. The male does the calling.

The Cuckoo is a brood parasite, it uses trickery and cunning to trick another bird to raise its young. When the Cuckoo lays her egg in the hosts nest she will remove an egg so the poor host bird will not notice. The egg can look just like the hosts eggs but slightly bigger and will usually hatch first. The Cuckoo chick will dominate feeding times and throw the other chicks out of the nest.

In the poem by William Shakespeare "Love labours lost" references are made about the Cuckoo for Spring and the Owl

for Winter.

 

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Uploaded on July 8, 2025
Taken on June 7, 2025