cuckoo
Cuculus canorus

Key facts

Large hawk-like bird with distinctive call

Habitat: gardens, marshes, heaths, fields, woods and hedges

Summer visitor to UK where it breeds; winters Africa

Recognition

Barred underparts, grey upperparts, long tail and wings

Flies with wings held low; often perches high on trees in the evening

Eats insects

Lifecycle

Lays eggs in nest of host species such as dunnock or reed warbler

8-12 eggs although highly variable

cuckoo
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