Common Cuckoo: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Five facts

1. The cuckoo never raises its own chicks. It lays eggs in other birds' nests, and its eggs resemble the host's eggs.
2. The adult cuckoo looks like a sparrowhawk, a bird of prey. Small birds keep away, so the female can lay in peace.
3. A cuckoo chick pushes the host's eggs out of the nest. At 14 days it is about three times the size of an adult reed warbler.
4. A female visits up to 50 nests in a season. She can also keep her egg inside her body for 24 extra hours before laying it.
5. To get fed, a cuckoo chick makes a fast begging call that sounds like a whole nestful of host chicks.

The quiz

1. What does the cuckoo do with its eggs?

• It buries them in sand
• It lays them in other birds' nests (correct)
• It hides them in tree holes only
• It carries them in its beak

It is a brood parasite and lays its eggs in other birds' nests.

2. Which predator does the adult cuckoo mimic?

• The sparrowhawk (correct)
• The owl
• The crow
• The kestrel

Its sparrowhawk look lets the female lay her eggs without being attacked.

3. How big is a cuckoo chick at 14 days, compared with a reed warbler?

• Half the size
• The same size
• Twice the size
• About three times the size (correct)

Two weeks after hatching, the chick is already about three times bigger than an adult reed warbler.

4. Up to how many nests can a female visit in one breeding season?

• 5
• 15
• 50 (correct)
• 500

In one breeding season, a female can check out as many as 50 nests.

5. What does the cuckoo chick's begging call sound like?

• A hungry hawk
• A whole brood of host chicks (correct)
• A single tiny chick
• An adult cuckoo's song

Its quick call sounds like a whole nestful of hungry host chicks.

More about the Common Cuckoo

All lessons

Nature documentaries