Geographic Range
The common cuckoo (
Cuculus canorus
) spends its breeding season throughout much of Europe and as far north as Sweden
and Russia. The cuckoo has also been found breeding in areas as far south as China
and India, as far east as Spain and as west as Japan. It is absent in much of western
China and Mongolia. When the breeding season ends, the cuckoo migrates to central
and southern Africa, Vietnam, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.
Habitat
Common cuckoos live in open areas such as fields and marshes. They can also live in
alpine areas, forests, or on farmland. The cuckoos’ habitat choice depends on the
availability of food. Their habitats include elevations up to 3800 m.
- Habitat Regions
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- savanna or grassland
- forest
- Wetlands
- marsh
- Other Habitat Features
- urban
- suburban
- agricultural
Physical Description
Common cuckoos have a long body from bill to tail that ranges from 32- 34 cm. They
also have long tails 13-15 cm and strong legs. The body weight ranges between 2.0-2.5
g. The cuckoos have long pointed wings with a wing span up to 55 cm long. Males and
females are approximately the same size. Males have a gray body and a white belly
with dark lines. Females are two different colors, they can either look like males
with a tan colored breasts with dark lines, or they can have reddish brown colored
bodies. Juveniles are brown with the white patches on their backs. The basal metabolic
rate is 0.8380 W cm^3 oxygen/hour (average).
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes colored or patterned differently
Reproduction
Common cuckoos do not form mating pairs, and both sexes mate with multiple partners
during the mating season (April-September). Common cuckoos only sing during the breeding
season. Male cuckoos call continuously and open their wings, fan their tails and bob
their heads. The females make bubbling sounds. Common cuckoos only have one breeding
season per year.
- Mating System
- polygynandrous (promiscuous)
As brood parasites, common cuckoos do not build their own nests. Females selectively
pick the nest of a host species to lay their eggs each year. During the breeding season,
the females visit up to fifty nests and only lay between twelve to twenty-two eggs
each. Their eggs can vary in color depending upon the color of the host eggs. Females
lay their eggs every other day. The average egg measures 22x16 mm and weighs around
3.2 grams. The cuckoos remove an egg from the host nest and lay their own egg. Common
cuckoos rely on the host parents to incubate their eggs and feed the chicks.
The eggs hatch between eleven to thirteen days. After hatching, the young cuckoo chicks
remove the host species’ eggs and nestlings from the nest. The young cuckoo chicks
receive all the care and food from the host parents and grow much larger than the
host parents. Common cuckoo chicks leave the nest after seventeen to twenty- one days.
Young cuckoos stay around the host parents for six to eight weeks. In September, the
young cuckoos leave the host parents and fly to Africa. Both male and female cuckoos
reach the sexual maturity at two years of age.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- oviparous
Common cuckoos lay their eggs in the nests of the host species. The males and females
do not incubate the eggs and they do not feed or raise their young. spend no time
on incubation, feeding the chicks, or raising their young. Females spend time searching
for the nests to lay their eggs.
- Parental Investment
- no parental involvement
Lifespan/Longevity
Common cuckoos live a maximum of 12.9 years in the wild. Common cuckoos have not been
studied in captivity.
Behavior
Common cuckoos are in generally, not social. Both males and females are isolated during
the non-breeding season. They spend their time forging and looking for new areas to
forge. They do not sing or communicate with each other during the non-breeding season.
As they migrate from Africa to Europe for breeding, they become social with the members
of their own species. Common cuckoos are nocturnal and solitary migrants. Because
the adult cuckoos migrate back to Africa long before the young cuckoos chicks hatch,
the young cuckoos find their routes to Africa without any help or guidance. Stopover
areas include forests, farmlands and wetlands. During the breeding season, both males
and females have territories. Males constantly defend their territories, but females
do not defend their areas. Both males and females have separate forging areas and,
they don’t frorage in the breeding area.
These cuckoos are brood parasites, with females laying their eggs in the nests of
other bird species.
- Key Behaviors
- arboreal
- motile
- migratory
- territorial
Home Range
Common cuckoos are migratory species that occupy a vast landscape for their breeding
and feeding area. They have two different home ranges. The home range for egg laying
has average of 27.3 hectares and the home range for non-egg laying has an average
of 36.7 hectares.
Communication and Perception
Common cuckoos are brood parasites. Instead of making their own nests, females lay
their eggs into the nests of other bird species. While in host nests, common cuckoo
chicks learn the calls specific to their host parents. This is an adaptation of cuckoos
so that the parents can bring them food more frequently. These young chicks only respond
to the alarm calls of host parents. Males and females only sing during the breeding
season. Adult male cuckoos have slightly different calls depending on their habitat.
Cuckoos in forests make softer calls, whereas cuckoos on the mainland have louder
calls. The females make bubbling sounds.
- Other Communication Modes
- mimicry
Food Habits
Common cuckoos eat different types of insects, including hairy caterpillars which
are not eaten by many other birds for despite their bitter taste. Their diet also
includes crickets, beetles, larva, and dragonflies. Female cuckoos also eat the eggs
and the nestlings of the host species.
- Primary Diet
-
carnivore
- eats eggs
- insectivore
- Animal Foods
- birds
- eggs
- insects
Predation
Adult cuckoos do not have any known predators, but chicks are attacked by crows and
cats some time. Adults resemble dangerous prey birds such as sparrow hawk (
Accipiter nisus
) and other raptor species, depending on the geographical areas. These colors and
markings allow common cuckoos to escape their predators. If a young cuckoo chicks
feel threatened, they release brown fluid from their cloaca. This fluid has odor and
serve as repellent for the predators.
- Anti-predator Adaptations
- mimic
Ecosystem Roles
Common cuckoos play an important role in the environment. They are brood parasite
and they lay their eggs in the nests of multiple other bird species. Meadow pipit
(
Anthus pratensis
), Eurasian reed warblers (
Acrocephalus scirpaceus
), dunnocks (
Prunella modularis
) are the most common host species. They negatively affect the population of the host
species by ejecting their eggs and the nestling of the host from their nest. They
are also known to eat the eggs and nestling of the host species. Common cuckoos feed
on many insects, but majority of their diet consists of the hairy caterpillars (
Creatonotus gangis
). These insects destroy crops and fruits so by feeding on these insects, cuckoos
help keep their population in check.
Parasites that infect common cuckoos include feather lice (
Columbicola
). Common cuckoos don’t get these lice from the foster parents. It is thought that
they get the lice from direct contact with other adults after leaving the nests. One
mite species found in the nasal cavity of common cuckoos. This mite belongs to the
genus (
Sternostoma
) and family
Rhinonyssidae
.
- Ecosystem Impact
- parasite
- Meadow pipit ( Anthus pratensis )
- reed warblers ( Acrocephalus scirpaceus )
- dunnocks ( Prunella modularis )
- feather lice ( Columbicola )
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Common cuckoos feed on many types of insects, but the majority of their diet includes
hairy caterpillars of garden tiger moths (
Arctia caja
). These insects destroy many crops including raspberry (
Rubus idaeus
), viburnum (
Vibumum opulus
) and honeysuckle (
Lonicera albiflora
). Common cuckoos keep the population of these insects in check.
- Positive Impacts
- controls pest population
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Common cuckoos do not have any negative economic effects on humans.
Conservation Status
Common cuckoos are listed as “Least Concern” species on IUCN Red List. They are protected
under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Under that act it is illegal to possess, trade,
or barter the birds, the bird parts or the eggs. Common cuckoos don’t have a special
status on the US federal list or on CITES. Although BirdLife International (2012)
reports that their population is declining in some areas, the decline is not severe
enough to threaten the stability of the species.
Additional Links
Contributors
Mohammad Iqbal (author), Radford University, Cari Mcgregor (editor), Radford University, Zeb Pike (editor), Radford University, Karen Powers (editor), Radford University, April Tingle (editor), Radford University, Jacob Vaught (editor), Radford University, Tanya Dewey (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
- Palearctic
-
living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- oriental
-
found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Ethiopian
-
living in sub-Saharan Africa (south of 30 degrees north) and Madagascar.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- tropical savanna and grassland
-
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
- savanna
-
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
- temperate grassland
-
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- marsh
-
marshes are wetland areas often dominated by grasses and reeds.
- urban
-
living in cities and large towns, landscapes dominated by human structures and activity.
- suburban
-
living in residential areas on the outskirts of large cities or towns.
- agricultural
-
living in landscapes dominated by human agriculture.
- polygynandrous
-
the kind of polygamy in which a female pairs with several males, each of which also pairs with several different females.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- oviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
- arboreal
-
Referring to an animal that lives in trees; tree-climbing.
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- migratory
-
makes seasonal movements between breeding and wintering grounds
- territorial
-
defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- mimicry
-
imitates a communication signal or appearance of another kind of organism
- parasite
-
an organism that obtains nutrients from other organisms in a harmful way that doesn't cause immediate death
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- insectivore
-
An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
References
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