Common Cuckoo
Photo: Andy Morffew from Itchen Abbas, Hampshire, UK · CC BY 2.0

Cuckoos

Common Cuckoo

Cuculus canorus

LCLeast Concern
Family
Cuckoos (Cuculidae)
Order
Cuculiformes

Overview

The cuckoo, common cuckoo, European cuckoo or Eurasian cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals.
This species is a widespread summer migrant to Europe and Asia, and winters in Africa. It is a brood parasite, which means it lays eggs in the nests of other bird species, particularly of dunnocks, meadow pipits, and reed warblers. Although its eggs are larger than those of its hosts, the eggs in each type of host nest resemble the host's eggs.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.