Common Cuckoo

Cuculus canorus

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesForestGround nestMedium · 111 g

What the Common Cuckoo sounds like

Sonogram of the Common Cuckoo: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Christian Kahle · Uncertain · Schneverdingen, Germany · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Common Cuckoo: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Christian Kahle · Song · Schneverdingen, Germany · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Common Cuckoo: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Philippe_Grange · Song · Arrondissement of Les Sables-d'Olonne (near L'Aiguillon-sur-Vie), Vendée, Pays de la Loire, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The common cuckoo is 32–34 centimetres (13–13 in) long from bill to tail, with a tail of 13–15 centimetres (5.1–5.9 in) and a wingspan of 55–60 centimetres (22–24 in). The legs are short. It has a greyish, slender body and long tail, similar to a sparrowhawk in flight, where the wingbeats are regular. During the breeding season, common cuckoos often settle on an open perch with drooped wings and raised tail. There is a rufous colour morph, which occurs occasionally in adult females but more often in juveniles.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Common Cuckoo

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 3 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Common Cuckoo

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 114 countries with regular records, and 15 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in United States, Iceland, Mauritania, Sri Lanka, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Bahrain, San Marino, Chad, Eritrea, Gabon, Liberia, Senegal, Barbados, Macao SAR China.

About the Common Cuckoo

The cuckoo, common cuckoo, European cuckoo or Eurasian cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Common Cuckoo vs Red-chested Cuckoo · Common Cuckoo vs Indian Cuckoo · Black Cuckoo vs Common Cuckoo

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