---
title: "What the sources say about the Common Cuckoo | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "54 claims from the Common Cuckoo profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/common-cuckoo-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/common-cuckoo/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Common Cuckoo (*Cuculus canorus*)

> 54 claims from the Common Cuckoo profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Common Cuckoo](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/common-cuckoo/)

## Cuculus canorus (common cuckoo). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cuculus_canorus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Open country such as fields and marshes, also forest and farmland; breeds across much of Europe and migrates to central and southern Africa | Common cuckoos live in open areas such as fields and marshes. They can also live in alpine areas, forests, or on farmland. (note: stats.habitat) |
| breeds across much of Europe and migrates to central and southern Africa | spends its breeding season throughout much of Europe and as far north as Sweden and Russia (note: stats.habitat) |
| migrates to central and southern Africa | the cuckoo migrates to central and southern Africa (note: stats.habitat) |
| Insects, including hairy caterpillars, plus the eggs and nestlings of host species | Common cuckoos eat different types of insects, including hairy caterpillars (note: stats.diet) |
| plus the eggs and nestlings of host species | Female cuckoos also eat the eggs and the nestlings of the host species. (note: stats.diet) |
| a female takes one egg out of the host nest and lays her own in its place | The cuckoos remove an egg from the host nest and lay their own egg. |
| Once the cuckoo hatches, it removes the host's eggs and nestlings. | the young cuckoo chicks remove the host species’ eggs and nestlings from the nest |
| A female visits up to fifty nests in a season and lays 12 to 22 eggs. | Range eggs per season 12 to 22 |
| the body length as 32 to 34 cm | Range length 32 cm to 34 cm |
| Adults eat insects, including hairy caterpillars that many other birds avoid | hairy caterpillars which are not eaten by many other birds |
| females also eat the eggs and nestlings of host species | Female cuckoos also eat the eggs and the nestlings of the host species. |
| breeds across much of Europe, north to Sweden and Russia | spends its breeding season throughout much of Europe and as far north as Sweden and Russia |
| builds no nest of its own | As brood parasites, common cuckoos do not build their own nests. (note: FAQ) |
| relies on host parents to incubate its eggs and feed the chicks | Common cuckoos rely on the host parents to incubate their eggs and feed the chicks. (note: FAQ) |
| leave the nest after 17 to 21 days | Common cuckoo chicks leave the nest after seventeen to twenty- one days. (note: FAQ; ADW gives the numbers in words) |
| A female visits up to fifty nests in a season | the females visit up to fifty nests and only lay between twelve to twenty-two eggs each |
| A Bird With No Nest | As brood parasites, common cuckoos do not build their own nests. (note: heading) |
| has been found breeding as far afield as China, India and Japan | 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 |
| Afterwards it migrates to central and southern Africa, Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka. | When the breeding season ends, the cuckoo migrates to central and southern Africa, Vietnam, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. |

## BirdFacts: Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). British Trust for Ornithology.

https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/cuckoo

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| British Trust for Ornithology figures for live adults give an average of 114.3 g, with the middle 90% between 93 and 143 g. | All adults 114.3±15.7 g (93-143 g (note: BTO table heading: 5th and 95th percentiles, weights from live birds; 90% is the span between them) |
| males arrive in late April and can leave again as early as the first week of June | the males arriving in late April and leaving again as early as the first week of June |
| Tracked British cuckoos all winter in the same part of central Africa | all of the birds winter in the same part of central Africa |
| a 33% drop in the breeding population from 1995 to 2024 | 33% decrease 1995 to 2024 |
| estimated it at 18 thousand pairs in 2016 | 18 thousand pairs (2016) |
| Live adults in the British Trust for Ornithology's figures average 114.3 g; the lightest 5% weigh under 93 g and the heaviest 5% over 143 g. | All adults 114.3±15.7 g (93-143 g (note: FAQ; BTO table heading: 5th and 95th percentiles) |

## AnAge: Cuculus canorus (common cuckoo). Human Ageing Genomic Resources, AnAge database.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Cuculus_canorus

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| a maximum longevity of 12.9 years in the wild | Maximum longevity 12.9 years (wild) |
| The AnAge database gives a maximum recorded longevity of 12.9 years in the wild. | Maximum longevity 12.9 years (wild) (note: FAQ) |

## Cuculus canorus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T22683873A264553575.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2024-2.rlts.t22683873a264553575.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: stats.conservationStatus; assessed 2024, category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List) |
| globally Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, assessed in 2024 | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: assessed 2024: the year in the assessment DOI (iucn.uk.2024-2) and the reference title) |

## Gibbs et al. (2000). Genetic evidence for female host-specific races of the common cuckoo. Nature.

https://doi.org/10.1038/35025058

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A brood parasite whose females lay eggs that tend to match their hosts' eggs. | Females of each race lay a distinctive egg type that tends to match the host's eggs (note: tagline) |
| Lays eggs that tend to match the host's, and barred underparts make some small birds treat it like a sparrowhawk | Females of each race lay a distinctive egg type that tends to match the host's eggs (note: stats.superpower) |
| The species is split into host-specific races called gentes. | The common cuckoo Cuculus canorus is divided into host-specific races (gentes). |
| brown and spotted where meadow pipits are the host, plain blue where redstarts are | brown and spotted for meadow pipit hosts or plain blue for redstart hosts |
| these races follow the mother's line, while males mate across races and keep the cuckoo one species | gentes are restricted to female lineages, with cross mating by males maintaining the common cuckoo genetically as one species |
| Each race's females lay their own type of egg, which tends to look like their host's | Females of each race lay a distinctive egg type that tends to match the host's eggs |
| eggs that tend to match its host's | Females of each race lay a distinctive egg type that tends to match the host's eggs (note: vibe.reason) |

## Stoddard & Stevens (2010). Pattern mimicry of host eggs by the common cuckoo, as seen through a bird's eye. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.2018

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| found that cuckoo races copy egg patterns more closely for hosts that reject foreign eggs more strongly | cuckoos have evolved better pattern mimicry for host species that exhibit stronger egg rejection |
| across eight host species | quantify the level of pattern mimicry in eight host species of the common cuckoo |
| Hosts fight back. | host defences result in the evolution of host-egg mimicry in cuckoos |

## Davies & Welbergen (2008). Cuckoo-hawk mimicry? An experimental test. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0331

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| barred underparts make some small birds treat it like a sparrowhawk | some small birds respond to common cuckoos Cuculus canorus as if they were sparrowhawks Accipiter nisus (note: stats.superpower) |
| Great tits and blue tits were alarmed by mounted cuckoos as much as by mounted sparrowhawks | Great tits and blue tits were equally alarmed and reduced attendance at feeders during and after the presentation of mounted specimens of common cuckoos and sparrowhawks |
| cuckoos with barred underparts were treated like hawks while unbarred ones were treated like doves | cuckoos with barred underparts were treated like hawks, while those with unbarred underparts were treated like doves |
| barred underparts that make tits treat it like a sparrowhawk | some small birds respond to common cuckoos Cuculus canorus as if they were sparrowhawks Accipiter nisus (note: vibe.reason) |

## Marton et al. (2019). Host alarm calls attract the unwanted attention of the brood parasitic common cuckoo. Scientific Reports.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-54909-1

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A brood parasite whose females lay eggs that tend to match their hosts' eggs. | avian brood parasites lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species, called hosts (note: tagline, brood parasite) |
| it lays its eggs in the nests of other bird species, called hosts | avian brood parasites lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species, called hosts |
| Great reed warblers that sounded the alarm more often suffered more parasitism | great reed warblers that alarmed more frequently experienced higher rates of parasitism |
| cuckoos in an experiment paid attention to those alarm calls | both female and male common cuckoos Cuculus canorus pay attention to their host's, the great reed warbler's Acrocephalus arundinaceus alarm calls |
| Even a warning can backfire. | can act in a detrimental manner by providing important nest location cues for eavesdropping brood parasites |

## Merondun et al. (2024). Evolution and genetic architecture of sex-limited polymorphism in cuckoos. Science Advances.

https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adl5255

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Adult males are gray. | adult males are monochromatic gray |
| Females come in two plumages, gray or rufous | females exhibit either gray or rufous plumage |
| a 2024 genetic study traced that difference to the female-restricted genome | female plumage dichromatism maps to the female-restricted genome (note: 2024 is the paper's publication year (Science Advances, reference metadata)) |
| The common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, is a brood parasite. | The brood parasitic common cuckoo ( Cuculus canorus ) |

## Davies & Welbergen (2009). Social Transmission of a Host Defense Against Cuckoo Parasitism. Science.

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1172227

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| reed warblers that watched neighbours mob a cuckoo increased their own mobbing | observation of cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) mobbing by neighbors on adjacent territories induced reed warblers (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) to increase the mobbing of cuckoos |
| social learning lets hosts build up their defence quickly | social learning provides a mechanism by which hosts rapidly increase their nest defense against brood parasites |