Common Cuckoo
At a Glance
             This is the famous bird of Europe whose voice is imitated by cuckoo clocks (and whose call, coo-coo, gave the name to the entire cuckoo family). It is well known as a brood parasite: females lay their eggs in the nests of smaller birds, and their hapless 'hosts' raise only young cuckoos. A common migratory bird across most of Europe and Asia, it regularly strays to the western Alaskan islands in late spring and early summer. 
          
          
             All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from  by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. 
          
        
        Category      
      
        Upland Ground Birds
      
    
        IUCN Status      
      
        Least Concern
      
    
        Habitat      
      
        Fields, Meadows, and Grasslands, Forests and Woodlands, Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets, Tundra and Boreal Habitats
      
    
        Behavior      
      
        Direct Flight
      
    Range & Identification
Description
     13-14" (32-33 cm). Large, long-winged, long-tailed; suggests a hawk in flight. Males and some females are gray, with narrow barring on belly. Some females are rusty brown with heavy black barring. Oriental Cuckoo also strays to western Alaska very rarely, is almost identical. 
  
  
        Size      
      
        About the size of a Robin, About the size of a Crow
      
    
        Wing Shape      
      
        Pointed, Tapered
      
    
        Tail Shape      
      
        Long, Rounded, Wedge-shaped
      
    Songs and Calls
     Male: The famous cuck-oo of cuckoo clocks. Female: kwik-kwik-kwik. 
  
  
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