Out walking the dog this lunchtime (30th April 2020) we heard our first cuckoo of the year (Cuculus canorus) across the Warwickshire fields.
The RSPB website highlights the rapid decline of this bird which is now considered a red list species but its sound is so evocative of early spring and summer. It has a slim hawk- like shape with sharply pointed wingtips. The adults typically arrive in April with the adults leaving again in July with the young leaving in September.
It is well known of course for its remarkable habit of laying eggs in the nests of other birds and subcontracting the care of eggs and young to small songbirds.
Cuckoo song:
Audio credit: David Farrow, Xeno-canto
Photo credit: Vedant Raju Kasambe / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
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The cry is very evocative (but secretly I kind of hate them – I know I shouldn’t it’s natural and all that!) Wonderful picture!
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