Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) [XC651437]
by Huw Lloyd from Bishops Wood, near Chipnall, Shropshire\/Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom (song)
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) [XC728701]
by Cureau Herv\u00e9 from Soug\u00e9al, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, Poland (song)
Nest
None. Eggs are laid in the nest of the host which is usually a Hedge Accentor (Prunella modularis), Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) or Eurasian Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus).
Eggs (Guide)
As many as 25 layed in different nests; variable, often closely resembling that of the host, although usually larger. Incubation: about 12 days. The shortness of the incubation period almost guarentees that the cuckoos egg will hatch first and thus increase the chances of its survival.
Subspecies
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
canorus Linnaeus, 1758 - Europe, east to Kamchatka, south to Turkey, Iraq and Iran.
bangsi Oberholser, 1919 - Spain, Balearic Island and north-western Africa.
subtelephonus Zarudny, 1914 - Iran, Afghanistan, through northern Pakistan and Kashmir, eastern shore of Caspian Sea to Mongolia, China and Japan.
bakeri Hartert, 1912 - Himalayas, Assam and southern China.
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7
BirdLife International Species Factsheet