Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) [XC758180]
by Hazel Reeves from Harwood Forest, Northumberland, England, Netherlands (song)
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) [XC723681]
by Romuald Mikusek from Gmina Bystrzyca K\u0142odzka (near Klecienko), K\u0142odzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, France (nocturnal flight call)
Nest
None. Eggs are laid in the nest of the host which is usually a Dunnock (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