Who is a cuckoo: what it looks like, what lifestyle it leads, reproduction features and its role in the ecosystem

The cuckoo is a fairly popular bird that is known for its insidious habits. After all, how can one call the behavior of a bird that throws real parasites into the nests of other birds, which not only engage in dependency on the neck of “foster parents”, but also kill their real children. This is pure arrogance. God forbid someone be similar in character to a cuckoo. However, such mothers do exist.

Many people are interested in what a cuckoo looks like. Well, the question is really very interesting and answering it is a matter of honor, so to speak. The cuckoo has a rather expressive appearance, so it cannot be confused with other birds. From the very beginning, you need to figure out what this bird is so characteristic of, where it lives, and so on.

Who is this cuckoo?

The cuckoo is a bird quite common in the world. She lives both in Asia and other countries. Even in South Africa, she settles. That’s why she can screw up the life of the feathered almost anywhere on earth. Here is such a bird, it turns out. If you need to describe how the cuckoo looks, then there is nothing difficult about it. Remembering information is very easy. In length, her body reaches 40 centimeters. This is a fairly large bird.

If she straightens her wings, then their span will be half the length of the body of this bird. So with the flight she will never have problems. Due to the anatomical features of the wing, it is not surprising that the chicks in less than a month mature to the point that they can fly out of the nest and forget about their adoptive parents forever.

Despite the rather large size, the cuckoo is a fairly light bird. Its weight reaches a maximum of one hundred and twenty grams. If compared with some other objects, it turns out that the weight of the cuckoo is not much more than that of a mobile phone. Or rather, the same one, if we are talking about a regular mobile device that can install some applications and surf the Internet. It is clear that a regular phone is lighter. But for a smartphone, this weight is typical.

The cuckoo has a very long tail. It also helps the bird in flight. If the wings are necessary in order to stay in the air, gliding above the ground, then the tail acts as a rudder. That’s why cuckoo can be called quite maneuverable bird. Everything, as it turns out, because of the tail. Its length is about 20 centimeters. That is, it turns out that half of the bird’s body is the tail. Just imagine.

Despite the lightness of the body, it is quite dense. In general, it is surprising that such a bird with sufficiently large dimensions and a dense body turns out to be light. The cuckoo is also characterized by its small legs. Maybe it contributes to the weight. However, the bird should be light. Otherwise, the wind simply will not pick it up and it will not fly. It’s just that birds with such a large size are so light, that’s what’s amazing.

In general, the cuckoo has a dense body and short legs. It is this combination of features characterizes the bird as a recognizable image, and it is so recognizable that even in Russian folk tales it is popularized.

Cuckoos, like other birds, there is sexual dimorphism. If someone does not know, then these are the external differences between the male and the female. Sexual dimorphism is also characteristic of humans. This is a sign of the biological development of a certain species. What distinguishes a male from a female? Like many other animals, males can differ from females in plumage. Let’s compare males with females in terms of traits. But from the very beginning it is necessary to list what distinctive features males have in appearance.

1. Back and tail. In males, these parts of the body have a dark gray plumage. it makes the cuckoo invisible to some birds under certain conditions. These birds must be able to disguise themselves not only so that their predators do not notice, but also to lay and track down the nest. So you will not find bright colors in cuckoos.
2. The goiter and throat are light gray in color. This combination looks pretty nice together with the dark gray colors of the back and tail. It turns out that this is a slightly transitional color, which makes the cuckoo a smoothly shaded bird.
3. The rest of the body is white with dark stripes.

Females have brownish tones, unlike males. It is by them that one animal can be distinguished from another. However, if both sexes are young, then their sex color differences are not particularly noticeable. They haven’t developed pigment yet, so the color of young birds is light gray and there are stripes all over the body. In general, we figured out what a cuckoo looks like. Now let’s talk a little about other aspects of her life.

Life

The phrase “lone wolf” could be completely replaced by “lone cuckoo”. The fact is that wolves most often lead a social lifestyle, they have packs in which there is a clear hierarchy. What can not be said about cuckoos. They definitely lead a solitary life. They search for food all their lives and communicate with other birds only when mating is necessary. They do not build nests. Everyone knows that cuckoos lay their eggs and force other birds to nurse their chicks.

The cuckoo is only engaged in looking for food for itself. Not a very pleasant pastime, is it? Nevertheless, this is a fact. Also, these birds are looking for parents for their chicks. They look closely at the nests of other birds for a very long time, due to which a number of psychophysiological reactions appear in their body, thanks to which the eggs are the same in color as those of those to whom the eggs were thrown.

What then is useful cuckoo? And the fact that she eats caterpillars or any other pests. This helps the forest a lot. At the same time, birds of prey can greatly ruin the cuckoo’s life. So the regulation of the number of populations occurs due to the presence of birds of prey in the forest.

Reproduction

The marriage relationship that cuckoos have is called polygyny. The male calls cuckoos with special sounds, thanks to which the birds throw 4-5 eggs per year. Actually, communication between cuckoos occurs just during reproduction. By communication is meant not so much communication as interaction. Communication in animals is the exchange of signals, and interaction is the exchange of actions.

After the egg has entered the nest, it matures a few weeks faster, thanks to which cuckoos are born, who are several times larger than their adoptive parents, who have to feed this miracle. Unnecessary cuckoo eggs are thrown away. This fact was taught to us in schools. But twenty days later, the grown cuckoos leave the nest and no longer see their parents.

How do cuckoo chicks behave in nests?

Cuckoos behave, it turns out, quite aggressively in relation not only to eggs, but also to their parents. They are very similar to stupid teenagers who have already exceeded their parents in size, but at the same time, the brain is not much different from children. It’s the same with cuckoos. They aggressively demand all attention to themselves.

What are the characteristic elements of cuckoo behavior?

1. This bird is not aggressive in itself. Even the behavior of the chicks of this animal can be explained by the fact that they need to somehow survive in the absence of a mother.
2. Cuckoos are strict individualists and selfish. However, they can live quite well.

Since the dimensions of the cuckoo are much larger than those of other chicks, then they need a lot more foodthan other chicks to maintain a fulfilling life with the correct body weight. Therefore, cuckoo chicks also hunt to take food from other chicks that somehow managed to survive. Here is such an interesting bird – a cuckoo. It also has benefits. When the population of any animal is too large, then this is bad. And cuckoos influence the population of other birds not even through the food chain, but in such an interesting way.

There are no unnecessary animals. There are only undiscovered secrets of the animal world.