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Cuckoo, Common (Cuculus canorus)
(Formerly known as European cuckoo.)

The Common Cuckoo is a dove-sized bird, 32–34 centimetres (13–13 in) long (tail 13–15 cm) and wingspan 55–60 cm.
It is greyish with a slender body and long tail and could be mistaken as a falcon in flight. There is also a rufous colour phase which occurs occasionally in adult females but more often in juveniles.

It is a brood parasite, which lays its eggs in the nests of other bird species, particularly of Dunnocks, Meadow Pipits, and Eurasian Reed Warblers.

At the appropriate moment, the hen cuckoo flies down to the Reed Warblers' nest, pushes one Reed Warbler egg out of the nest, lays an egg and flies off. The whole process is achieved in only about 10 seconds.





This one was photographed in The Netherlands, but it will soon take flight to the south again.
Oddly, here it's a very hard bird to see (it is in fact the first I have ever seen) but you can hear it for miles. And in South Africa it never seems to call...

Thanks for the info DuQues,

Didn't know it's so hard to see them over there, and the 10sec is quite impressive!
I heard one calling once in Germany but it was exactly as you said, couldn't find it, very high up in a pine forest...

Just to add a comment - this is a juvenile cuckoo, a form you'll probably never see in South Africa.

One of the biggerst mysteries/wonders of the animal kingdom
Parents are already on their way to southern africa, while the youngster must find
it on its own and come back to area where it was born the next season
No parents to lead the way
And they do

This young cuckoo landed in my garden exhausted last year. The only one I've ever seen though I hear them close by every year.

Wow! Nice photo!

Not sure if this is a African or Common cuckoo - I don't see the African cuckoo topic on this forum. The bill doesn't have a prominent yellow base - so I take it is a common cuckoo.

I saw it one week ago in Mokala park near Kimberley. He/she sat for a few minutes for me to take a few shots and then some smaller birds didn't like it presence - so it was chased away