News

SANParks Honorary Ranger, Japie Claassen, says that while patrolling along the Park”s boundary fence on the Loxton Road outside Beaufort West at the end of January, he stumbled across the beautiful Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) and formerly known as the European Cuckoo – the first sighting of this bird in the Park. The Common Cuckoo has been the centrepiece of cuckoo clocks since the early 1600″s – with its signature call striking on the hour, every hour.

Claassen says they are relatively quiet – not heard often in South Africa. They originate in Europe and are seldom seen in the Karoo areas. They feed on large, hairy black and white caterpillars, usually found on Acacia trees.

The Common Cuckoo spotted inside Karoo National Park recently.
Photographer: Japie Claassen

Issued by:
South African National Parks (SANParks) Frontier Region Communications

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Fayroush Ludick
Regional Manager: Communications, SANParks
Cell: 082 888 0201
Email: [email protected]