General
Common Cuckoo: Large cuckoo with gray upperparts and paler underparts with dark bars on belly. Wings are dark gray; tail is dark gray with faint spotting on outer edges near base. Female is similar but with buff breast or may be red-brown with dark bars overall. Juvenile is dark gray washed with brown.
Range and Habitat
Common Cuckoo: Native of Eurasia; casual visitor to the Pribilofs and Aleutians; accidental in Massachusetts.
Breeding and Nesting
Common Cuckoo: Nest parasite: eight to twenty-five eggs are laid each season in nests of other species. Incubation ranges from 11 to 13 days and is carried out by host species. Eggs are white or match the color of the host species.
Foraging and Feeding
Common Cuckoo: Eats hairy caterpillars and other insects; forages in open trees and shrubs.
Vocalization
Common Cuckoo: Male sings "coo-koo"; female has a loud chirping, gurgling trill "klu-klu-klu."
Similar Species
Common Cuckoo: Oriental Cuckoo has darker upperparts, paler underparts, and buff undertail coverts.