By Obiabin Onukwugha
Cuckoos are generally medium-sized, slender birds that mostly live in trees, though a sizeable minority are ground-dwelling. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, with majority of species tropical, while some species are migratory.
Yorubas in Nigeria call it “òdèrè”, Hausas call it “kuka”. Farmers are migratory birds and the arrival of the cuckoo in April traditionally heralded the coming of summer – to the point where it was popularly believed that the bird actually brought summer with it.
The cuckoos are, for the most part, solitary birds that seldom occur in pairs or groups. For the most part, the cuckoos are also diurnal as opposed to nocturnal, but many species call at night.
The cuckoos feed on insects, insect larvae, and a variety of other animals, as well as fruit. They are unusual among birds in processing their prey prior to swallowing, rubbing it back and forth on hard objects such as branches and then crushing it with special bony plates in the back of the mouth.
Larger, ground types, such as coucals and roadrunners, also feed variously on snakes, lizards, small rodents, and other birds, which they bludgeon with their strong bills. Ground species may employ different techniques to catch prey.
Most cuckoos species are monogamous, but exceptions exist. The anis and the guira cuckoo lay their eggs in communal nests, which are built by all members of the group. Incubation, brooding, and territorial defence duties are shared by all members of the group.
Some species are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species and giving rise to the metaphor “cuckoo’s egg”, but most species raise their own young. The cuckoo egg in this case, hatches earlier than the host eggs, and the cuckoo chick grows faster; in most cases, the chick evicts the eggs and/or young of the host species.
The presence of common cuckoo in an ecosystem indicates functional diversity within a bird community, by influencing how much of an ecosystem is available to birds and where the birds can exist.
Cuckoo can live up to ten years.
Predators of adult black-billed cuckoos include hawks and falcons.
Cuckoos have played a role in human culture for thousands of years, appearing in Greek mythology as sacred to the goddess Hera. In Europe, the cuckoo is associated with spring.
A Mexican folktale tells the story of a beautiful bird named Cuckoo, who loves to sing all night and day. When the other birds in the forest need help planting seeds, Cuckoo does not help them, but continues to sing instead. After the planting, the birds sleep deeply and do not notice the raging fire threatening to burn all the seeds. Cuckoo sacrificed her beautiful singing voice and colorful feathers to save the seeds. Since then who was previously perceived to be frivolous, has been seen to have more courage than the birds ever imagined.