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Cuckoo Facts & Worksheets

The Cuckoo is a member of the Cuculidae family of birds. Medium-sized, slender, arboreal, or terrestrial birds

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Cuckoos are birds that are a part of the Cuculidae family, the only taxon that falls under the Cuculiformes order. Anis, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, and coucals are all examples of species that belong to the cuckoo family.

See the fact file below for more information on the Cuckoo, or you can download our 31-page Cuckoo worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Description

  • Cuckoos are members of the Cuculidae family of birds. Medium-sized, slender, arboreal, or terrestrial birds, they are the only members of the Cuculiformes group.
  • Cuckoos can be found in temperate and tropical climates and live on every continent except Antarctica. They are a diverse family of birds, with over 147 known species. Cuckoo species include the roadrunner, coucal, malkoha, guiro, anis, and coua. 
  • Cuckoos range in size from 6.5 to 36 inches. Gray, brown, green, and blue are among the possible colors of a cuckoo bird. Cuckoos generally have long tails and short wings, and the outer toe of their feet point inward. Also, the cuckoo bird’s beak is tiny and slants downward slightly.

Cuckoo Species

  • There are two primary body forms of a cuckoo: arboreal species with short tarsi, like the common cuckoo, and terrestrial species with long tarsi, like roadrunners. 
  • Nearly all cuckoo species have long tails, which serve as rudders or aid in steering in the air when the animal is in the treetops. Migrational cuckoos, such as the black-billed cuckoo, have long, narrow wings capable of powerful straight flight, but terrestrial and stationary cuckoos, such as the coucal and malkoha, have shorter, rounder wings and a more arduous gliding flight.
  • The cuckoos of the Old World belong to the brood-parasitic Cuculinae subfamily. They have long tails, tiny legs, and long, narrow wings and inhabit an arboreal environment. The channel-billed cuckoo, the most prominent member of its family, also has the most significant bill, which resembles a hornbill.
  • The non-parasitic cuckoos of the Old World are members of the Phaenicophaeus subfamily, which consists of the couas, malkohas, and ground cuckoos. They have long, strong legs and short, rounded wings, making them more terrestrial. The feathers and exposed skin around the eyes of this subfamily tend to be more vivid and colorful.
  • Coucals are an Old World cuckoo subfamily with long tails, tiny legs, and weak wings. The greatest black coucal, almost the size of a channel-billed cuckoo, is a massive, slightly chubby bird.
  • The Coccyzinae subfamily contains many insular species that are arboreal and have long tails. The long-billed roadrunner, which can reach 30 km/h while pursuing prey, is one of the New World ground cuckoos, which, like their Asian counterparts, have long legs and are terrestrial. The last subfamily is the atypical anis, which includes the small clumsy anis and the giant guira cuckoo. Anis are distinguished by their large bills and silky, shiny feathers.
  • Typically, cuckoo feathers are fragile and readily absorb heavy rain. Cuckoos often bask in the sun after a rainstorm, and while drying, the anis hold their wings open like a vulture or cormorant. The family’s plumage is exceptionally diverse. Certain species, particularly brood parasites, have cryptic plumage, while others have dazzling, ornate plumage; this is particularly true of the iridescent Chrysococcyx and the gleaming cuckoos.
  • Certain cuckoos in the species Accipiter have barring on the underside, which appears to terrify potential hosts, allowing the female to gain admission to a host nest.

Habitat

  • Cuckoos can now be found on every continent, excluding Antarctica, and are also absent from the coldest regions of the Middle East, North Africa, and the far southwest of South America. They are mostly found as wanderers in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Still, one species nests on several Pacific islands, and another migrates over most of the Pacific in the winter.
  • Cuculinae is the most widespread subfamily of cuckoos, with representatives throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Oceania. Malkohas and Asian ground cuckoos are endemic to southern Asia, couas are endemic to Madagascar, and yellow bills are widespread throughout Africa. Coucals are distributed worldwide, from Africa through tropical Asia to Australia and the Solomon Islands.
  • The remaining three subfamilies are distributed throughout North and South America and the New World. The Coccyzinae is the most northerly distributed of the three subfamilies. They breed in Canada, whereas anis are found as far north as Florida, and conventional ground cuckoos are found in the southwestern United States.
  • A proper environment provides food and a place to reproduce for cuckoos; for brood parasites, an appropriate setting for the host species is essential. Cuckoos are found in a variety of habitats, but the majority of them are found in forests and woods, especially the evergreen rainforests of the tropics. Several species, including the little bronze cuckoo of Australia, several malkohas, coucals, and the suitably named mangrove cuckoo of the New World, reside in or are confined to mangrove forests.
  • The cuckoo nests close to its host bird because of its dependence on it for raising its young. More than 100 species serve as hosts for the cuckoo. They prefer insectivorous birds such as warblers, wagtails, flycatchers, buntings, and chats. Occasionally, they will also select fruit-eating birds since the cuckoo is an insectivore.
  • Few cuckoo species inhabit more open settings, and these broad areas include arid regions such as deserts in the case of the greater roadrunner and pallid cuckoo. To maximize the potential brood hosts, temperate migratory species, such as the common cuckoo, restrict a vast array of habitats.

Migration

  • Even though the vast majority of cuckoos are considered nomads, there are cuckoo species that migrate periodically and even more that migrate only a portion of their range.
  • Breeding species in higher latitudes migrate to warmer regions throughout the winter due to food availability. The long-tailed koel, which breeds in New Zealand, spends the winter in Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. 
  • The yellow-billed and black-billed cuckoos breed in North America before crossing the Caribbean Sea for 4,000 kilometers. 
  • The smaller cuckoo, which goes from Africa to India, and the common cuckoo of Europe, which flies continuously between Europe and central Africa over the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert, are two more long migratory journeys.
  • Common cuckoos undertake extensive migrations, spending the winter in Central Africa before migrating thousands of kilometers to Europe and Africa. 
  • In the spring and summer, they mate and parasitize nests, and then towards the end of September, they migrate to Africa. Some Cuckoo species migrate during the day, such as the channel-billed cuckoo, while others migrate at night, such as the yellow-billed cuckoo.

Behavior and Ecology

  • Except for the anis of America, which has evolved cooperative breeding and other characteristics, most cuckoos are considered solitary species that occasionally occur in couples or groups. 
  • Although most cuckoos are active during the day, many species make their distinctive calls in the evening. Additionally, cuckoos are considered shy and retiring families, and humans frequently observe them throughout the day.
  • Most cuckoos are insectivorous, specializing in more giant insects and caterpillars, particularly nasty hairy types that other birds avoid. Like no other bird, they rub their prey back and forth on complex objects like twigs to begin the digestion process before actually eating it, and then they crush it using bony plates in the back of their mouths. Since birds of prey are uncommon in the Caribbean, lizard cuckoos have adapted to specialize in this food source.
  • Many giant ground-dwelling birds like coucals and roadrunners use their strong beaks to smack other birds and reptiles into submission before devouring them. Ground species can utilize a range of methods to catch prey.
  • Fruit eaters include some koels, couas, and the channel-billed cuckoo, although they are not the only ones. Parasitic koels and channel-billed cuckoos subsist primarily on fruit when fostered by frugivore hosts such as the Australasian figbird and pied currawong. Other species will ingest fruit on occasion. During the dry season, when prey is rare, couas eat fruit.

Breeding Habits

  • Little cuckoos have varied breeding strategies. Although most cuckoo species are monogamous, there are a few outliers. The anis and guira cuckoos nest communally. All members incubate, brood, and defend territory. The anis are monogamous, but the guira cuckoos are polygynandrous. Females compete and may steal other birds’ eggs when laying their own. Anis cuckoos commonly release eggs early in mating season, whereas guira cuckoos can do so anytime.
  • Most cuckoo species, including malkohas, couas, coucals, and roadrunners, build their nests. A limited number engage in brood parasitism. However, coucals lay their eggs on the ground or in low shrubs. Parent cuckoos feed their offspring even when they parasitize other species.
  • All young cuckoos are altricial (require care and feeding by  parents). Certain New World species have the shortest incubation durations of any bird. Non-parasitic cuckoos leave the nest before they can fly.

Brood Parasitism

  • Common cuckoos engage in brood parasitism to avoid raising and feeding their offspring. Common cuckoos are much larger than the birds whose nests they prey on, especially dunnock, meadow pipit, and reed warbler nests. They parasitize other species’ nests and have been observed parasitizing nests of different species.
  • Female cuckoos only lay one egg in their host’s nest and then eat one of the others, so the host will not notice that something changes. The egg is similar to the hosts; however, it is usually a little larger.
  • Cuckoos are aggressive birds that will evict other species whose eggs and chicks hatch before their own. A cuckoo chick mimics the sounds of a big brood to fool its parents. Because of this, the cuckoo chick swiftly puts on weight and grows to be far more advanced than its hosts.

Cuckoo Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about the Cuckoo across 31 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about the Cuckoo, a member of the Cuculidae family of birds. Medium-sized, slender, arboreal, or terrestrial birds.

Cuckoo worksheets: which doesn't belong?
cuckoo worksheets: the cuckoos
cuckoo worksheets: make it right

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  • Cuckoo Facts
  • Which Doesn’t Belong?
  • The Cuckoos
  • Make It Right
  • Biological Species
  • Decoding
  • Behind It
  • The Cuckoo
  • Cuckoo Family
  • Identical Yet Different
  • My Own Cuckoo

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a cuckoo?

A cuckoo is a type of bird known for its distinctive call and brood parasitism, in which it lays its eggs in the nests of other bird species.

How do cuckoos lay their eggs in the nests of other birds?

Cuckoos will often lay their eggs in the nests of other birds when the host birds are not present, carefully timing their egg-laying to match the timing of the host’s own eggs. They will then quickly depart, leaving the host bird to incubate and raise the cuckoo’s chick.

What are some of the bird species that cuckoos commonly lay their eggs in the nests of?

Some common host birds for cuckoos include meadow pipits, reed warblers, and dunnocks.

Do cuckoos raise their own chicks or do they rely on the host birds to do so?

Cuckoos rely on the host birds to incubate and raise their chicks.

Are cuckoos harmful to the host birds and their chicks?

Cuckoos can be harmful to host birds and their chicks, as the cuckoo’s chick often outcompetes the host’s own chicks for food. Additionally, the host birds may expend energy and resources raising the cuckoo’s chick, which can decrease their own reproductive success.

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Link will appear as Cuckoo Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, January 23, 2023

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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