{"id":428,"date":"2020-07-22T09:01:18","date_gmt":"2020-07-22T08:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offaspress.co.uk\/in-the-sticks\/?p=428"},"modified":"2020-07-22T09:33:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-22T08:33:00","slug":"going-cuckoo-for-cuckoos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offaspress.co.uk\/in-the-sticks\/going-cuckoo-for-cuckoos\/","title":{"rendered":"Going Cuckoo For Cuckoos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The cuckoo has undoubtedly found its way into the collective psyche of our nation. Most of us are aware of their unusual way of breeding, and for centuries it\u2019s inspired folklore, literature, and art, as well as poems, songs, and nursery rhymes. For example, Sumer Is Icumen In, <\/em>sometimes known as The Cuckoo Song, <\/em>is a medieval song heralding the appearance of summer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sumer is icumen in
Lhude sing cuccu!
Groweth sed and bloweth med
And springth the wude nu.
Sing, cuccu!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anon<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n

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LISTEN TO THE SONG<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This part of the song details flowers growing, meadows and woods coming into life, and cuckoos singing. The common or European cuckoo is often known as the \u2018first sign of summer\u2019 in the UK, migrating in from Africa in April and calling loudly to mate. Most of us will remember hearing the first cuckoo of the year as children, when the weather was warming up and blossom was dazzling on trees in mid or late spring. You might have even sung some cuckoo nursery rhymes, such as this famous one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wire briar, limber lock
Three geese in a flock
One flew east and one flew west
One flew over the cuckoo\u2019s nest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anon<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n

\"Adult
Adult Cuckoo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Which of course, is inaccurate, as cuckoos are famous for laying their eggs in other birds\u2019 nests. Species such as linnets, dunnocks, larks and various warblers and pipits can find a new, larger egg in amongst their own. The cuckoo is an expert in \u2018mimicry\u2019 \u2013 because of their grey barred plumage, they resemble sparrowhawks, enabling the females to visit nests while the parents stay at a distance. Birds from different genetic groups prefer different \u2018hosts\u2019, and their eggs match these birds\u2019 in colour and pattern. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cuckoo deserts her egg in the host nest and leaves it for the other birds to bring up. This can lead to an almost comical image of a chick much larger than its adopted parents, spilling out of the nest as the mother and father perch on its back to feed it. The chicks also have a call which sounds like multiple chicks, to trick the parents into thinking they have a full brood. Once they have mated and laid their eggs, the cuckoos usually fall silent for a couple of weeks, returning to Africa in July or August to overwinter in the warmer climate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cuckoo Chick being fed by host parent<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Despite fond memories of hearing cuckoos calling, many of us will have noticed a decline in cuckoos over the years. In fact, data from the British Trust for Ornithology showed cuckoos have shifted north but declined overall in the UK, with a 70% drop in summer residents in England since the 1990s, and a 30% rise in Scotland (where the cuckoo is sometimes known as a \u2018gowk\u2019)<\/em>. Several explanations have been considered, including agricultural changes impacting numbers of host species and food species (moth caterpillars). Simon Fletcher explores this phenomenon in his poem \u2018Last Cuckoos\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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