It's time to listen out for nature's most cunning tricksters, which have just arrived in fresh in from Africa.
Cuckoos are notoriously parasitic, finding foster nests for its eggs and tricking other birds into raising its chicks. Favourite hosts include meadow pipits, dunnocks, pied wagtails and reed warblers. And, remarkably, different female cuckoos will target different species. One will focus on tricking dunnocks each year and lay matching bright blue eggs. Read more about the cunning cuckoo at http://www.robertefuller.com/RobertEFullersite/wildlife-diary-apr09-cuckoo.htm
Cuckoos are notoriously parasitic, finding foster nests for its eggs and tricking other birds into raising its chicks. Favourite hosts include meadow pipits, dunnocks, pied wagtails and reed warblers. And, remarkably, different female cuckoos will target different species. One will focus on tricking dunnocks each year and lay matching bright blue eggs. Read more about the cunning cuckoo at http://www.robertefuller.com/RobertEFullersite/wildlife-diary-apr09-cuckoo.htm
