Listen to the common cuckoo
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the common cuckoo
The common cuckoo is a bird in the family Cuculidae (order Cuculiformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults have a wingspan of about 58 cm and weigh around 106 g.
What does the common cuckoo sound like?
Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once. Songs tend to be long and patterned and are used to hold territory and attract a mate; calls are short signals for contact, alarm and flight.
The recordings here are labelled as song and cuculus canorus. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The cuckoo, common cuckoo, European cuckoo or Eurasian cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals.
This species is a widespread summer migrant to Europe and Asia, and winters in Africa. It is a brood parasite, which means it lays eggs in the nests of other bird species, particularly of dunnocks, meadow pipits, and reed warblers. Although its eggs are larger than those of its hosts, the eggs in each type of host nest resemble the host's eggs. The adult too is a mimic, in its case of the sparrowhawk; since that species is a predator, the mimicry gives the female time to lay her eggs without being attacked.
Related birds in the genus Cuculus
More from the family Cuculidae
Frequently asked questions
What does a common cuckoo sound like?
You can hear 6 recordings of the common cuckoo on this page, including its song and cuculus canorus. Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once.
Is the common cuckoo endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the common cuckoo as “least concern”.
What family does the common cuckoo belong to?
The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) belongs to the family Cuculidae in the order Cuculiformes.
Sources & credits
- Cuculus canorus by Vladimir Yu. Arkhipov, Arkhivov – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) (W1CDR0001463 BD1) – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Anché, Vienne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France by Benoît Van Hecke – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Fontaine-le-Comte, Vienne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France by Benoît Van Hecke – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Kojšovská hoľa, Pálenica, Jedlinka, Slovakia by Alexander Kurthy – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Fontaine-le-Comte, Vienne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France by Benoît Van Hecke – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q18845 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Common cuckoo – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Cuculus_canorus_vogelartinfo_chris_romeiks_CHR0791.jpg : Vogelartinfo derivative work: Bogbumper ( talk ) – GFDL 1.2