Cuckoo laying

[cragman 2,832]

Watched a female cuckoo lay her egg yesterday afternoon. It was a long day on the moor, but I got my reward. It took her twenty minutes to find the nest, lay and leave. 

[tatsblisters 10,842]

Great find. What bird has the cuckoo laid its egg in its nest mate.

[cragman 2,832]

7 hours ago, tatsblisters said:

Great find. What bird has the cuckoo laid its egg in its nest mate.

Meadow Pipit tabs. I didn’t have to work hard finding it, I watched her laying 

[mackem 29,290]

3 hours ago, cragman said:

Meadow Pipit tabs. I didn’t have to work hard finding it, I watched her laying 

There's maybe 5 or 6 nests on display in the zoological museum in London,different clutches of eggs,but each nest contains a cuckoo egg.

[tatsblisters 10,842]

38 minutes ago, mackem said:

There's maybe 5 or 6 nests on display in the zoological museum in London,different clutches of eggs,but each nest contains a cuckoo egg.

Would love to see that mate. Must be one of the marvels of nature how a cuckoo can lay an egg in another birds nest and the single egg is similar in colour to the eggs of the host birds nest. 

[mackem 29,290]

2 minutes ago, tatsblisters said:

Would love to see that mate. Must be one of the marvels of nature how a cuckoo can lay an egg in another birds nest 

There's a small number of other birds around the world do similar,known as brood parasites.

[tatsblisters 10,842]

Just now, mackem said:

There's a small number of other birds around the world do similar,known as brood parasites.

Often wondered how many species of birds the cuckoo will lay an egg in their nests. I know when we were kids bird nesting when finding a dunnocks nest or a reed warbler always hoped they would be a cuckoo's egg in the nest but we never found one. 

[cragman 2,832]

1 minute ago, tatsblisters said:

Often wondered how many species of birds the cuckoo will lay an egg in their nests. I know when we were kids bird nesting when finding a dunnocks nest or a reed warbler always hoped they would be a cuckoo's egg in the nest but we never found one. 

Hi tabs, they’lll lay in a few. You’ll get Robin/cuckoos,  Dunnock/CC, Reed Warbler/CC  pied wagtail/CC pipit/CC etc and these will specialise in only one species. They may be others that drop an egg anywhere in the above birds nests. I think 50 odd birds have been recorded as being parasitised, but only a few are used regularly, as above. …insect feeders and eaters

[cragman 2,832]

20 minutes ago, tatsblisters said:

Would love to see that mate. Must be one of the marvels of nature how a cuckoo can lay an egg in another birds nest and the single egg is similar in colour to the eggs of the host birds nest. 

And size. The cuckoo is a large bird but it’s egg in comparison is tiny, otherwise the host bird couldn’t brood it

[gnipper 6,711]

It's also mad how the cuckoo chick instinctively knows to turf the others out.

[Bangersanmash 4,561]

11 hours ago, gnipper said:

It's also mad how the cuckoo chick instinctively knows to turf the others out.

Crazy how they lift them on their backs and push with the legs. Youve to feel for the other chicks on the floor. But that's nature a cruel world.