Cuckoo
Cuculus canorus
Length 33cm
Males's familiar cuck-oo call heard more often than bird itself is seen for six weeks or so after arrival in late April; female utters bubbling call. Secretive but sometimes perches on fenceposts. In low-level flight, recalls sparrowhawk. Male and most females have grey head and upperparts, underparts being white and barred. Juvenile and some females have brown, barred plumage, juvenile with pale nape patch. Widespread in Britain and Ireland. Nest parasite of songbirds.