cuckoo bird is well known to everyone since childhood, but very few people can say that I saw it.She received its name due to make sounds "cuckoo."The Bulgarians called it "kukovitsa" Germans - "kukuk" Czechs - "kukachka", the French - "cuckoo", Romania - "Cook", the Italians - "Cucolo" Spaniards - "Cuco", and the Turks - "guguk".
Many legends are connected with this bird.According to one of the most common, a woman was the cause of the death of her husband, for which she was punished.God has turned her into a bird, which could not be family.Cuckoo bird life is very unusual, and this were born all beliefs.Not only that bird hatches and brings up posterity, so also kukushata rid of chicks "adoptive parents".In science, this behavior has been called brood parasite.
cuckoo bird very careful.She looks right slot, selects the time and quickly lays an egg in the open slot.If the nest is located in a hollow, it goes the other way.Egg Bird carries somewhere nearby on the ground, and then transfers it to the beak nest boxes.
There is another version of how the cuckoo enclose their eggs in the wrong nest.It works very cheeky.Color and size similar to a hawk cuckoo bird.Picture shows it is good.Flying low over the nest, it flushes the birds, causing them to hide in the bushes, and at this time lays an egg.Surprisingly, male, drawing the attention of the home nest to itself, helps her.
Putting one egg a few nests (and cuckoo eggs can be up to 25), it is "in good conscience" is sent for the winter, as a rule, in South Africa.Adults fly very early, sometime in July, and the young - much later.
Kukushonok hatch before their brethren.1-2 days enough for him to get comfortable.He has a blind (eyes open only on the fifth day), naked, but strong.It weighs 3 grams and 6 grams can lift.Instinct ejection he was awake, so cuckoo push out everything it touches bare back, which even has a special ploschadochka.Help yourself fledgling wings, it pushes the egg adoptive parents.
instinct operates 3-4 days, then fades.If during this time he did not throw their competitors, they are still doomed, because they can not see the food, all the cuckoo brought to intercept.A "foster parents" do not notice the changes in the nest and feed the foundling with amazing zeal.
The real reason for this behavior became known not so long ago.It turns out that yellow mouth cuckoo and the bright red color of the pharynx is a strong signal, not only forcing "foster parents", but other birds flying with food for their chicks, feed his name.At the same time no one takes into account the huge size of the chick.Kukushonok become independent only 1.5 months after leaving the nest.
Bird puts the cuckoo eggs, usually in nests of smaller Ptah.Each specializes in a particular form - flycatcher, redstart, robins, warblers, and others.Surprisingly, she carries the eggs similar in color and size to those delays' foster mother. "Bird cuckoo weighs about 110 grams, it should be egg have a weight of 15 grams, but it weighs approximately 3 grams, that is the same as that of the birds weighing 10-12 grams.
Bird puts the cuckoo egg is not from lack of maternal instinct, but rather the opposite, taking care of the young, because they want to eat constantly, so they are not easy to bring up.Destroy as many chicks of different species of birds, cuckoo redeems all his fault.One hour for the adult is able to eat up to 100 tracks, including "hairy", which ignores other birds.And with such intensity it can "work" for a long time.And if there are many in the forest pest, the bird will "work" without interruption until it destroys all.Moreover, in the "feast" Cuckoo's flock from miles around.It turns out that one cuckoo bird can destroy much more harmful to insects than would eat all the lost cuckoo bird.
