Egg Rejection Did Not Clearly Increase After Cuckoo Arrival in Two Host Species
Grey bushchats and Siberian stonechats showed no clear increase in foreign-egg rejection after common cuckoos arrived. The result…
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News about Common Cuckoo
Research, conservation and important developments connected to this species.
Models Highlighted Iberian Mountains and the Po Watershed as Key Stopover Regions for UK Common Cuckoos
Models based on satellite tracks from 88 UK-breeding male common cuckoos highlighted Iberian mountain ranges and the Po…
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89% of Recorded Common Cuckoo Egg-laying at Great Reed Warbler Nests Occurred After 14:00
Across five breeding seasons in the Czech Republic, video documented 200 Common Cuckoo egg-laying events at 132 Great…
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Nine Cuckoos Were Tagged Across Britain and Ireland for the 2026 Tracking Season
BTO and NPWS tagged nine common cuckoos in England, Scotland and Ireland for the 2026 tracking season, adding…
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Foster-Host Diet Differences Covaried With Gut Microbiome Differences in Common Cuckoo Nestlings
Common Cuckoo nestlings reared by three host species received different prey communities; the more their diets differed, the…
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Reed Warblers Long Separated From Cuckoos Showed Weaker Host Defences
Field experiments in Finland and Sicily found weak anti-cuckoo defences in common reed warblers living outside regular cuckoo…
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More Egg Inspection Predicted Recognition but Not Ejection in a Cuckoo Host
In 96 experimental trials, daurian redstarts increased inspection of their clutch after a cuckoo-like egg was added. More…
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Two Bunting Hosts Mainly Used an Egg Template to Recognise Foreign Eggs
Experiments published in 2026 found that Godlewski's and yellow-throated buntings mainly used template-based egg recognition, but rejection declined…
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Common Cuckoos Were Filmed Destroying Parrotbill Clutches During Egg-Laying
Five video-documented cases showed common cuckoos swallowing, breaking or carrying away eggs from vinous-throated parrotbill nests during the…
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Cuckoos Use Two Different Strategies to Lay Eggs in Redstart Nests
Video from Finnish redstart nest boxes provides the first direct evidence that common cuckoos use two egg-laying strategies,…
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Foreign Egg Patterns Caused Short-term Changes in Egg Recognition by Grey Bushchats
Experiments with grey bushchats in China published in 2026 found that recent experience with foreign egg patterns changed…
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Common Cuckoos Removed Red Model Eggs in 92% of Recorded Choices
A 2026 field experiment found that common cuckoos preferred removing red rather than green model eggs in 92%…
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Great Reed Warblers Showed Similar Vigilance to Cuckoo, Sparrowhawk and Turtle Dove Calls
Playback experiments in two great reed warbler populations found similarly high vigilance to common cuckoo, Eurasian sparrowhawk and…
Read story →Common Cuckoos Showed No Egg-Matching Preference When Choosing Host Nests
Field experiments in northeastern China found no evidence that common cuckoos chose Oriental reed warbler nests according to…
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Grey Bushchats Rejected Foreign Eggs More Often Before Their Own Egg-Laying Began
A 2026 study found that grey bushchats rejected foreign eggs more often before their own laying began and…
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Female Common Cuckoos Gave No Bubbling Call in 282 of 284 Recorded Parasitism Events
Across 284 video-recorded common cuckoo parasitism events in China and the Czech Republic, no bubbling call was detected…
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Cuckoo Calls Did Not Change Egg Rejection by Red-backed Shrikes
At 63 red-backed shrike nests in eastern Poland, 88.9% of artificial cuckoo eggs were rejected. Hearing calls from…
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Common Cuckoos Used Host Activity to Find Concealed Daurian Redstart Nests
Eight years of monitoring and a nestbox experiment in Liuzhi, Guizhou, found that common cuckoos used active Daurian…
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Yearling Common Cuckoos Carried Fewer Feather Mites Than Adults
Yearling common cuckoos carried fewer feather mites than adults, supporting physical contact between breeding cuckoos as the main…
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Oriental Reed Warbler Nest Defence Against Cuckoos Showed No Clear Decline From Early Incubation to the Nestling Stage
An experiment at 98 oriental reed warbler nests in Jilin, northeastern China, found no clear decline in defence…
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