Cuculus canorus
Silhouette: Nicolas Huet le Jeune and Jean-Gabriel Prêtre (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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.
The species' binomial name is derived from the Latin cuculus (the cuckoo) and canorus (melodious; from canere, meaning "to sing"). The cuckoo family gets its common name and genus name by onomatopoeia for the call of the male common cuckoo. The English word "cuckoo" comes from the Old French cucu, and its earliest recorded usage in English is from around 1240, in the song Sumer Is Icumen In. The song is written in Middle English, and the first two lines are "Svmer is icumen... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jinhua | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 2 | Srinagar | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Jinan | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | Kathmandu | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 5 | Beijing | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 6 | Shijiazhuang | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 7 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 8 | Kyiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 9 | Daejeon | 🇰🇷 South Korea | |
| 10 | Budapest | 🇭🇺 Hungary |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Korkeasaari Zoo | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 2 | Beijing Wildlife Park | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 3 | Ogród Zoologiczny w Katowicach | 🇵🇱 Poland |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Common Cuckoo sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 123rd most-seen of the 223 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Cuckoo in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February to December, the lowest months. That is one of Table Mountain National Park's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain against 110 mm in June.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Cuckoo sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
42nd of 65
Of the 65 parks where we can rate Common Cuckoo sightings, Table Mountain National Park ranks 42nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Białowieża National Park (Poland, about 50%), Biebrza National Park (Poland, about 40%) and Fertő-Hanság National Park (Hungary, about 40%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Cuckoo is recorded against all the birds logged in Table Mountain National Park (5 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
