Cuckoos are summer visitors to Europe from tropical Africa. They arrive between mid-April and early May, when you can hear their well-known cu-ckoo song in many parts of the countryside.
Adult Cuckoos are among the earliest of our summer visitors to leave. They don't need to stay around to rear their young, so they are free to go. Most leave Europe during July. Young Cuckoos leave about one month later, when they are fully fledged. They never see their parents.
We don’t know much about Cuckoo migration routes. They probably travel down through central Europe to the south of Italy, where they "refuel" before crossing to Africa. In Africa, Cuckoos never sing, so most probably go unnoticed.
