The cuckoos are generally medium sized slender birds, ranging in size from 15 cm to 63 cm. Most of them are migratory. The cuckoos feed on insects, insect larvae and a variety of other brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species, but the majority of species raise their own young.
The cuckoos are for the most part solitary birds that seldom occur in pairs or groups. Cuckoos are also generally shy and retiring family, more often heard than seen.
Cuckoo is a quiet and rare bird here in South Africa; it is also silent as opposed to being extremely vocal in Europe. They are often mistaken with the African Cuckoo which looks similar except the undertail part.
The most intersting thing about Cuckoo is that it does not make its' own nest. They plant their eggs into other species' nests. The young Cuckoo hatches before the nesting bird’s own eggs and it pushes out the the eggs of the host.
