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Country diary: Charmed once again by the unscrupulous cuckoo
Murlough Nature Reserve, Dundrum, County Down: Its arrival signals the start of summer, and another cycle of its extraordinary breeding method
TL;DR
- The author observes a cuckoo at Murlough beach, a sign of summer's arrival.
- The cuckoo is described with its physical features and is noted to feed on invertebrates.
- Smaller passerine birds show morbid curiosity towards the cuckoo, sensing its threat.
- The cuckoo is a brood parasite, laying eggs in the nests of host species like the meadow pipit.
- The cuckoo chick ejects its "step-siblings" from the nest, and its foster parents raise it alone.
- The biological parents of the cuckoo return to Africa after laying their eggs.
- The author is charmed by the cuckoo's song and its extraordinary life cycle.