THE sketched landscape receives its first wash of colour. As brimstones awake and buds blossom, a large grey bird appears, seemingly from nowhere. It perches on a fence post in the field, surveying its new quarters. From a distance, it could be a kestrel or a sparrowhawk, but the call gives him away: the open bill emits a 'cuck'—there's a fleeting pause-and then the beak closes for the following ‘oo.
The onomatopoeically named bird has been a harbinger of spring in Britain for centuries. Its cry (produced only by the males) is reflected back in our own music. It is an iconic part of the woodland soundscape, highly anticipated as an indicator that we've survived another winter. But it's not only the cuckoo's calls that fascinate. Although thoughts of the bird herald lighter, brighter days for many—'Summer is a-coming in, loudly sing cuckoo!'—it is a warning for meadow pipits, dunnocks and other birds whose nests the cuckoo will appropriate. As the UK's only regular brood interloper, the cuckoo's behaviour is endlessly intriguing and has long been immortalised in art, literature and language.
'The cuckoo's behaviour is intriguing and has long been immortalised in art'
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