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The Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is of the family Cuculidae which is in the genus Cuculus. It is a summer visitor to Eurasia that spends the winter in sub Saharan Africa as well as parts of southern Asia.
This species mimics the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) both in size and appearance. It doesn't build a nest of its own but instead it is a brood parasite specialising in laying single eggs in the nests of other species, typicially that of Dunnock (Prunella modularis), Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) or Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus). Its eggs, although larger, mimic the colour of the hosts eggs.
Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) distribution map
Breeding - summer Non breeding - winter
SanoAK: Alexander Kürthy, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons