Jeff Wendorff's photography portfolio of
Cuckoos in the family, Cuculidae.
Cuckoos Wiki The
cuckoos are medium-sized, slender birds. Most species live in trees, though a sizeable minority are ground-dwelling. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority of species being tropical. Some species are migratory. The
cuckoos feed on insects, insect larvae and a variety of other animals, as well as fruit. Some species are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species, but the majority of species raise their own young.
Cuckoos are medium-sized birds that range in size from the little bronze cuckoo, at 17 g and 15 cm (6 inches), to the Channel-billed Cuckoo, at 630 g (1.4 lbs) and 63 cm (25 inches). There is little sexual dimorphism in size, but where it exists, it can be either the male or the female that is larger. One of the most important distinguishing features of the family are the feet, which are zygodactyl, meaning that the two inner toes point forward and the two outer backward. There are two basic body forms, arboreal species (like the common cuckoo) which are slender and have short tarsi, and terrestrial species (like the roadrunners) which are more heavy set and have long tarsi. Almost all species have long tails which are used for steering in terrestrial species and as a rudder during flight in the arboreal species. The wing shape also varies with lifestyle, with the more migratory species like the black-billed cuckoo possessing long narrow wings capable of strong direct flight, and the more terrestrial and sedentary cuckoos like the coucals and malkohas having shorter rounded wings and a more labored gliding flight.
Cuckoos Photographed Diederik Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx caprius Jacobin Cuckoo, Clamator jacobinus Red-chested Cuckoo, Cuculus solitarius White-browed Coucal, Centropus superciliosus Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus Collective Noun Cuckoos The collective noun for a group of cuckoos is a cooch, family or asylum. Of course and asylum of cuckoos is my favorite!
Photography Workshops and Tours If you are cuckoo for birds, then I have the perfect bird photography workshop for you. Take wing over to
Wildlife Workshops for the details.
