|
|
 |
|
The cuckoo arrives in Ireland from Africa in mid or late April. It can be recognized by its grey head and breast and bars on its white underside. Most birds build a nest of some sort and spend a great deal of time and energy rearing its young chicks. The cuckoo sings in May and in June she changes her tune and in July she flies away. It tells the brief story of the Cuckoos stay in Ireland. The young Cuckoo is so noisy and demanding when it is hungry other parent birds. sometimes drop food into its gaping beak just to shut it up.A young Cuckoo with its first set of speckled grey feathers can be four times larger than its foster parents.One of the most comical sights you are likely to see in a field or garden is that of a parent songbird standing on a young Cuckoos back as it drops food into its mouth. The blackcap and the flycatcher have learned to abandon their nests and try breeding afresh if they find a Cuckoos egg. By Ross Kennedy. |
|
|