鹃形目

大杜鹃 Common Cuckoo
Cuculus canorus

中型鸟类
体长 32~33 cm

虹膜 /iris

黄色 /yellow

嘴 /bill

黑褐色，下嘴基部近黄色 /dark with yellow base to lower mandible

脚 /legs and feet

棕黄色 /yellow

目 │ 鹃形目CUCULIFORMES 科 │ 杜鹃科Cuculidae

野外识别 │ 雄鸟上体纯暗灰色，两翅暗灰褐色，翅缘具白色端斑，尾黑色、先端缀白色，中央尾羽黑褐色，羽干的两侧有白色细小斑点，两侧尾羽色稍浅、白斑较大。颏到上胸浅灰色，下体余部白色，杂以黑褐色横斑。雌雄外形相似，但雌鸟上体灰色沾褐色，胸棕色。鸣声为“ cuc-coo ”，第二个音节较长和响亮、传播很远，重复 5~10 次。

居留及分布 │ 分布于中国西部和南部、印度、尼泊尔、缅甸、泰国。在南岭为夏候鸟，于乳阳有记录。

生境及习性 │ 栖息于山地、丘陵和平原地带的森林中，以及村庄附近的高大乔木上。性孤独，常单独活动。飞行快速而有力。主要以鳞翅目幼虫为食。繁殖期 5—7 月。无固定配偶，也不自己营巢和孵卵，将卵产于其他鸟的巢中。

Field identification │ A medium-sized cuckoo most easily separated from other similar cuckoos by its well-known song—a loud, far-carrying, frequently repeated two-note cuc-coo . Adult males have a grey head, breast and upperparts (darker grey on subspecies bakeri than on other subspecies), and whitish underparts with distinct blackish bars. Adult females have a grey morph similar to males and also a hepatic morph with the head and upperparts rufous-brown barred blackish. Juveniles have whitish fringes to the upperpart feathers.

Distribution & status │ Breeds widely from Europe and N Africa through SW Asia and Russia to Kamchatka and Japan and in China south to the Yangtze River, and winters in Africa, with a disjunct southern subspecies ( bakeri ) breeding from the Himalayas through N Indochina to southern China and wintering in northeast India and SE Asia. In Nanling, subspecies bakeri is an uncommon summer visitor, recorded at Ruyang.

Habitat & habits │ Common Cuckoos occur in a variety of open and wooded habitats, including hill forests (subspecies bakeri ). Caterpillars form a major part of their diet. They are nest-parasitic, but the host species in Guangdong are unknown.