Big Cuckoo, alias Kagu, Cuckoo, Zigui, Du Yu, Guo Gong, Yue Gu and so on. It is a Chinese subspecies of the common cuckoo. The body length is about 320 mm and the wing length is about 210 mm.
The large cuckoo has a pale grey-brown forehead, dark silver-gray on the top of the head, pillow to the back of the neck, dark gray on the back, blue-gray over the waist and tail coverts, black-brown central tail feathers, and brown feathers, decorated with fine white spots along the sides of the feather shaft, and mostly distributed in pairs, with white apex at the end, light black-brown on both sides of the tail feathers, white spots on both sides of the feather trunk, and larger white spots, and a series of white spots and white end spots on the inner edge. The inner coverts of the wings are dark grey, and the outer coverts and flight feathers are dark brown. The feathers are dry black-brown , with white transverse spots near the margin of the inner wing of the primary feather , and a white wing margin with dark brown fine markings. The lower body chin, larynx, fore neck, upper thorax, and the side of the head and neck are pale grey, the rest of the lower body is white, mixed with black-brown fine and narrow transverse spots, only 1-2 mm wide, and the transverse spots are 4-5 mm apart; the thorax and flank transverse spots are wider, and the coverts of the abdomen and tail are thinner and thinner.
The male has a pure dark gray upper body; the two wings are dark brown, the wing margins are white and mixed with brown spots; the tail is black, the apex is white; the central tail feathers have white fine dots along the sides of the feather trunk; the chin, throat, upper chest, and head and neck are light gray on both sides, and the rest of the lower body is white, mixed with black-brown transverse spots. The males and females are similar in appearance, but the upper body of the female is gray and brown, and the thorax is brown.
The crown , hind neck , dorsal and wings are dark brown , and each feather has a white end margin , forming scaly spots , with a fine head , neck , and upper back , and broader lower back and wings. The flight feathers have white transverse spots on the inside, the waist and tail coverts are dark grayish brown with white end margins, the tail feathers are black with white end spots, the feather shaft and sides are white patches, and the outer tail feathers are larger in white patches. The chin, throat, side of the head, and upper thorax are dark brown with white patches and transverse spots, and the rest of the lower body is white with black-brown transverse spots.
The iris is yellow, the mouth is dark brown, and the base of the lower mouth is nearly yellow. The feet are brownish yellow.
Rhododendrons inhabit forests in mountainous, hilly and plain areas, and sometimes on tall trees near farmland and settlements.
Sexual loneliness, often alone. Fly fast and powerful, always following straight lines. The wings vibrate more amplitude during flight, but there is no sound. During breeding, he likes to sing, and often stands on the top branches of trees and sings endlessly. Sometimes at night, it also chirps or chirps while flying, and the call is so poignant and loud that you can hear its rough and monotonous sound of "cuckoo-cuckoo" from a distance, which can be repeated 20 times per minute.
It feeds mainly on pine caterpillars , the dancing poison moth , the pine needle leaf moth , and other lepidopteran larvae. It also eats other insects such as locusts, walking beetles, kowtows, and bees.
The breeding period of the great cuckoo is from May to July. Courtship is when male and female birds jump around on branches, fly up and down to chase each other, and make low "huh-huh-huh- calls." After that, the female bird stands on the branch and does not move, the wings are half down, the head is extended forward, the male bird then flies to the back of the female bird, trembling wings for cross-tail, 2-3 minutes later, the male bird flies away from the female bird, stops at 30-40 meters away, stops slightly to fly to the female bird, and also sees 3 large cuckoos chasing the phenomenon of mates together.
The great cuckoo does not have a fixed mate, nor does it nest and incubate its own eggs, but lays its eggs in the nests of various birds of the order, such as reed warblers, sparrows, gray magpies, berau, brown-headed crows, northern red-tailed plovers, brown fantail warblers, etc., which are incubated for them.
It inhabits open woodland, especially near water. Often in the morning, 24-26 times per minute, continuous chirping for half an hour before resting slightly. Sexual cowardice, often lurking among the leaves.
Usually only the sound is heard, and it is rare to see it. Fly fast, follow a straight line, and often glide for a distance before stopping. Feeds on Lepidoptera larvae, beetles, spiders, snails, etc. The amount of food is large, which plays a considerable role in eliminating pests!
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