Hi Everyone,
Our theme for the next two weeks is Birds. The Irish for Cuckoo is - Cuach.
While I was out in The Bog I could hear the call of the Cuckoo. If you listen really carefully you can hear it on the video recording.When you hear the Cuckoo in Ireland, people say that it is a sign that Spring has arrived as this is when it leaves Africa.
The Cuckoo is a migrating bird. This means that for half of the year, it lives in one part of the world and for the other half it migrates or moves to live in a different part of the world.
I didn’t manage to spot him though as he is very clever at hiding. I have added a photo so you know what he looks like. The Cuckoo has a blue/ grey head and white underneath with black bars. It's wings are spotted and it has two yellow feet.
When the male calls out, it makes a low sound like coo- coo coo coo-coo! However, the female sound is very different. You can listen to the Cuckoo's song on the video.
It is similar to other birds as it likes to live in woodland near farms, bogs or along the coast. It eats insects and caterpillars are one of it's favourite meals!
However, it is quite different to other birds in one way- it does not build it's own nest, but takes a another birds instead!!!
Once it finds a next to live in, it removes any eggs that are already in it to make room for it's own egg.
It really is a very cheeky bird.
Lots of love,
Ms. Deery xox
