GC1Z1PK Red-Crested Three-Toed Pied Cuckoo (Unknown Cache) in North West England, United Kingdom created by PhilPamandRob

This cache has been archived.

Sir PhilPamAndRob: The cache was still in place, but the container was broken.
As the container is key to this, and I don't have a spare, decided to archive.
Took one last picture as the cuckoo was leaving the nest for the last time

For anyone still trying to work this out, cuckoos leave eggs in other nests.
There was an egg with cords in in within the Bough & Arrowe cache

Thanks to all who have found it
PhilPamAndRob

GC1Z1PK ▼

A cache by PhilPamandRob Message this owner

Hidden : 9/27/2009

Difficulty:

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Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

Recently whilst walking on the Wirral we spotted a very unusual bird. It was unlike any other wild bird we’d seen before, and more closely resembled those found in aviaries and zoos. Unfortunately we didn’t have a camera with us so we had to work from memory once we got home. The picture below is the best representation we could come up with based on the short time we observed it.

When we were unable to find anything like it in any bird book, we sent details off to an ornithological expert. They believe it to be a rare member of the cuckoo family, the Red-Crested Three-Toed Pied Cuckoo. An extract from their reply about cuckoos in general is transcribed below.

Cuckoos are generally medium sized slender birds. The majority are arboreal, with a sizeable minority that are terrestrial. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority of species being tropical. The temperate species are migratory. Thecuckoos feed on insects, insect larvae and a variety of other animals, as well as fruit. Many species are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species, but the majority of species raise their own young.

There is generally little sexual dimorphism in size, but where it exists, it can be either the male or the female that is larger. 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 laboured gliding flight.

The cuckoos have a cosmopolitan distribution, ranging across all the world's continents except Antarctica. They are absent from the south west of South America, the far north and north west of North America, and the driest areas of the Middle East and North Africa (although they occur there as passage migrants). They generally only occur as vagrants in the oceanic islands of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, but one species breeds on a number of Pacific islands and another is a winter migrant across much of the Pacific.

For the cuckoos suitable habitat provides a source of food (principally insects and especially caterpillars) and a place to breed, for brood parasites the need is for suitable habitat for the host species. Cuckoos occur in a wide variety of habitats. The majority of species occur in forests and woodland, principally in the evergreen rainforests of the tropics. In addition to forests come species of cuckoo occupy more open environments, this can include even arid areas like deserts in the case of the Greater Roadrunner or the Pallid Cuckoo. Temperate migratory species like the Common Cuckoo inhabit a wide range of habitats in order to make maximum use of the potential brood hosts, from reed beds (where they parasitise Reed Warblers), to treeless moors (where they parasitise Meadow Pipits).

The cuckoos are for the most part solitary birds that seldom occur in pairs or as part of groups. For the most part the cuckoos are also diurnal as opposed to nocturnal, but many species will call at night. The cuckoos are also generally a shy and retiring family, more often heard than seen.

The cuckoos are an extremely diverse group of birds with regards to breeding systems. The majority of species are monogamous, but there are exceptions. The anis and the Guira Cuckoo lay their eggs in communal nests, although this behaviour is not completely cooperative; a female may remove others' eggs when laying hers. The majority of cuckoo species build their own nests, although a large minority engage in brood parasitism. Most of these species nest in trees or bushes, but some lay their eggs in nests on the ground or in low shrubs. Though on some occasions non-parasitic cuckoos parasitize other species, the parent still helps feed the chick.

About 56 of the Old World species and 3 of the New World species are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other birds. These species are obligate brood parasites, meaning that they only reproduce in this fashion. In addition to the above species, yet others sometimes engage in non-obligate brood parasitism, laying their eggs in the nests of members of their own species in addition to raising their own young. The best-known example is the European Common Cuckoo. The shells of the eggs of brood-parasites is usually thick. They have two distinct layers with an outer chalky layer that is believed to provide resistance to cracking when the eggs are dropped in the host nest. The cuckoo egg hatches earlier than the host's, and the cuckoo chick grows faster; in most cases the chick evicts the eggs or young of the host species. The chick has no time to learn this behaviour, so it must be an instinct passed on genetically.

The letter went on to say that the bird we spotted was almost certainly a Red-Crested Three-Toed Pied Cuckoo. It is a migrating tropical subspecies that was probably blown a long way off its migratory route and is now resting in the NW of England. There hasn’t been a confirmed sighting of this species in the UK for over 20 years. It is arboreal, and lives a solitary existence except during the mating season. Although it is a diurnal, it is very rarely seen, and its call is almost identical to the common European Cuckoo. It is classified as an Old World species and is a brood parasite, laying just one yellow speckled egg per season. In tropical climates these birds have been known to live for between 10 and 15 years

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