Karura Forest #54: Clever . . . and Sneaky!
The cache, a small push-topped camo-pot, is hidden under bark pieces at the base of a multi-forked tree with peeling bark.
To reach the cache location: enter the forest by Gate C on Kiambu Road at S 01 14.395 E 36 50.644. After parking and paying the entry fee, proceed north for approximately 220m along the track parallel to the main road. Find a trail heading left (west) and follow this past J39 to the cache location.
See GC4PD3V Karura Forest #1: Intro, info & entry for background info on the forest, opening times, entry fees, etc. and here for a detailed map of Karura & Sigiria Forests.
(Continued from Karura Forest #53 . . .) As a brood parasite, it parasitises warblers, sunbirds, flycatchers and white-eyes. To do
this the male harasses a brooding local 'host' bird to leave its nest and chase it. The female then quickly lays her egg in the nest - the egg is much smaller than those for birds of a similar size, which helps to disguise it among the host's eggs. She also evicts one host egg to keep the total number of eggs correct. In order to mitigate the risk of egg loss, this will be repeated amongst a number of different hosts,
The cuckoo egg usually hatches after an incubation period of 11-12 days which is shorter than that of the host bird which is anything from 14-21 days. The cuckoo's feet are much larger than those of the host species and it often tramples the other chicks after they hatch. The cuckoo chick stays in the nest for ~19-21 days after which it remains with the host bird
being fed for around a further 25 days. Klaas's cuckoo chicks have been observed being fed alternately by more than one bird of a particular species and by birds of more than one species.
This behaviour of course damage the host and often results in 'an evolutionary arms race between the host and the parasite'. Such parasitism also occurs in certain fish and insect species.
The call is two high clear fluting and plaintive whistles miet-jie or fwiii-fithe the first slurred up, the second down, repeated in a series of 3-5 which is repeated 3-4 times per minutes often from a tree top.
Listen here, here and here (with a Diederik's Cuckoo calling in the background for comparison).
See here and here for more great photos.
Videos: see perched here, eating caterpillars here.