The findings of a new study about communication between birds also offer key insights into the origins of language.
Articles on Cuckoos
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New research on cuckoos suggests the battle between exploiters and victims may be a key reason for life’s enormous diversity.
The heaviest bird nest ever discovered weighed more than 2,000kg. It was built by bald eagles. The tiniest nest, built by a bee hummingbird, was just over 2cm wide.
The Nullarbor is an arid, treeless expanse today. But several hundred thousand years ago it was home to a menagerie of species, including two newly discovered giant cuckoo-like birds.
Birds migrating to Africa are threatened by issues like habitat loss. Studying their movement patterns will show the challenges these species encounter on the continent.
Have a look in your garden - you might be surprised at some of the native animals that thrive there when the weather’s hot.
Cuckoos are notorious cheats. Instead of building a nest, incubating their eggs and raising their chicks, they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds and leave the task of raising their offspring to…
Native Australian bronze-cuckoos trick other cuckoos as they compete to take over other birds’ nests. Australian National…
Cuckoos aren’t the kind of parents you’d want. They never raise their young ones, leaving that job to other birds. They achieve this by laying their eggs in other expectant birds’ nests, who treat them…
If you come across a young cuckoo this summer, you’ll be witness to one of the most bizarre sights in nature. Cuckoo chicks are interlopers in the nests of other species, and can be seen being frantically…
Top contributors
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Research fellow, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University; Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC)
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Professor, Flinders University
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Professor in Zoology, James Cook University
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PhD Candidate, Wildlife Biologist, Macquarie University
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Researcher, Flinders University
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Post-doctoral fellow, Australian Landscape Trust, Calperum Station, James Cook University
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Postdoctoral Fellow and Avian Behavioural Ecologist, University of Cape Town
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NERC Independent Research Fellow, University of Cambridge
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Research Projects Officer, CSIRO
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Lecturer in Ecology, The University of Melbourne
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Professor, Australian National University
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Senior Research Scientist, Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO
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Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University
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Postdoctoral research fellow, Monash University
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Associate Professor in Vertebrate Palaeontology, Flinders University