The Cuckoo bird is brood parasite. That means that they, along with the locally indigenous Brown-headed Cowbird, lay their eggs in the nests of other different kinds of birds to be raised by them. This often goes unnoticed by the unsuspecting fowl and when the egg hatches, the hatchling is fed by the foster parent. And not only that, Cuckoos are pretty big, so the baby will dwarf the parent and push the surrounding non-Cuckoo babies out of the nest and hog all of the food.

So Cuckoos and Brown-headed Cowbirds abandon their young, as if in a basket on a door step. How irresponsible. I guess I wouldn’t be surprised if I one day saw a Cuckoo knock over a mailbox or ride a bike without a helmet. What careless, slapdash birds these Cuckoos be.