Cuculus canorus
Reinhold Möller · Bösenbechhofen
The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is a medium-sized bird in the cuckoo family (Cuculidae). It lays its eggs in other birds’ nests. Its breeding in Georgia is confirmed: it nests there but does not remain outside the breeding season. It is also seen during migration. Its presence in Georgia has been confirmed by a photograph, and the information about its seasonal movements is reliable. An adult is about 32–34 cm long. It is slate gray above and barred below. It poses no direct threat to people. The IUCN classifies it as Least Concern. Georgia’s 2024 bird checklist gives it the same status at the national level.
Identification
It is a medium-sized grey bird with a long tail and a striped belly. Its call has two notes. Georgia’s 2024 bird list records it as a migratory bird that nests here, but does not list it as a winter bird. It is often mistaken for a sparrowhawk.
This bird is about 32–34 cm long, with a wingspan of about 55–60 cm. It often weighs around 110–130 g; males are slightly heavier than females on average. It has a slim body, pointed wings and a long tail with feathers arranged in steps. An adult male is dark grey with a slate tint on its head, back and chest. Black and white bars begin sharply on its belly. Its eye, the ring around the eye, the base of its beak and its feet are yellow. A grey adult female looks similar, but often has a yellowish or brownish tint on its chest and the sides of its neck.
Some adult females have reddish coloring, which is more common in young birds: the back is reddish brown with dark stripes. Young birds have more noticeable scale-like markings or stripes on their feathers. They often have a white patch on the back of the head and pale edges to their feathers. In flight, the bird can look like a sparrowhawk. Its call is a reliable way to tell them apart: the male sings “coo-coo,” while a sparrowhawk does not make that sound.
Georgia’s 2024 list records the sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) both as a year-round resident and as a migratory bird. It has broader, rounded wings and a shorter, striped tail. Its beak is hooked, and its eyes are bright yellow or orange. It does not make a “cuckoo” call. The Levant sparrowhawk (Accipiter brevipes) also nests in Georgia and is migratory. It is a hawk, not a cuckoo. The great spotted cuckoo (Clamator glandarius) is listed as an occasional visitor in the 2024 list, with its presence confirmed by photographs. It has a crest and white spots, is sandy brown rather than grey, and does not resemble a sparrowhawk. The Oriental cuckoo (Cuculus optatus) is absent from that list. These species do not yet have separate pages in this atlas.
It poses no direct threat to people. Do not pick it up. In Georgia in late spring, the gray, striped bird calling “goo-goo” from a treetop is this species, not a sparrowhawk.
In Georgia, look for this bird during the breeding season and migration, not in winter. The map on this page does not shade any municipalities. A 2024 list confirms that the species breeds in Georgia and migrates, but it does not provide records by region. Do not assume it is found equally throughout the country, including on high, treeless plateaus or in dense forests. The species is associated with open and partly open places: forest edges, farmland with trees, river valleys, reed beds, gardens and similar places where its host songbirds nest. No separate information has been published on the elevations at which it occurs in Georgia. The atlas map is empty until sources are gathered that name specific places where it has been found in Georgia.
This page does not present a separate study of its diet in Georgia. In other parts of its range, adults eat various insects, especially hairy caterpillars that other birds often avoid. When visiting a nest, a female may also eat an egg or chick belonging to the bird whose nest it is. These are observations about the species in general, not findings from a study of its diet in Georgia.
Related guides
Questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Common cuckoo.
Yes. It has been confirmed to nest in Georgia. It migrates and is not found here outside the nesting season.
In the warmer months, it is found in open and partly open areas with trees or reeds, where small songbirds nest. This page does not list municipalities, and the regions are not shaded on the map. Its presence in the country is confirmed, but not for individual regions.
Its back is dark gray and its belly is striped. It has a long tail, pointed wings and a yellow ring around each eye. The male sings a two-note “coo-coo.” A hawk has a hooked beak and broader wings. It does not make this sound.
Birds of this species are about 32–34 cm long, with a wingspan of about 55–60 cm. This page does not include separate measurements for birds of this species in Georgia.
It feeds mainly on insects, especially hairy caterpillars. What it eats in Georgia has not been studied separately on this page.
According to the 2024 list, it breeds in Georgia and is also seen during migration, but not in winter. This page does not provide a table of its exact arrival and departure dates for Georgia.
Yes. The 2024 list confirms that it breeds. It does not build its own nest; it lays its eggs in other birds’ nests. The list does not say which birds’ nests it uses in Georgia.
It is harmless. It faces little threat worldwide and is also listed in the same category (LC) on the 2024 national list. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List. Do not catch wild birds.
References
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
