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The European cuckoo, aptly named for its call, is a famous brood parasite. Females lay eggs in the nests of other (usually much smaller) bird species; each cuckoo female specializes on a few host species and produces eggs that match host eggs. When the young cuckoo hatches, it pushes out the host's eggs or nestlings with its back, thereby monopolizing all the food the duped host parents provide. Cuckoos are rather shy and I managed to photograph this male as it flew between woodlands in Biebrza National Park in eastern Poland. |
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