Common Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus
What a season it has been for rarities! Last Sunday, an insanely rare (and lost) Common Cuckoo was discovered in Snake Den State Park near Providence, Rhode Island. To give a sense of how lost this bird is, consider that the Common Cuckoo comes from Eurasia- making it about 3,000 miles from home if home were Ireland. If it came from China, it would be 11,000 miles lost! Since Common Cuckoos migrate to Africa for the winter, it is likely that this bird was caught in one of the crazy weather systems that have been occurring and was blown off course during migration.
On Monday morning, after learning that the bird had stayed put over night, I jumped in the car and drove the 2.5 hours to Rhode Island. It felt a little indulgent, but this is only the third record of Common Cuckoo in the lower 48 and it is such a beautiful bird. I really wanted to see it!
When I finally turned onto the residential backroad outside the state park, I knew immediately that I had arrived. It was like a scene from out of “The Big Year.” The two-lane road could barely fit two lanes of traffic to begin with, and was now packed on one side with at least fifty cars. I added my car to the parked parade while trying to calculate the value of the optics and camera gear all trained on the wooded edge beyond a small field. There were somewhere between fifty and seventy-five people socially all lined up behind a rock wall separating the road from the field, all more or less socially distanced and wearing masks. I recognized a number of people- it’s amazing how the Connecticut birders all get around to all of the rare birds!
When I finally started to look for the bird, I at first could not see it. I assumed it was somewhere in the woods, and we would need to wait for it to fly back out before I could see it. My assumption turned out to be wrong, as someone quickly pointed out the bird to me and I realized that it was so camouflaged it could sit right out on a tree and I could miss it!
Wooly Bear
To my delight, the Common Cuckoo did not stay sitting still for long. It flew down into the field below it, opened its mouth wide to reveal its adorable pink gape, and chomped down a wooly bear caterpillar. Common Cuckoos are unusual in that they actually really like hairy caterpillars while many other birds do not. I found it amazing that even on another continent, this cuckoo had managed to find its preferred food source (in November nonetheless!) After eating, it flew up to another branch- but this time it flew right at the crowd, landing about fifteen feet from the road. I could not believe my timing!
The Common Cuckoo really was beautiful. Its monochromatic striped chest was offeset by a soft brown back and head interspersed with light gray mottling. The best part was the sharp yellow eye that stood out against all the gray and brown tones. I felt bad for it as it was buffeted by the strong wind and the cold.
Coming in for a landing!
It felt really strange to see this bird against a New England fall backdrop. My grandma would tell me stories of growing up in Ireland and hearing the cuckoo calling in the evening. (That call, by the way, is the sound one hears in old antique cuckoo clocks.) As a result, I have always imagined the Common Cuckoo in a landscape of old Irish farmland. Back in Eurasia. the Common Cuckoo is indeed that- common. It has been a cultural symbol of spring and fall, with many rhymes and local traditions based upon this. Have you ever heard the song, “April, Come she Will” by Simon and Garfunkel? Turns out that those lyrics are based on an old rhyme about the Common Cuckoo! (Mind blown!)
The cuckoo comes in April
She sings her song in May
In June she changes her tune
In July she prepares to fly
In August go she must.
While no one was talking about it while gazing in adoration at this amazing rarity, Common Cuckoos are like our Brown-headed Cowbirds. They are brood parasites that lay their eggs in the nests of other birds so that their young are raised by the unsuspecting parents of the invaded nests. Brood parasites tend to get a bad rap, so it was nice that this poor lost bird could just be a heroic survivor today.
I have to say, it was definitely worth the drive to see this bird. I know many people are going to see it from even further away, but considering travel abroad is so terrible right now it feels like this is the easiest way to see this beautiful creature. It is still around after a week, and so long as it has a supply of caterpillars who knows how long it will stay! (Unless of course, go it must.)