The bird commonly known as the Lazy Bird is the Cuckoo (called Koel in India). Cuckoos are labelled “lazy” not because they avoid flying or feeding themselves, but because they do not build their own ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Common cuckoos aren’t known for being model parents. Rather than ...

Daurian redstarts move closer to humans to protect their nests from brood parasitism. Daurian redstarts move their nesting sites closer to or even inside human settlements when cuckoos are around. In ...

Brood parasites are some of the bird kingdom’s most notorious sneaks. They don’t rear their own young but instead pawn the task of child care off onto other species without their knowledge. Instead of ...

There are plenty of birds that are widely referenced in popular culture today, whether as a sports team name or as the origin for an ubiquitous turn of phrase—looking at you, ugly duckling. But few ...

This story appears in the January 2018 issue of National Geographic magazine. For the care and feeding of its offspring, the common cuckoo outsources. When she’s ready to lay an egg, a female Cuculus ...

Daurian redstarts move their nesting sites closer to or even inside human settlements when cuckoos are around. In doing so, they actively protect their nest against brood parasitism, as cuckoos avoid ...