Cuckoo diet question

[Wild-Woman]

Well 3 questions really.
What adaptation is it that cuckoos have that enables them to eat hairy caterpillars? And
Do the foster parents, eg dunnock, feed its adoptive cuckoo chick hairy caterpillars? If yes- how do they know that the chick can eat them?

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

Well 3 questions really.
What adaptation is it that cuckoos have that enables them to eat hairy caterpillars?

Cuckoo's have evolved to feed on these caterpillars, their stomach/crop can process large amounts of hair which the cuckoo regurgitates as a pellet. Additionally if you have the pleasure of watching foraging cuckoos they often rub the caterpillar on a branch (or such like) before swallowing it, this breaks of most of the hairs.

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

Do the foster parents, eg dunnock, feed its adoptive cuckoo chick hairy caterpillars?

Dunnocks feed the young cuckoo on food which they would normally feed their own nestling such as beetles, worms, small insect larvae, spiders etc. The ability to cope with caterpillars is innate as is most of their behaviour (including being parasitic) as they have no parent to teach them.

[Wild-Woman]

Thanks Dogghound. I shall be watching out for the rubbing behaviour when I've got one in my sights down here in Kent. Won't be long now, I'm hearing reports that are being heard.
Good info to know.

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

Won't be long now

Nope, although I will have to wait until around late April/early May for the first one up here.

[rosie383]

Forgive me if this is in the wrong place as it is my first post.

I am almost certain that I just had a cuckoo chick on my bird feeder being fed by a starling.
Is this possible? The adult bird was definitely a starling, and was feeding a very hungry chick which was about half as big again as the adult. It was a mid-pale brown and had a very wide open bill.
Am I getting excited over nothing?

BTW my garden is an urban garden with plenty of trees around. In Luton.

[PeteIsntAPuffin]

Originally Posted by rosie383

Forgive me if this is in the wrong place as it is my first post.

I am almost certain that I just had a cuckoo chick on my bird feeder being fed by a starling.
Is this possible? The adult bird was definitely a starling, and was feeding a very hungry chick which was about half as big again as the adult. It was a mid-pale brown and had a very wide open bill.
Am I getting excited over nothing?

BTW my garden is an urban garden with plenty of trees around. In Luton.

Could be, but quite unlikely.

My aunt had a cuckoo chick being fed by a Robin last year in her garden.

You would REALLY be able to tell if it was a cuckoo chick becaue they're just so much fatter By the time they fledge they're massive in comparison to other birds.

You probably just had a starling chick

[nikolai_avenger]

I would say the adult starlings are definitely sleeker and more 'streamlined' than the young. I would also describe young starlings as very hungry, appearing larger than the adults, mid-pale brown with a very wide-open bill.

I think a young cuckoo would also have barring on the underside, whereas the young starlings are just brown(ish) all over.

Cheers. Nik.

[rosie383]

Thank you for your replies. having googled lots of images, it was a starling chick I think. It looked quite a bit larger than the parent bird, but not stripy.

I think what also confused me was that my old birdwatching book is not very detailed, and just said that the juvenile cuckoo was paler than the adult and brown in colour!!

Ah well, I was very, very excited for a few hours, and that is a lovely feeling

Still, it was lovely to watch an adult feeding a chick on my bird feeder.