# Common cuckoo (*Cuculus canorus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-cuckoo  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), also called the cuckoo or European cuckoo, is a small bird in the family Cuculidae and the order Cuculiformes. Adults weigh 111.4 g, with reported values from 106 g to 117 g, and the wingspan is 58 cm. It is a migratory, perching invertivore of forest habitat whose main foods are caterpillar, chick, egg as food and insect. The IUCN Red List assesses the common cuckoo as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 106 g – 117 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 58 cm |
| Lifespan | 12.9 years |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Main food | caterpillar, chick, egg as food, insect |
| Habitat | forest |
| Egg incubation | 12.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 9.2 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 12 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Lifestyle | Perching |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Cuculiformes
- family: Cuculidae
- genus: Cuculus
- species: *Cuculus canorus* Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms: *Cuculus canorus kleinschmidti*, *Cuculus rufus*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the common cuckoo?

The common cuckoo is a bird in the family Cuculidae and the order Cuculiformes. It is classed as small by adult body mass.

### How much does a common cuckoo weigh?

An adult common cuckoo weighs 111.4 g, with reported values from 106 g to 117 g. Its wingspan is 58 cm.

### What does the common cuckoo eat?

The common cuckoo is an invertivore. Its main foods are caterpillar, chick, egg as food and insect.

### Is the common cuckoo endangered?

No. The IUCN Red List assesses it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a common cuckoo live?

The common cuckoo has a lifespan of 12.91 years, with values up to 12.92 years reported.

### How many eggs does the common cuckoo lay?

Sources give 9.2 eggs per clutch and 12 clutches per year. Incubation lasts 12.5 days.

### Does the common cuckoo migrate?

Yes, the common cuckoo is migratory. Its geographic range covers 37,340,000 km².

### Who named the common cuckoo?

The common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-cuckoo