Common cuckoo Common cuckoo The common cuckoo ("Cuculus canorus") is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, "Cuculiformes", which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals. This species is a widespread summer migrant to Europe and Asia, and winters in Africa. It is a brood parasite, which means it lays eggs in the nests of other bird species, particularly of dunnocks, meadow pipits, and reed warblers. Although its eggs are larger than those of its hosts, the eggs in each type of host nest resemble the host's eggs. The adult too is a mimic, in its case of the sparrowhawk;
Cuckoo-finch moved to a genus of its own, "Anomalospiza". The name of the genus means "anomalous finch" with "spiza" being a Greek word for finch. The specific name "imberbis" comes from Latin and means "beardless". Its closest relatives are thought to be the indigobirds and whydahs of the genus "Vidua". These birds are now usually considered to form a family, Viduidae. Previously they were treated as a subfamily, Viduinae, within either the estrildid finch family, Estrildidae, or the weaver family, Ploceidae. The cuckoo-finch is a small finch-like bird, about 11–13 cm long. It has a short tail, large legs and feet,