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Great Spotted Cuckoo


Great Spotted Cuckoo
Photo Information
Copyright: Elroyie David (elroyie) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 394 W: 104 N: 1519] (6403)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-04-06
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon EOS 20D, Canon EF100-400 IS L, Kenko Pro 300 1.4x Teleconvert
Exposure: f/7.1, 1/1000 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2005-04-10 15:34
Viewed: 1321
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 36
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Great Spotted Cuckoo - Clamator glandarius

Descriptive notes.

Parasitical bird, lays its eggs in the nests of other birds, in Israel, in the nests of Hooded Crow. 35-38 cm, 124 g, wingspan 58 cm.
A long-tailled cuckoo with prominent crest, dusky brown above with white feather tips, flight-feathers grey-brown, tail tipped white, crown grey with slight crest, face blackish throat buff, otherwise white below.
Eye-ring grey to reddish, iris brown, bill black, and feet black.

Habitat.

Semi-arid open woodland, especially acacia thorn-scrub, also other scrub, rocky hillsides in dry savannas.
In Europe favors savanna-like heathland, often with cork oak or stone pine, also olive groves. Mainly between 500 m and 200 m.

Food and Feeding

Insects, mainly large hairy caterpillars, also termites, grasshoppers, moths and small lizards. Dresses caterpillars by removing hairs befor eating. Often feeds on ground.

Breeding.

Apr-May in Mediterranean. Mar in Egypt, Apr-May in Senegal and Sierra Leone, Apr-Jul in Mali, Ghana and Nigeria, Dec-Mar in Namibia, Apr in Botswqna.
Brood-parasitic, hosts crows and magpies in Mediterranean, particularly Black-billed Magpie, Azure-winged Magpie and Hooded Crow.
Female can lay 12-25 eggs in a season. Eggs pale greenish with brown and grey marks. Often several cuckoo eggs in one crow nest. Female may damage host's eggs by dropping its own egg on top.
Magpies sometimes remove cuckoo eggs from nest, crows do not, incubation 12-15 days, shorter than host. Chick naked, yellow or pink at hatching, gape pink, palate spicules not contrasting in color. When more than one cuckoo chick in magpie nest, younger one may starve.

I have a friend that documented the growth of the Great Spotted Cuckoo in the host nest, it is emazing to see this for real, how the crow is raising the Cuckoo chicks with its chicks. sometimes the crow's chicks don't survive because the short growth time of the Cuckoo chicks they are taking all the food from the parents.
Fisher, PDP, JeanMichel, naki, sAner, TAZ, thistle, coasties, Callie, marhowie, netfalls, rlortie, deud, Luc has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • Fisher Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1540 W: 309 N: 2234] (8915)
  • [2005-04-10 16:14]

A beautiful capture of the Cuckoo. The lighting is fantastic. Excelent composition and details. Excelent work, Elroyie.

Mike

  • Great 
  • PDP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2964 W: 366 N: 3848] (11755)
  • [2005-04-10 16:22]

Hi Elroyie, this is a very good capture. The bird looks a little ruffled. The composition is very good and lovely details. Very well done.

Another of your great birdshots as I like them Elroyie. Interresting bird. For us, they are only visible in south of France. Just a regret we don't see the particularly long tail, but the overall shot is very good, with a very detailed sharp image.

  • Great 
  • naki Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 421 W: 27 N: 782] (2694)
  • [2005-04-10 17:13]

Sharpness of the photo is striking Elroyie. Very good exposure with a lovely composition.
Well done and thanks for sharing.

  • Great 
  • sAner Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1654 W: 79 N: 1456] (4742)
  • [2005-04-10 17:21]

Excellent picture Elroyie! This is really outstanding. Fantastic details, superb colors and perfect composition. TFS! :)

  • Great 
  • Toni Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 403 W: 2 N: 316] (2034)
  • [2005-04-10 18:22]

Very nice shot. The feathers look nice and fluffy. Great details of the branch.
Regards Toni.

  • Great 
  • manyee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3071 W: 231 N: 5861] (19714)
  • [2005-04-10 19:55]

This is a bird I have never seen. Very sharp details, excellent exposure and composition. Great shot, Elroyie!
Thanks for showing me this bird. : )

  • Great 
  • TAZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2385 W: 50 N: 3184] (10918)
  • [2005-04-11 1:32]

Encore une belle et intéressante composition pour cet oiseau tout mignon ! Jolies couleurs et bonne netteté.
Well done !

Great shot Elroyie!
Very simple, but beautiful. I like the clear composition and POV.
Very well done!

Lovely composition, awesome details. Crisp clear sharp image. A real joy to view. Good work. TFS

A large noisy cuckoo, this is how it is described in my fieldguide. A lovely picture of this not so confiding bird, Elroyie, I was lucky to have seen it twice so far, but always skulking. A grear pic, TFS.

Great shot Elroyie! Very well composed with excellent details and sharpness..It's a great lookin' bird from a great POV. Excellent note - Very well done!

Great composition, very good POV and pose. Good sharpness.Well odne.
TFS.

  • Great 
  • japie Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1814 W: 100 N: 1904] (5187)
  • [2005-04-11 15:44]

This is a beauty Elroyie! I like the composition very much and the sharpness is excellent.

Very well done and thanks for posting

Excellent composition and sharpness. Nice uniform background. Well done!

  • Great 
  • deud Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 500 W: 2 N: 466] (2121)
  • [2005-04-18 4:26]

well captured! congratulations

  • Great 
  • Luc Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2058 W: 315 N: 4404] (14713)
  • [2005-04-29 22:03]

Personal assessment of the photo: excellent.
Very strong visual impact.
Aptness of the photo for the site: excellent.
Personal assessment of the note: complete.
Thank you very much Elroyie.

  • Great 
  • livios Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2306 W: 324 N: 4306] (16856)
  • [2005-04-30 13:40]

Elroyie, a very good shot and a great note.

Composition is great, and so is sharpness, pov and pose.

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