Kuckuck

Kuckuck is the German common name for the cuckoo, a bird in the family Cuculidae. The term is linked to the bird’s distinctive two-note call, commonly rendered in German as ku-ku or kuk-kuk. In everyday language, Kuckuck can refer to the bird itself as well as cultural objects associated with it, such as the Kuckucksuhr, or cuckoo clock, a well-known product of Black Forest craftsmanship.

Biology and behavior: The most familiar European species is the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). Cuckoos are medium-sized birds with slender bodies and long tails. A defining trait is brood parasitism: females lay eggs in the nests of other bird species, leaving the host to incubate the eggs and raise the chicks. Host species are typically small songbirds such as warblers; cuckoo eggs often mimic the appearance of the host’s eggs. Some host chicks are subsequently displaced or outcompeted by the cuckoo chick. The common cuckoo is migratory, breeding across Europe and parts of Asia and wintering in Africa or southern Asia, depending on the population.

Cultural references: In German-speaking regions the cuckoo is strongly associated with spring and timekeeping due to the cuckoo clock, whose mechanism announces the hours with a small bird figure. The term appears in literature and film as well; for example, the German title of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is Einer flog über das Kuckucks Nest. See also cuckoo clock and brood parasitism.