coucou

Coucou is the French onomatopoeic name for the call of the cuckoo and is used as the common name for birds in the family Cuculidae, especially the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus. The term also functions as a general label for birds of this group.

The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is a medium-sized, slender bird that breeds across Europe and Asia and winters in Africa. It is best known for brood parasitism: the female lays eggs in the nests of other bird species, leaving the host to incubate and raise the chick. The cuckoo chick often hatches before the host’s own young and may eject the host’s eggs or nestlings, or otherwise exploit the host’s parental care. The species is migratory and tends to sing with a distinctive two-note call, which resembles its name.

In French, coucou is also a casual greeting, roughly equivalent to “hi there” or “hello,” used with friends, family, or in playful conversation. It is common in everyday speech and in informal writing or text messages.

Cultural associations include children’s songs and rhymes, as well as the cuckoo clock (horloge à coucou), whose hourly call imitates the bird. The term coucou thus spans ornithology, linguistics, and popular culture in French-speaking regions, reflecting both the biological identity of the bird and its familiar presence in everyday language.