The cuckoo is a beneficial bird in forestry, it is a collective name for birds in the family Rhododendron, more commonly known as the great cuckoo.

Birds in the genus Cuckoo are highly variable in size, generally between 24-37 centimeters. All have a long tail and strong legs and claws. The most common species in China are the four-voiced cuckoo and the great cuckoo.

The four-voiced cuckoo has a dark gray head and nape; the sides of the head are light gray, and the eyes, chin, throat, and upper chest are even lighter; the rest of the upper body and the surfaces of the wings are dark brown; and the tail is the same color as the back, but with a wide black spot near the end. The lower body is white from the lower thorax onward, with black horizontal spots, similar to that of the great cuckoo, except that the width of the black spots can reach 3-4 millimeters, and the distance between the spots is about 6-8 millimeters.

Large azalea forehead light gray-brown, the top of the head, occiput to the back of the neck dark silver-gray, dorsal dark gray, waist and tail feathers blue-gray, the central tail feathers black-brown, the plumage axis brown, along the plumage axis on both sides of the white spots, and more pairs of distribution, the end of the apex of the white, the two sides of the tail feathers light black-brown, the plumage stem on both sides of the white spots, and the white spots, white spots, and larger, the inner edge of the inner edge of a series of white spots and white end of the white spot. The inner coverts of both wings are dark gray, and the outer coverts and flight feathers are dark brown.

Habitat of the Cuckoo

Several species of the genus are migratory. In China, the cuckoo is mainly a summer migrant and partly a traveler, mostly coming in April-May in spring and leaving in September-October in fall. They move alone or in pairs, and are never seen in flocks. It mainly feeds on insects, especially the larvae of Lepidoptera, such as pine caterpillars, larvae of tree butterflies, moths, etc. Sometimes it also eats a small amount of plant food, such as plant seeds. Sometimes it also eats a small amount of plant food such as plant seeds. It is very mobile and does not have a fixed place of residence. They are alert and take off quickly when frightened.

Flying speed is faster, each flight distance is also farther, the sound is high and loud, can be heard within 1 kilometer, and sometimes called while flying, even at night also called. The genus of animals have "baby-sitting" behavior, that is, laying eggs in the nests of other birds, the young birds will be pushed down after hatching the host eggs or young birds in the same nest, so that the host parent bird only to raise their own. The host bird is often smaller than the cuckoo bird, so the formation of a "small feed big" peculiar picture.