Gigantic Cuckoo: Meanness size XXL. Not only does it throw eggs into other people’s nests, but it will also attack the chicks (7 photos)

Legends say that there is no place on Earth more terrible than Australia. Poisonous spiders, ubiquitous snakes, gigantic beetles and... cuckoos. Yes, the photos below are not hellish crows with bleeding eyes, but that doesn’t make it any easier. Gigantic cuckoos are the epitome of meanness in XXL size.





The demonic bird is truly gigantic; there are no larger cuckoos in the whole world. An adult can reach up to 66 centimeters and gain 930 grams of meat. There is no smell of elegance here, but the hefty curved beak allows it to feed on soft fruits, tough insects, strong eggs and chicks of small-sized birds.



The beak is so different from the cuckoo's twitter that the discoverer mistook the animal for a hornbill.

But physical destruction alone is not enough for the cuckoo; it also wants to cause mental suffering. The blood-eyed bird terrorizes other animals with its “wonderful” songs. The repertoire includes: a chaotic symphony of prolonged whistles, a crescendo of bubbling and an aria of gurgling. If you hear demonic sounds under the cover of darkness, a trip to a psychotherapist is guaranteed.





Our heroine chooses habitats that match her gloomy appearance. Residents of the swampy and sparse forests of Australia, New Guinea and several archipelagos are forced to enjoy the wonderful sounds of cuckoo singing.



During the mating season, from August to October, males babble louder than ever and beautifully court their chosen ones. They show care, affection and present her with wedding goodies - large insects. But this is where the romance ends - cuckoos love themselves too much to waste time on breeding. So our heroes decided to free their time from the hardships of parenthood.



The female places a couple of eggs in the nest of selected victims, which are usually swallow shrikes or whistling crows. As a rule, the mother throws away the entire clutch, but surrogate caregivers will not notice this - foundling eggs vilely plagiarize the appearance of the original eggs. They are colored red or yellow-brown, and are also covered with many dark specks.



It looks absolutely unremarkable. Try it and tell it apart from yours!

They hatch into naked, blind and deaf chicks. But the weak misunderstanding quickly turns into a strong and physically developed chick. In one mug they devour everything that their foster mother has obtained. The native children cannot object to the adopted child - he is larger and stronger than his neighbors.

Little parasites are in no hurry to leave the nest; they become covered with feathers only at the age of 28-30 days. The slightly grown cuckoo chicks remain near the nest and beg for food from their foster parents for several more weeks. Only when the reserves of parental love are sucked dry will the gigantic cuckoo leave the hospitable home.



The gigantic cuckoo enjoys a free, childless life, but the price of such ease is ruined nests and chicks of other species dying of hunger. By human standards this is cruel, but nature knows no morals.