Binoculars (10x42 or higher), spotting scope for nest viewing (from safe distance), audio playback (for attracting responses).
Hosts rarely notice the intrusion because the cuckoo’s egg resembles their own, albeit larger. But Australian magpies have evolved counter-strategies: they sometimes abandon nests or bury foreign eggs under new nesting material. The cuckoo chick hatches after 14–15 days (1–2 days before host chicks). Blind, naked, and aggressive, it uses a specialized depression on its back to lift and eject host eggs or chicks. Within 24 hours, it has the nest to itself. PGD-954 Tour Of Out Chunky Brood Parasite In Be...
Their thick, decurved bill (pale grey, like a horn) allows them to pull host eggs out of deep nests quickly. Tour Stop 2: The Parasitic Act (October–December) The female cuckoo watches a host nest being built. Once laying begins, she waits for the host to leave. In under 10 seconds, she lands, lays a single large egg (up to 1/8 of her body weight!), and removes one host egg – often eating it for calcium. Binoculars (10x42 or higher), spotting scope for nest