Cuckoos (Cuculidae)
Species
Cuckoos are small to medium-sized birds of slender build, with long, graduated tails, short legs and stubby, decurved bills. They have long wings and a characteristic shallow-beat mode of flying. Plumage is highly variable, although most are prominently barred on the underparts. Most are arboreal and feed mainly on insects. Some species are well-known brood parasites, but the majority build their own nests and raise their own young.
 
There are 125 species worldwide, but only two breed in Europe.