The Cuckoo becomes a secreteive and elusive bird which few of us see and the hidden mysteries of its lifestyle remain largely unnoticed. The Cuckoo is a brood parasite, one of only eighty species in the world which lay their eggs in the nests of other species who then rear the alien young. In Britain the Cuckoo generally lays its eggs in the nexts of Dunnocks, Meadow Pipits and Reed Warblers, but over fifty species are known to have received eggs of the Cuckoo. About 10-15 eggs are laid, always in different nests and when the hosts are developing their own clutch. This book describes the fascinating lifestyle of the Cuckoo and the many adaptations it has evolved to suit its parasitic breeding strategy.