Where do cuckoos lay their eggs?
Cuckoo · Cuculus canorus
Cuckoos do not build a nest at all. The female lays each of her eggs in another bird’s nest, one egg per nest, and leaves the other bird to raise the chick. In Britain the usual hosts are meadow pipits on moorland, dunnocks in hedges and gardens, and reed warblers in reedbeds. They lay from late April to June.
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- Where
- In other birds’ nests, one egg in each
- Nest
- None of its own
- Hosts
- Mainly meadow pipit, dunnock and reed warbler
- When
- Here from mid-April, laying late April to June
- Eggs
- Around 12 to 22 a season per female, each in a different nest
- Hatching
- After about 12 days, kept warm by the host
- Status
- Red list
Where cuckoos lay their eggs
In someone else’s nest. The cuckoo is a brood parasite: it has given up on nests altogether. A female watches a host pair building, waits until they have started laying, then slips in while they are away, removes one of their eggs and lays one of her own in its place. It takes a matter of seconds.
Which bird gets picked depends on where the cuckoo lives. On moorland and in the uplands it is mostly meadow pipits. In farmland, hedges and gardens, dunnocks. In reedbeds, especially in southern England, reed warblers. Pied wagtails and robins are used less often. Each female tends to stick to the kind of bird that raised her.
What happens in the nest
The cuckoo’s egg is surprisingly small for a bird its size, so it does not stand out among the host’s eggs. It hatches quickly, after about 12 days, often before the host’s own eggs.
Then comes the bit everyone remembers from nature documentaries. Within a day or two of hatching, the blind, naked cuckoo chick wriggles each of the other eggs or chicks onto its back and heaves them out of the nest. After that it has its foster parents to itself, and they feed it until it is far bigger than they are. It leaves the nest at around 17 to 21 days, and they keep feeding it for a couple of weeks after that.
When cuckoos are here
Cuckoos spend the winter in Africa and are only in Britain for a few months. They arrive from mid to late April, which is when you hear the famous call (only the male says “cuck-oo”). Females lay from late April into June, as many as 12 to 22 eggs in a season according to the RSPB, each in a different nest.
The adults leave early, from late June, with most gone by August. The young birds go later and on their own, finding their way to Africa without ever having been shown.
How to help cuckoos
Cuckoos are on the Red list, and many people notice they hear them less than they used to. You cannot put up a box for a cuckoo, but you can help what they depend on:
- Moths and caterpillars. Cuckoos feed on big hairy caterpillars that most birds will not touch. Rough grassland, scrub and woodland edges full of moths are what they need.
- The host birds. No meadow pipits, dunnocks or reed warblers, no cuckoos. Thick hedges help dunnocks; reedbeds and moorland help the rest.
- Follow the research. The BTO has been tracking cuckoos to Africa and back with satellite tags, which is how we know where the losses happen.
Checked against: RSPB: Cuckoo, BTO BirdFacts: Cuckoo. Last checked 8 November 2026.
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Questions
Do cuckoos build nests?
No. They lay their eggs in other birds’ nests and leave those birds to raise the chicks.
Which birds raise cuckoo chicks in the UK?
Mostly meadow pipits, dunnocks and reed warblers, and less often pied wagtails and robins.
How many eggs does a cuckoo lay?
According to the RSPB, a female lays around 12 to 22 eggs in a season, each in a different nest.
When do you hear cuckoos in the UK?
From mid to late April into June. The adults leave from late June.
Is a cuckoo’s egg in a nest protected?
Yes. The host’s nest and every egg in it, the cuckoo’s included, are protected by law while the nest is in use.
