Brenda found a 2cy Common Cuckoo in our garden that showed a number of interesting features.
2cy Common Cuckoo at Millfield
Its small size, brownish iris, pale-headed appearance contrasting with its rather dark upperparts and dark-blue rump (almost reminiscent of that of an Oriental Turtle Dove) are all oft-quoted 'soft' features of Oriental Cuckoo... but could they equally all be age-related, as the retained brown juvenile secondaries and upperwing-coverts are a sure sign of it being a 2cy individual. Could its age also be responsible for the sum of the number of white bars to the underside of p8-p10 being only 18, as (Lehikoinen & Vaisanen 2020) only found a single specimen of an adult grey morph Common Cuckoo (obtained in Brighton) showing a sum of only 18 white spots. Of course, the combination of the white ground colour and the barring to its lesser underwing-coverts and the appearance of a 'blackish shadow' on the bases of its secondaries failing to extend onto its primaries count strongly in favour of it being a Common Cuckoo.
