Cuckoo
Just how does the cuckoo trick other birds into accepting its eggs and raising its young? New photography is combined with the latest scientific findings to solve the puzzle.
The sound of the cuckoo is to many the very essence of spring, yet behind the magical call is a bird that is a cheat, a thief and a killer. Just how does the cuckoo trick other birds into accepting its eggs and raising its young? Why don't the duped foster parents react as they watch the baby cuckoo destroy their own eggs and chicks? And why do they work so relentlessly to feed a demanding chick that looks nothing like them and will soon dwarf them?
In this film, new photography is combined with archive footage and the latest scientific findings to solve a puzzle which, as narrator David Attenborough explains, has perplexed nature watchers for thousands of years.
Last on
More episodes
Clip
-
The blind assassin
Duration: 00:46
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | David Attenborough |
Series Editor | Tim Martin |
Broadcasts
- Fri 9 Jan 2009 20:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except Wales & Yorkshire
- Sat 10 Jan 2009 19:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two Wales (Analogue) & Wales only
- Sun 11 Jan 2009 17:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except Wales & Yorkshire
- Thu 29 Jan 2009 03:50Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One except Scotland
- Mon 1 Nov 2010 22:00
- Tue 2 Nov 2010 02:10
- Sat 25 Jun 2016 10:10Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two Scotland
- Sat 25 Jun 2016 11:10Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except Scotland & Yorkshire