Birds
Cuckoo
Cuculus canorus
About
The common cuckoo is the most famous brood parasite in nature. It lays its eggs in the nests of other bird species and lets the unsuspecting hosts raise its young. It is, essentially, a con artist with feathers.
Their Eggs
Remarkably mimics the host species' eggs in color and pattern. The cuckoo egg is slightly larger but the mimicry is often convincing enough to fool the host.
Egg Size Comparison
Fun Fact
The cuckoo chick hatches before the host's eggs and instinctively pushes all other eggs out of the nest within hours of hatching. It then monopolizes the food supply from its foster parents, often growing much larger than them.