Early evening walk (31st May 2017, farmland south of Rampton, Cambridge, relatively close to the Guided Busway), hoping to catch sight of our local fen edge barn owl (Tyto alba), but could hear a cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) in a field beyond a hedgerow…call seemed to be getting closer…at which point two males flew over our heads calling, each presumably attempting to out court any nearby females. Female song is very different from that of the male and not heard so often. I got a quick shot of one of the two as they passed overhead calling all the while and they separated in their ongoing search for cuckoo nookie.
The male’s call is familiar to many people even if they have never seen this thrush-sized bird that resembles a small bird of prey, but is neither thrush nor raptor.