Editing Cuckoo (section)

{{Short description|Family of birds}}
{{About|a kind of bird|other uses}}
{{Redirect|Cuckoo's nest}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Cuckoos
| fossil_range = <br/>[[Eocene]] - [[Holocene]], {{fossilrange|34|0}}
| image = Cacomantis flabelliformis.jpg
| image_caption = [[Fan-tailed cuckoo]] (''Cacomantis flabelliformis'')
| display_parents = 2
| parent_authority = [[Johann Georg Wagler|Wagler]], 1830
| taxon = Cuculidae
| authority = [[William Elford Leach|Leach]], 1819
| type_genus = ''[[Cuculus]]''
| type_genus_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision = 33 genera, see text
}}

'''Cuckoos''' are [[bird]]s in the '''Cuculidae''' ({{IPAc-en|k|juː|ˈ|k|j|uː|l|ᵻ|d|iː}} {{respell|kew|KEW|lih|dee}}) family, the sole [[taxon]] in the order '''Cuculiformes''' ({{IPAc-en|k|j|uː|ˈ|k|j|uː|l|ᵻ|f|ɔr|m|iː|z}} {{respell|kew|KEW|lih|for|meez}}).<ref name=Ericson>{{cite journal | last1 = Ericson | first1 = P.G.P. |display-authors=et al | year = 2006 | title = Diversification of Neoaves: integration of molecular sequence data and fossils | url = http://biology-web.nmsu.edu/houde/Ericson_et_al_2006.pdf | journal = [[Biology Letters]] | volume = 2 | issue = 4 | pages = 543–547 | doi = 10.1098/rsbl.2006.0523 | pmid = 17148284 | pmc = 1834003 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080307225744/http://biology-web.nmsu.edu/houde/Ericson_et_al_2006.pdf | archive-date = 2008-03-07 }}</ref><ref name=Hackett>{{cite journal | last1 = Hackett | first1 = S.J. | display-authors = etal   | year = 2008 | title = A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History | journal = Science | volume = 320 | issue = 5884| pages = 1763–1768 | doi=10.1126/science.1157704 | pmid=18583609| bibcode = 2008Sci...320.1763H | s2cid = 6472805 }}</ref><ref name=Jarvis2014>{{cite journal | last1 = Jarvis | first1 = E.D. | display-authors = etal   | year = 2014 | title = Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds | journal = Science | volume = 346 | issue = 6215| pages = 1320–1331 | doi=10.1126/science.1253451 | pmid=25504713 | pmc=4405904| bibcode = 2014Sci...346.1320J }}</ref> The cuckoo family includes the [[common cuckoo|common or European cuckoo]], [[Geococcyx|roadrunners]], [[koel]]s, [[malkoha]]s, [[coua]]s, [[coucal]]s, and [[ani (bird)|anis]]. The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families, the [[Centropodidae]] and [[Crotophagidae]], respectively. The cuckoo order Cuculiformes is one of three that make up the [[Otidimorphae]], the other two being the [[turaco]]s and the [[bustard]]s. The family Cuculidae contains 150 species, which are divided into 33 genera.

The cuckoos are generally medium-sized, slender birds. Most species live in trees, though a sizeable minority are ground-dwelling. The family has a [[cosmopolitan distribution]]; the majority of species are tropical. Some species are [[bird migration|migratory]]. The cuckoos feed on insects, insect larvae, and a variety of other animals, as well as fruit. Some species are [[brood parasite]]s, laying their eggs in the nests of other species and giving rise to the terms "[[Cuckoo's egg (metaphor)|cuckoo's egg]]" and "[[cuckold]]" as metaphors, but most species raise their own young.

Cuckoos have played a role in human culture for thousands of years, appearing in [[Greek mythology]] as sacred to the goddess [[Hera]]. In Europe, the cuckoo is associated with spring, and with [[cuckoldry]], for example in [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Love's Labour's Lost]]''. In India, cuckoos are sacred to [[Kamadeva]], the god of desire and longing, whereas in Japan, the cuckoo symbolises unrequited love.