Editing Cuckoo (section)

=== Calls ===
Cuckoos are often highly secretive, and in many cases, best known for their wide repertoire of [[bird song|calls]]. These are usually relatively simple, resembling whistles, flutes, or hiccups.<ref name=BH>{{cite book | last = Brooke | first = Michael de L | author2 = Horsfall, John A. | year = 2003 | title = Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds | chapter = Cuckoos | editor = Christopher Perrins | editor-link = Christopher Perrins | pages = [https://archive.org/details/fireflyencyclope0000unse/page/312 312–15] | publisher = Firefly Books | isbn = 978-1-55297-777-4 | chapter-url-access = registration | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/fireflyencyclope0000unse | url = https://archive.org/details/fireflyencyclope0000unse/page/312 }}</ref> The calls are used to demonstrate ownership of a [[territory (animal)|territory]] and to attract a mate. Within a species, the calls are remarkably consistent across the range, even in species with very large ranges. This suggests, along with the fact that many species are not raised by their true parents, that the calls of cuckoos are innate and not learnt.{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}} Although cuckoos are diurnal, many species call at night.{{sfn|Payne|2005}}

The cuckoo family gets its English and scientific names from the call of the male [[common cuckoo]], also familiar from [[cuckoo clock]]s. In most cuckoos, the calls are distinctive to particular species, and are useful for identification. Several [[cryptic species]] are best identified on the basis of their calls.