Common Cuckoo not so common anymore...

Photo: Vogelartinfo

British cuckoo population is plunging

Photo: Dan Kitwood /Getty Images 

Britain has seen a 71% decline in the breeding population of Common Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) over the last 25 years, and the cuckoo was added to the 'Red List' of the UK's most threatened birds, a few years ago, with only 10,000 to 20,000 breeding pairs now migrating from Africa.The decline is thought to be because of fewer migration routes to wintering grounds in West Africa's Congo Basin.   Environmental conditions at stopover sites, along the way, are thought to be the main thing to determine the bird's migration success, with drought and wildfires on the shorter routes having a negative effect, according to scientists.   In North America, cuckoo numbers are down greatly, due, it is thought, to pesticides killing caterpillars.

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BarrytheBirder