Cuckolded! The little red warblers fooled into feeding cuckoo chick THREE times their size

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Open wide... not that wide: This tireless reed warbler tries to feed the enormous cuckoo chick


These gullible reed warblers had their work cut out when they were tricked in to thinking this enormous cuckoo chick was their own.

A cunning cuckoo had laid its egg in their nest and although the small birds must have been confused by their strange-looking offspring when it hatched, that didn't stop them from carrying out their parenting duties.

They worked tirelessly to bring the intruder chick food every few minutes and even tried to keep him warm - even though he was three times the size of them.


Please can I have some more: The cuckoo chick demands more food from the confused warbler


The cuckoo parent had managed to leave its egg in the nest unnoticed, as the breed have the ability to lay eggs that closely resemble the colouration of other birds.

The bizarre family was captured on camera by wildlife photographer David Tipling near Thetford, Norfolk.



Work cut out for them: The warbler even tries to keep the huge chick warm


Mr Tipling, 45, said this cuckoo chick scenario was rare as the birds aren't often successful in laying their eggs in another bird's nest, especially one that has been so well hidden in the reeds.

'Once this young cuckoo hatched he would have pushed the other eggs out of the nest and started demanding food,' he said.

'These reed warblers appeared to think the chick was their own, it was just their instinct to look feed it.

'The cuckoo was three times the size of them but they didn't seem to notice - they even tried to keep it warm by sitting on it and covering it with their wings.

'The chick will fledge the nest at around 18 to 19 days and will grow so big it will probably flatten the nest.

'But the warblers will just think they've raised a successful family.
'It was very exciting to see. I've been trying to photograph this for quite a while now.'


source : dailymail

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2009 was good for butterflies, but bad for the cuckoo

By Luke Salkeld

Strong numbers: Butterflies will have hibernated well during the cold winter, which means they will be out in force next year
has been disappointing for staycationers and somewhat slippery for Christmas shoppers.

But while this year's weather wasn't great for we humans, there have been mixed blessings for the country's wildlife.

Butterflies and some other types of insect saw their numbers soar, but cuckoos, daddy longlegs, bats and beetles fared less well.

Although the wet summers of 2007 and last year, coupled with mild winters, disturbed the natural hibernation and breeding cycles of several plants and animals, this year's dry summer helped repair a lot of the damage.

Matthew Oates, of the National Trust, said that while the UK did not bask in the 'barbecue summer' promised by the Met Office, the weather was better than the previous two years.

A third 'rotten' summer would have done serious damage to even more species, he added.

Purple emperor butterflies are among the species to have benefited from the coldest weather for years, allowing them to hibernate as caterpillars to emerge strongly in the summer.


Gone: Cuckoos have disappeared altogether from some areas as a result of recent weather patterns


Painted lady butterflies were also seen migrating in their millions and it was a good year for seven spot ladybirds.

'Many insects managed to hibernate properly, instead of being constantly woken up by unseasonably mild days,' said Mr Oates.

'This year has stopped the rot and a lot of wildlife has started to get its way back up the ladder - but we still need a good summer in 2010.' But despite this it has not all been good news for British wildlife.

Along with other birds, choughs in Cornwall and Pembrokeshire struggled to feed in the face of frozen ground in February and Dartford warblers also suffered.

The number of cuckoos has also fallen sharply in the past 12 months, with the bird disappearing from some areas altogether.

Mr Oates said the fall could be down to a variety of reasons including a lack of their favourite food, hairy caterpillars, which in turn have been affected by the poor weather. Earlier this year, the cuckoo was added to the 'Red List' of the UK's most threatened birds.

Only between 10,000 and 20,000 breeding pairs now migrate from Africa each year.
And scientists are also trying to pinpoint why the daddy longlegs - or common cranefly - has gone missing.

What is clear, however, is that its disappearance is likely to have a huge effect on bat numbers because they rely on the insect for food.


source: dailymail

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