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Thursday 25 July 2024

I Like Birds 3 - The Cuckoo

 


This week's ornithological offering is a day earlier than usual for reasons which will become clear tomorrow.

I've decided to focus on one particular bird namely the Cuckoo , The RSPB (who may become handy for this series)  tell us that the Cuckoo is a dove-sized bird with a blue-grey back, head and chest, and stripey black and white belly. Its sleek body, long tail and pointed wings gives it an appearance not unlike Kestrels or Sparrowhawks.

Then it gets a bit more nasty  - Cuckoos are summer visitors and known for being brood parasites. This means that, instead of building their own nest, the females lay their eggs in other birds’ nests, especially Meadow Pipits, Dunnocks and Reed Warblers.  Bastards!

You should all be familiar with The Cuckoo performed here by Kristen Hersh and I suspect that a good few of you will recognise  the Belle and Sebastian number.

We conclude with Lissie followed by The Cardigans


Kristin Hersh - The Cuckoo

Belle and Sebastian - I'm a Cuckoo

Lissie - Cuckoo

The Cardigans -Your New Cuckoo


I  thought that I would include this video given that the scene was replicated by my normally quiet nephew when his teacher told him of for talking!






10 comments:

  1. Will you be featuring crows (tweedy or otherwise) in a future episode?

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  2. It is a possibility.
    Can think of three band names offhand but would need to check the music files for songs.

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  3. Replies
    1. I have found four songs with 'crow' or 'crows' in the title, one by a band with 'birds' in their name, which must mean double points. Will send them over.

      If you are looking for crow bands there are the Countings of course, not that I would admit to owning anything by either them or Sheryl.

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    2. And Old Crow Medicine Show and Stone the Crows

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  4. Kristin and Belle are two of my favourite songs - especially the Avalanches remix of B&S.

    (Ice Cream for Crow by Captain Beefheart)

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  5. I love all birds - but with its nesting habits the cuckoo can be hard to like. Not so with your song choices, though.

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  6. Following on from Ernie's question about featuring crows, is there any chance of some ravens?

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    1. I second that. Already looking forward to later in the series when you get to kittiwakes and bitterns.

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  7. I'm late to this particular party (damned holiday!) but I do like the series title. I had loads of Cuckoo songs in the harddrive, but the one that stood out was Absolutely Cuckoo by the Magnetic Fields.

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