I'm going to start today with an excerpt from William Shakespeare's comedy,

Love's Labor's Lost.

Quote,

When daisies pieed and violets blue and ladies smocks all silver white,

and cuckoo buds of yellow hue do paint the meadows with delight,

the cuckoo then on every tree mocks married men,

for thus sings he, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo then on every tree mocks married men, for thus sings he,

cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, oh, word of fear, unpleasing to a married ear.

End quote. Now, this may seem like a bit of frivolous poetry from the late 1500s, but if you listen again at the end of the show, you'll realize that this little stanza packs a surprisingly informative punch.

Today, we're going to talk about the common cuckoo.

Cuculus Canoris.

I'm Mackin. This is Species.

Welcome to the show.

Today's episode has been requested by many listeners, for reasons that will soon become apparent, to those who know nothing about this amazing bird.

Because I don't want to break up the main show with multiple warnings for parents,

I'll just say right up front.

This show is going to involve talk of mating, including cuckoldry,

including a bit about humans.

So if you don't want to have that type of conversation with your kids yet,

either skip this episode or listen with your finger close to the

fast forward button. It's not particularly explicit if that matters. Major thank you to all the donors

who make this show possible. We could not do this without you. Thanks for even considering

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