Where have all the cuckoos gone?

ADULT CUCKOOS have left our shores and soon their youngsters will bid farewell to their devoted foster parents and head for Africa.

For years, we have lamented the decline of the famous bird.

This summer, however, more cuckoos were reported than usual, at least in some parts of the country. It has even been suggested a comeback is underway. The claims are “anecdotal”, the in-term nowadays for “unreliable” or “exaggerated”. So what do we know, for sure, about our cuckoos and their prospects for the future?