28 October 2025
Remember the excitement when a barnacle goose came to Pittsburgh in late March and early April? That excitement was tripled or quadrupled last Friday when an extreme rarity — a common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) — was found on Long Island, New York. Only four common cuckoos have ever been seen in the U.S.
This bird’s normal range is Eurasia in the summer, Africa and southeast Asia in the winter. The immature bird found on Long Island was on its way to Africa when it went off course.
We found out about the bird because a golfer, who is not a birder, thought it was unusual and texted a photo to his ornithologist nephew.
The Rare Bird Alerts were galvanizing. The cuckoo’s location on the eastern end of Long Island was only a two hour drive from Manhattan. Hundreds of birders and photographers came out to see it on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 24-26 October.
More birders were searching for it yesterday, 27 October, when CBS New York published this video.
As far as I can tell, the cuckoo was not seen yesterday.
p.s. Like brown-headed cowbirds, common cuckoos are nest parasites who lay their eggs in the nests of other birds –> If You Think Cowbirds Are Bad… On the plus side, their song is the sound of a cuckoo clock. The CBS video explains that this bird is too young and in the wrong season to sing.
what a stunning sighting! The post about the Common Cuckoo turning up all the way on Long Island is absolutely wild. Seeing a bird that normally lives in Eurasia and Africa drift far off course just shows how unpredictable and magical nature can be. Thanks for sharing this moment of wonder!