Bird Villains

If you don't hear cuckoos it doesn't mean they're not around carrying on their infamous trickery. Males may have left but this female was patiently watching in a part of Totley Moor where I've seen females operating before.

She watches, bides her time and can deposit an egg in just a few seconds.

Other villains seen recently are: a sparrow hawk whose appearance is similar to a cuckoo but whose flight and behaviour are utterly different, and a lot of jays. Jays, like their cousins magpies, make plenty of noise and are specially noticeable from midsummer on. That's probably when their own broods are hungriest and when the nests of other birds are most vulnerable.  It's something of a puzzle wondering if there's any evolutionary advantage in these gaudy birds being so conspicuous when their dark deeds are best accomplished in secret. Presumably the noise and chatter and squawk serve them best in keeping in contact and competing with others of their kind.