Red-listed cuckoo spotted in Strangford, Herefordshire

A cuckoo, a species now marked for conservation concern, was sighted at Strangford on Friday.

Ian John Buttriss logged the sighting on goingbirding.co.uk.

The cuckoo's distinguishing features include its pointed wings, grey head with a yellow ring around the eye, and barred plumage resembling the sparrowhawk.

It is roughly the size of a bird between a blackbird and a woodpigeon.

The cuckoo is a summer visitor to the UK, arriving from April.

However, due to dwindling numbers caused by habitat loss, changes to host species, deforestation, and hunting along migration paths, you’re a lot less likely to see, or hear, a cuckoo these days.

Many cuckoos are gone by the end of June, having migrated south to Africa.

Sightings are in woodland, particularly woodland edges, as well as around reed beds and the moorlands of Scotland.

Currently, the bird is listed on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern.