A01=Cynthia Chris
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animals
Author_Cynthia Chris
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bird symbolism
birds
birds in literature
black-billed cuckoo
British Trust for Ornithology
brood parasites
brood parasitism
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Category1=Non-Fiction
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Category=JBFU
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Category=WNCB
Charles Darwin
climate change
Cloud Cuckoo Land
COP=United Kingdom
cuckold
cuckoldry
cuckoo
cuckoo clock
cuckoo migration
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harbinger of springtime
IUCN
Language_English
literature
Malkohas
migration
Oriental cuckoo
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Price_€10 to €20
PS=Forthcoming
reed warbler
Richard Lydekker
softlaunch
symbolism
William Wordsworth
yellow-billed cuckoo
Product details
- ISBN 9781789149319
- Dimensions: 135 x 190mm
- Publication Date: 01 Aug 2024
- Publisher: Reaktion Books
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
- Language: English
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The common cuckoo is a peculiar bird – one that has lent its name to the otherworldly ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’ in Aristophanes’ play The Birds, and its two-note song to the classic cuckoo clock. While the cuckoo has long symbolized exuberance or foolishness, it is also recognized as our most reliable harbinger of springtime. But that’s not all the cuckoo stands for. Females of some cuckoo species are brood parasites, known for depositing their eggs in the nests of other birds. This curious behaviour has inspired many a myth and metaphor, and given us the figure of the ‘cuckold’, who appears in literature from Shakespeare’s plays to science-fiction thrillers. This enlightening, entertaining book explores the natural history of the cuckoo, its cultural meanings and the stories we tell about these fascinating birds.
Cynthia Chris is Professor in the Department of Media Culture at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York. Her previous books include Watching Wildlife (2006), The Indecent Screen: Regulating Television in the Twenty-First Century (2018) and Crab (‘Animal’ series, Reaktion Books, 2021).
