In about a month, we will be able to hear the "cuckoo~cuckoo" bird call in the fields. This call is very recognizable, and many friends are familiar with it, but this kind of bird Usually "only the sound is heard but the body is not seen", it is the cuckoo, whose scientific name is cuckoo.
However, the cuckoo is now However, its reputation is not very good. The reason is its breeding habit of doves occupying magpie nests. This breeding habit is simply to lay eggs in other birds' nests and let other birds help them raise their offspring. However, the cuckoo bird has been favored by ancient people since ancient times. What he writes is a bird of positive energy. As early as Jin Dynasty Zhang Hua quoted Han Dynasty Li Ying's "Shu Zhi", there is a description of "the cuckoo cries blood".
So, what kind of bird is the cuckoo? Is it good or bad? We might as well first learn about cuckoos crying blood and doves occupying magpie nests.
Whether it is a cuckoo or a dove Cuckoo is not the name of a single bird, but a collective name for 10 species of birds in the genus Cuckoo of the family Cuckoo. In addition to certain differences in body shape and appearance, they can all make a sound similar to "cuckoo~cuckoo" scream. There are only four types of cuckoos distributed in my country: the large cuckoo, the medium cuckoo, the small cuckoo and the four-voiced cuckoo.
The four types of cuckoos have large differences in body shape and have certain differences in their calls. The four cuckoos' calls are similar to "coo coo coo", while the large cuckoo is like a shorter "coo" The call of the medium cuckoo is louder, similar to "squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak."
Since the calls of cuckoos are different, according to the calls, the cuckoos we often refer to usually refer to the four-tone cuckoo and the giant cuckoo. Among them, the four-tone cuckoo is mainly distributed in the Yangtze River Basin of my country and South China. The cuckoo is distributed more widely in the region, and the giant cuckoo can be found in almost all the north and south of the Yangtze River. Therefore, the cuckoo call we hear most often is made by the giant cuckoo, and the "cuckoo" and "dove" in the ancient population also refer to the giant cuckoo. cuckoo.
No matter which one it is Cuckoos are basically summer migratory birds in my country. They migrate to the breeding season in April and May every year. The calls of cuckoos we hear in the fields are actually a way for them to attract the opposite sex after arriving at their breeding grounds. means. However, friends who have lived in rural areas should know that cuckoos usually sing loudly before the wheat harvest, but rarely sing after the wheat harvest. This is not because the cuckoos have moved away, but because their breeding period has passed. , there is no need to make frequent calls to attract the opposite sex, and the cuckoo itself is a solitary bird.
After the breeding season, cuckoos usually stay in August-September before migrating to their wintering grounds. During this period, they rest on tall trees at night and are busy foraging in the fields during the day. Food.
There is a historical allusion to the cuckoo crying blood. It is said that there was a monarch named Du Yu in the Shu Kingdom, nicknamed Emperor Wang. The country will be governed in an orderly manner so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment. However, one day a group of dragons, snakes and ghosts suddenly came and made trouble, casting spells to block all the rivers flowing to the sea in the Shu Kingdom. As a result, the Shu Kingdom began to suffer from frequent floods, and the people were in dire straits.
When Emperor Wang was at a loss what to do, a giant turtle in an ancient well in Jingzhou became refined and transformed into a human form. Then he approached Emperor Wang and recommended that he could control floods. Emperor Wang was overjoyed and made the turtle prime minister. The giant turtle lived up to expectations and successfully drove away dragons, snakes and ghosts, and unblocked the blocked river.
After Emperor Wang saw Da Bi's ability, he felt inferior and abdicated the throne to Da Bi. After Da Bi succeeded to the throne, he was called "Follow the Emperor". At first, he was kind to the emperor and the people, but gradually he lost himself in the praise and the prosperous life, and became a tyrant who acted arbitrarily and plundered the people's fat and anointing.
After hearing about it, Emperor Wang who lived in seclusion in Xishan hurriedly went to persuade him, but was blocked from the city gate. After returning to Xishan, Emperor Wang turned into a cuckoo bird and flew across the city without thinking about food and tea. He opened the door and went straight to the palace. He stayed on a tall tree in the imperial garden and shouted loudly, "The people are noble, the people are noble." In the end, he cried out blood and dyed his mouth red. Finally, Emperor Cong realized his mistake and put the people first, and the country became stable again. However, Wangdi, who had turned into a cuckoo, could not change back, so it would always scream to remind the emperors of all dynasties to "put the people first". It is precisely for this reason that the cuckoo was worthy of the ancients. A respected bird.
Of course, a story is a story. In fact, the cuckoo bird’s mouth is indeed bright red when it opens, especiallyIt is a young bird. The younger the bird, the brighter the color of its oral cavity. However, this is not caused by bleeding, but the true color of the cuckoo. The advantage of this bright color is that it can stimulate the adult bird's desire to feed. After all, cuckoos like to feed. The eggs are laid in the nests of other birds, and the young birds have no means. Under the huge appearance difference, it is obvious that other adult birds will not be stupid enough to raise children for others, but have bright red mouths. When the adult birds fly back, They only need to grow their mouths to make the adult birds feed them food obediently. Let's take a look at the origin of Jiuzhan Magpie's Nest.