When do cuckoos arrive in the UK?

In the GBIF records, UK sightings of the common cuckoo rise sharply from mid April and are near their peak by late April.

When do cuckoos leave the UK?

UK sightings fall away after late June.

Where do cuckoos go in winter?

From December to February the strongest signal in the effort-adjusted GBIF records is around Zimbabwe. The globe shows the whole winter range month by month.

When do cuckoos arrive in and leave the UK?

A summer visitor in the records: sightings rise sharply from mid April, are near their peak by late April, and fall away after late June.

When do cuckoos arrive in the UK?: In the GBIF records, UK sightings of the common cuckoo rise sharply from mid April and are near their peak by late April.
When do cuckoos leave the UK?: UK sightings fall away after late June.
Where do cuckoos go in winter?: From December to February the strongest signal in the effort-adjusted GBIF records is around Zimbabwe. The globe shows the whole winter range month by month.

Common cuckoo in the UK, month by month

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Bars: this species’ share of all UK bird records in GBIF (CC0/CC BY 4.0 only), by month, scaled to the peak month. Based on 79,404 UK records (occurrence search API, country=GB, weekly). Dates come from sightings, not a survey, so treat them as a guide.

See the common cuckoo migration on the 3D globe →

About the common cuckoo

The cuckoo, common cuckoo, European cuckoo or Eurasian cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals.

From the Wikipedia article “Common cuckoo” (revision 1380574688), CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened at a sentence end. Winter/summer areas: country containing the monthly hotspot of effort-adjusted GBIF records, using Natural Earth boundaries (public domain).

Other UK summer visitors: see the full list with arrival and departure dates.