The call of the cuckoo is one of the most distinctive sounds of spring on Dartmoor. As April turns to May, the clear, two-note “cuck-oo” echoes across open moorland, drifting over heather, granite tors, and quiet valleys. It’s a sound that feels both timeless and fleeting because the cuckoo is only a seasonal visitor here.
The bird most often heard is the Common cuckoo, a migrant that travels thousands of miles from sub-Saharan Africa to breed in Britain. By the time they reach Dartmoor, the landscape is just waking up: gorse is in bloom, lambs dot the hillsides, and insects are becoming plentiful perfect conditions for these birds.
Cuckoos are elusive despite their unmistakable voice. You’ll often hear one long before you see it. When you do catch a glimpse, it can be surprisingly hawk like in flight, with long pointed wings and a barred underside. They tend to favour the edges of moorland, especially where scrub and scattered trees break up the open ground.
What makes cuckoos especially fascinating is their breeding strategy. Instead of building their own nests, they rely on other birds particularly meadow pipits on Dartmoor to raise their young. This behaviour, known as brood parasitism, involves the female cuckoo laying her egg in another bird’s nest. The chick hatches early and instinctively pushes out the host’s eggs or chicks, ensuring it receives all the food brought by its unsuspecting foster parents.
On Dartmoor, cuckoos are closely tied to traditional farming and healthy insect populations. In recent decades, their numbers in Britain have declined, making their arrival each spring feel even more special. Hearing that first call on a misty morning somewhere between a distant tor and a rushing stream still signals the turning of the seasons as surely as it has for generations.
If you’re walking the moor in late spring, pause for a moment and listen. The land may seem quiet, but then the call comes simple, hollow, and echoing and for a brief time, Dartmoor belongs to the cuckoo.
