# The Curious Life of the Cuckoo

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/john-lewis-stempel/the-curious-life-of-the-cuckoo/9781473566651

![The Curious Life of the Cuckoo](https://quivercdn.com/covers/transworld-digital/john-lewis-stempel/the-curious-life-of-the-cuckoo_978-14-7356-665-1-db6dc67b.webp?v=2026-09-30%2004%3A02%3A11)

- Book: [The Curious Life of the Cuckoo](https://www.bookquiver.com/john-lewis-stempel/the-curious-life-of-the-cuckoo) ([The Curious Life of the Cuckoo.md](https://www.bookquiver.com/john-lewis-stempel/the-curious-life-of-the-cuckoo.md))
- Authors: [John Lewis-Stempel](https://www.bookquiver.com/john-lewis-stempel)
- Publisher: transworld_digital
- Medium: ebook
- ISBN: 978-14-7356-665-1
- Published: 2025-03-06
- Language: en_GB
- Binding: E-book

## Description

Is there any bird more mysterious than the cuckoo? It is invariably heard, and not seen. And if seen, it is mistaken for a sharp-winged hawk. The female cuckoo - by a trick that borders on alchemy - is able to disguise its egg as another's. In Greek myth the god Zeus assumed the form of a cuckoo to seduce Hera. But we forgive the cuckoo its con-artistry, because it is the true herald of spring. It is the bird that uplifts our wintered hearts, with that first two-note 'cuk-koo' unmistakable as it sounds across the country. In The Curious Life of the Cuckoo , John Lewis-Stempel explains one of nature's greatest enigmas in vivid, lyrical prose, and celebrates this iconic bird.