Order Cuculiformes is one of the most famous bird orders, as it contains parasitic bird species – cuckoos. However, there are other equally interesting species as well in this bird order.
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The word Cuculiformes originated from New Latin (Cuculi + formes). Cuculi means cuckoo, and formes means forms.
Order Cuculiformes has only one direct family – Cuculidae, which includes bird species such as Anis, Cuckoos, Roadrunners, Koels, Malkohas, Couas, and Coucals. At the moment, there are about 141 species in this bird order.
Cuckoos have played an important role in human history for thousands of years, appearing in Greek mythology as sacred to the Goddess Hera. In Europe, the cuckoo is linked with Spring. The word cuckoldry[4] in evolutionary biology was coined from Cuckoos meaning offspring that are not genetically their own. In India, cuckoos are sacred to Kamadeva[5], the God of desire and longing.
Here are the main features of Cuculiformes birds:
Here are some of the Cuculiformes species:
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