biology

Lesser cuckoo

Lesser cuckoo is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lesser cuckoo rather than just read about it. In short: The lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is native to East Asia and the Himalayas; it winters to East Africa and Sri Lanka.

Key takeaways

Lesser cuckoo belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Lesser cuckoo to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lesser cuckoo from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is native to East Asia and the Himalayas; it winters to East Africa and Sri Lanka.

In culture

In Japan, the bird is called hototogisu (ホトトギス/杜鵑) and frequently praised in senryu for its song. It has been celebrated by numerous waka poets since the anthology Kokin wakashū (920). Sei Shōnagon in her essay The Pillow Book (1002) mentions a trip she and other courtiers mounted on just to hear this bird, and it was expected of them that they would compose poetry on the occasion. It is also the central image in poem 81 by Tokudaiji Sanesada in the anthology of 100 poems, the Hyakunin Isshu. The Japanese haiku magazine Hototogisu takes its name from the bird, and the magazine's mastermind Masaoka Shiki's adopted pen name, Shiki (子規) also refers to the lesser cuckoo; shiki corresponds to the Chinese zǐguī (子規), which is an alias for its standard name dùjuān (杜鵑). In Chinese, dùjuān is a generic name and the species' common name is xiāodùjuān (小杜鵑). In Korean literature, the song of the lesser cuckoo represents the sound of sadness.

References

Illustrations

Lesser cuckoo: Lesser cuckoo on a 1971 Japanese stamp — Lesser cuckoo on a 1971 Japanese stamp

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lesser cuckoo

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lesser cuckoo claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lesser cuckoo before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lesser cuckoo ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lesser cuckoo

In research: Lesser cuckoo appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Lesser cuckoo in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Lesser cuckoo is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Birds described in 1790, Birds of East Asia, Birds of the Himalayas, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lesser cuckoo outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Lesser cuckoo in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lesser cuckoo means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Lesser cuckoo out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lesser cuckoo in simple terms?

The lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is native to East Asia and the Himalayas; it winters to East Africa and Sri Lanka.

Why does Lesser cuckoo matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lesser cuckoo?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lesser cuckoo.