Template:Did you know nominations/African cuckoo


 * The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as |this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Yoninah (talk) 17:29, 17 December 2016 (UTC)

African cuckoo

 * ... that the African cuckoo ejects an egg already present in a host's nest when it lays its own? Source: "Female removes host's egg at time of laying"
 * Reviewed: Cizhou ware

5x expanded by Cwmhiraeth (talk). Self-nominated at 09:11, 2 November 2016 (UTC).


 * Symbol confirmed.svg Destubbing began on 28 October; clearly less than a week. Expended fivefold. 5000+ characters; clearly greater than 1500. Within policy to the best of my knowledge. Checked page no. 466 of the cited source and verified the same. The hook is clear, neutral, shorter and interesting to a broad range of audience. GTG! Pavanjandhyala (talk) 17:00, 2 November 2016 (UTC)


 * Symbol possible vote.svg I pulled this from q4 - surely the cuckoo's behaviour is common knowledge. Gatoclass (talk) 17:58, 6 December 2016 (UTC)
 * The source states that the female removes the host's egg at time of laying. This is not universal among cuckoos as it is often the cuckoo chick that ejects the hosts eggs/young. The source suggests that this species may eject the egg because the call of the host chick may be very different from that of the cuckoo chick. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 18:13, 6 December 2016 (UTC)
 * What you just said about ejecting because the calls are different would make a better hook, but all the same I think I would prefer something else altogether if you could manage it. Gatoclass (talk) 10:28, 7 December 2016 (UTC)


 * ALT1 ... that chicks of the African cuckoo are sometimes abandoned by their foster parents? Cwmhiraeth (talk) 12:16, 7 December 2016 (UTC)
 * Nice hook, but the article only mentions one occasion where this occurred. I can't check the source because it is not available to me, what does the source say? Gatoclass (talk) 13:31, 7 December 2016 (UTC)
 * The source gives only one example, but I reckon that "sometimes" covers that. "Young in Yellow-billed Shrikes' nest apparently abandoned by fosterers, and the group of shrikes started new nest. Breeding success RSA from egg to fledging 8-38%." Cwmhiraeth (talk) 13:53, 7 December 2016 (UTC)
 * I don't think "sometimes" can be used to cover just one example. Do you have any other hook suggestions? Gatoclass (talk) 14:33, 7 December 2016 (UTC)
 * No ;-) Do you like a diet of hairy and non-hairy caterpillars, beetles and winged termites? Cwmhiraeth (talk) 15:02, 7 December 2016 (UTC)
 * How about ALT2. I think it is interesting as I thought the only problem faced by a cuckoo was getting its egg into the host's nest. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 05:56, 8 December 2016 (UTC)


 * ALT2 ... that in South Africa, fewer than 40% of African cuckoo eggs are successfully hatched and the chicks raised by their foster parents?
 * Gatoclass, is ALT2 acceptable to you, since ALT1 does not seem to be? BlueMoonset (talk) 22:01, 12 December 2016 (UTC)


 * Symbol voting keep.svg Yes, I think that is passable - there are no obvious standout hooks in this article. AGF verified. Gatoclass (talk) 06:46, 13 December 2016 (UTC)