The cuckoo is Nature's most famous cheat, regularly manipulating and deceiving other species into raising its young. Nick Davies has studied this remarkable interaction for the past thirty years and shows that cuckoos are among the most cunning creatures in the natural world. Using shrewd detective skills and field experiments, he reveals the astonishing and beautiful adaptations that have taken place in the cuckoos' long battle to keep on outwitting their hosts. The book is beautifully illustrated with photographs by leading wildlife photographers, including Richard Nicoll, and pen-and-wash drawings done in the field by renowned Norfolk artist James McCallum.