Cuckoo Bird: Nest Life
Nature's boldest baby bird
Only for iPhone
Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS.
iPhone
Meet the cuckoo: nature's boldest little freeloader.
In Cuckoo, you play a newly hatched cuckoo chick dropped into a stranger's nest. Hatch from your egg, make room for yourself, beg your unwitting foster parents into feeding you, grow into a comically oversized chick, then fledge and fly off to find your next host nest. One quick loop, then again — each in a different bird's nest, with new challenges every time.
It's based on one of the most astonishing true stories in the natural world. Every mechanic in the game is real cuckoo behavior, just slightly cartoonish.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
- Tap to hatch, feed, grow, and fledge through quick, satisfying loops
- Raise your chick in 12 real host species, from the tiny reed warbler to the brambling
- Time your begging to get fed before the mother loses patience
- Watch your chick balloon to absurd size next to its pint-sized parents
KEEP COMING BACK
- Earn coins from every run, perfect feed, and daily streak
- Spend them on collectible cuckoo skins and cozy nest decorations
- Take on a fresh Daily Challenge for bonus coins
- Build a daily streak and watch your rewards grow
LEARN SOMETHING REAL
- Six short, beautifully written chapters on the real biology of brood parasitism
- Pass each chapter's quiz to earn coins
- Ace them all to earn your shareable "Small Ornithologist" diploma
- Fill out your Field Guide by discovering all 12 host species
THERE ARE NO BAD BIRDS
Cuckoo celebrates nature exactly as it is. The cuckoo isn't a villain — it's a marvel of evolution doing precisely what it was born to do. No blood, no cruelty, just wonder.
Free to play. No accounts, no nonsense. Just you, a tiny trespasser, and a whole world of nests to discover.
Ratings & Reviews
- This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
NEW
• New Best! Beat your fastest loop and get a celebration. Your best time now shows on the main menu.
• Share your loop: after each loop, tap the share icon to send a card with your chick, time and stats.
• Daily reminder: turn on an optional notification in Settings to never miss the daily challenge or your streak. Pick your own time.
• How to play: a quick guide for new players on the first run. You can reopen it any time in Settings.
• Field Guide portraits: every host bird now shows its real colours, and undiscovered ones appear as a mystery silhouette.
• Shop previews: see your cuckoo skins and nest decorations before you buy.
VISUALS
• A living title screen: your chick and nest, with a mother bird dropping by to feed it.
• A new sky that changes from dawn to day, dusk and moonlight as you play.
• Countdown bar for the Evict and Fledge phases, so you can see how much time is left.
• Feathers, sparkles and a flash when the chick hatches.
• The mother bird is more lively, with a fluttering wing, a flicking tail and blinking.
• More depth in the meadow, with a back hill and a soft shadow under the nest.
Thank you for playing Cuckoo!
The developer, Andres Wetzel, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Andres Wetzel
- Size
- 3.8 MB
- Category
- Action
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 18.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 18.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 15.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 2.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- In-App Purchases
Yes
- Cuckoo Supporter $1.99
- Copyright
- © 2026 Andres Wetzel Bagolini
