Parrot vs. Cuckoo — What's the Difference?

One who imitates the words or actions of another, especially without understanding them.

Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis.

Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes , found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoidea ("true" parrots), the Cacatuoidea (cockatoos), and the Strigopoidea (New Zealand parrots).

A long-tailed, medium-sized bird, typically with a grey or brown back and barred or pale underparts. Many cuckoos lay their eggs in the nests of small songbirds.

Any of numerous primarily tropical and subtropical birds of the order Psittaciformes, characterized by a short hooked bill, brightly colored plumage, and, in some species, the ability to mimic human speech or other sounds.

A mad person.

To repeat or imitate, especially without understanding.

Mad; crazy

A kind of bird, many species of which are colorful and able to mimic human speech, of the order Psittaciformes or (narrowly) of the family Psittacidae.

A grayish bird (Cuculus canorus) of Eurasia and Africa that has a characteristic two-note call and lays its eggs in the nests of birds of other species.

A parroter; a person who repeats the words or ideas of others.

Any of various other birds of the family Cuculidae.

(archaic) A puffin.

The call or cry of one of these birds.

Channel coal.

(Slang) A foolish or crazy person.

A transponder.

To repeat incessantly, as a cuckoo does its call.

(transitive) To repeat (exactly what has just been said) without necessarily showing understanding, in the manner of a parrot.

Lacking in sense; foolish or crazy.

In a general sense, any bird of the order Psittaci.

Any of various birds, of the family Cuculidae, famous for laying its eggs in the nests of other species; but especially a common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), that has a characteristic two-note call.

Any species of Psittacus, Chrysotis, Pionus, and other genera of the family Psittacidæ, as distinguished from the parrakeets, macaws, and lories. They have a short rounded or even tail, and often a naked space on the cheeks. The gray parrot, or jako (Psittacus erithacus) of Africa (see Jako), and the species of Amazon, or green, parrots (Chrysotis) of America, are examples. Many species, as cage birds, readily learn to imitate sounds, and to repeat words and phrases.

The sound of that particular bird.

To repeat by rote, without understanding, as a parrot.

The bird-shaped figure found in cuckoo clocks.

To chatter like a parrot.

The cuckoo clock itself.

Usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds

A person who inveigles themselves into a place where they should not be (used especially in the phrase a cuckoo in the nest).

A copycat who does not understand the words or acts being imitated

(slang) Someone who is crazy.

Repeat mindlessly;

To make the call of a cuckoo.

To repeat something incessantly. en

(slang) Crazy; not sane.

A bird belonging to Cuculus, Coccyzus, and several allied genera, of many species.

A man who is a stupid incompetent fool

Any of numerous European and North American birds having pointed wings and a long tail

Repeat monotonously, like a cuckoo repeats his call