Suffolk's record-breaking cuckoo, PJ, dies

PJ the cuckoo "captured the hearts and minds of the public", the British Trust for Ornithology said

A record-breaking cuckoo that completed more than 69,000 miles (111,045 km) during its lifetime has died.

PJ was fitted with a satellite tag in the King's Forest, Suffolk, in 2016, to track his migration to Africa.

He was the first satellite-tagged cuckoo to clock-up 60,000 miles since research began, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) said.

The BTO said PJ was about seven years old and "was approaching the age of the oldest known UK cuckoo when he died".

The "star bird" that "captured the hearts and minds of the public" died at his Suffolk breeding ground, the organisation said.

A satellite map shows the migratory route of PJ the cuckoo, to and from Suffolk

PJ was tagged in his second year, meaning he had already completed one migration to and from the rain forests of west Africa.

Each complete migration from his Suffolk grounds, near Bury St Edmunds, to his wintering grounds in the Congo Basin and back again is approximately 9,940 miles (16,000 km).

Cuckoos visit the UK in spring with females laying eggs in nests of other species to trick them into rearing their chicks for them.

PJ had crossed the Sahara dessert numerous times, navigated the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and flown over the Pyrenees in France and Spain (pictured)

The BTO's tracking project aims to find out what is causing a decline in the population of cuckoos, which have been on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern since 2009.

As cuckoo PJ had already completed one migration cycle before he was first tagged in 2016, this brings the record-breaking bird's total mileage over his lifetime to 69,580 miles (112,000 km).

The BTO said: "We are only able to follow most birds for between one and three years, so PJ's achievements - and the longevity of his tag - exceeded our wildest expectations."