Parts of a Cuckoo Clock – Bird, Weights, Bellows, Pipes

All 11 parts on the diagram

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Start here: 7 main parts 7

Cuckoo bird The carved bird that comes out on the hour and half hour. On many clocks it opens its beak and flaps its wings with each call.
Door The small trap door above the dial. It opens when the clock strikes and the bird comes out.
Case The wooden case that holds the works. Traditional cases are either carved or built like a chalet.
Dial The clock face with its hour marks.
Hands The hour and minute hands, which point to the time.
Pendulum Swings back and forth under the case. It keeps the clock running at the right speed.
Weights Cast-iron weights, usually shaped like pine cones. As they slowly sink on their chains, they drive the clock.

Carvings and the works: 4 4

Carvings Carved decoration round the case. On a carved-style clock it is leaves, birds and animals.
Movement The clockwork inside the case. It turns the hands and, on the hour, works the bird and the bellows.
Bellows Two small bellows on top of the pipes. When the clock strikes they puff air into each pipe in turn.
Pipes Two small pipes, each tuned to one note. Air from the bellows through them makes the two-note cuckoo call.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-27. Wikipedia, Cuckoo clock, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo_clock : typically weight driven and pendulum regulated; it strikes the hours with a sound like a cuckoo's call, and an automated cuckoo bird moves with each note, some moving their wings and opening their beaks; the bird appears through a small trap door, worked by the clock movement on the hour and half hour; traditional cases are either carved, decorated with leaves and animals, or shaped like a chalet; the weights are cast iron, usually pine-cone shaped; the call comes from two tiny gedackt pipes with bellows on top, which the movement works, puffing air into each pipe in turn. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-27. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

These are the parts of a cuckoo clock on a carved Black Forest clock, with its case opened from behind at the right. Start with the 7 main parts.

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On the front

On the hour the little door above the dial opens and the bird comes out. The pendulum swings below to keep time, and the pine-cone weights slowly sink on their chains to drive the clock.

Inside

The movement turns the hands. When the clock strikes, it works two small bellows that puff air into two pipes in turn, each tuned to one note, which makes the cuckoo call.

Two styles to tell apart: a carved clock is covered in leaves and animals, while a chalet clock is built like a little house.

Questions and answers

How does a cuckoo clock make the cuckoo sound?

With two tiny pipes, each with a bellows on top. When the clock strikes, the movement works the bellows to puff air into each pipe in turn, giving two notes.

Why are cuckoo clock weights shaped like pine cones?

It is the traditional Black Forest design: the cast-iron weights that drive the clock are usually shaped like pine cones.

What makes a cuckoo clock run?

The weights, which slowly sink and drive the movement, and the pendulum, which swings to keep the clock running at the right speed.