Coccyzus americanus
The North American populations of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo are declining significantly. The range of the western subspecies, in particular, has declined dramatically, although it was never common in the Rockies. The declines have been attributed to the loss of mature, closed-canopy riparian forests. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo's call is composed of rather strange-sounding kaw or kawp notes. It sounds like the bird is pounding on a hollow wood drum. Cuckoos often call on dark, cloudy days, and they are called 'Rain Crows' in some parts of their range. Some Yellow-billed Cuckoos migrate as far south as Argentina for the winter. |
I.D.: Sexes similar: olive-brown upperparts; white underparts; slightly downcurved bill; black upper mandible; yellow lower mandible; long tail with large white spots on the underside; rufous in the wings. Size: L 11-13 in. (28-33 cm). Range: rare migrant and local summer breeder in Colorado and western Idaho; accidental elsewhere in the Rockies. Habitat: riparian thickets and woodlands, second-growth woodlands and overgrown farmlands; also in city parks and orchards. Nesting: on a horizontal branch in a thornbush, shrub or small evergreen tree; nest is a messy structure loosely built of twigs and lined with roots and grass; pair incubates 4 eggs for 9-11 days. Feeding: gleans vegetation for insect larvae, especially hairy caterpillars; also eats berries, amphibians and other birds' eggs. Voice: long series of deep, hollow koks, slowing near the end: kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk kuk kop kow kowlp kowlp. Similar Species: Black-billed Cuckoo: all-black bill; red eye ring; more muted undertail patterning. |
