Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Coccyzus americanus

Order CUCULIFORMES - Family CUCULIDAE - Subfamily Coccyzinae

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A common, but slow-moving and secretive denizen of woodlands, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo eats large quantities of hairy caterpillars. Its loud call is heard far more frequently than the bird is actually seen.

Cool Facts

• Like the Black-billed Cuckoo, the young Yellow-billed Cuckoo develops incredibly quickly. The entire period from egg laying to fledgling leaving the nest lasts only 17 days. On day six or seven after hatching, the feathers of the young burst out of their sheaths, allowing the nestling to become fully feathered in two hours.
• Both parents build the nest, incubate the eggs, and brood the nestlings. They incubate and brood equally during the day, but the male takes the night shift. The male brings nest material every time he comes to the nest to take his turn. The female usually takes the offering and works it into the nest.

• Although the Yellow-billed Cuckoo usually raises its own young, occasionally it will lay its egg in the nest of another cuckoo, or even that of a different species. It has laid eggs in the nest of at least 11 different birds, most commonly in the nest of the Black-billed Cuckoo, American Robin, Gray Catbird, or Wood Thrush. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo may itself be the inadvertent host for an egg of a Black-billed Cuckoo or Brown-headed Cowbird.

Description

• Size: 26-30 cm (10-12 in)
• Wingspan: 38-43 cm (15-17 in)
• Weight: 55-65 g (1.94-2.29 ounces)

• Slender, medium-sized bird.
• Long tail with large white spots along edges.
• Dull brown back.
• Underside whitish.
• Bill black above, with yellow lower mandible.
• Rufous in wings.

• Ring of gray skin around eye, eyelids yellow.
• Tail grayish-brown above, black below with large white spots on tips of tail feathers.
• Graduated tail shape makes the spots appear in three patches up the tail.
• Eyes dark.
• Legs gray.

Sex Differences

Sexes similar in plumage, but females average slightly larger.

Immature

Resembles adult, but with less distinct tail pattern.

Similar Species

• Black-billed Cuckoo has all black bill, a red orbital ring, much smaller white spots under the paler tail feathers, and lacks rufous patches in the wings.

Sound

Song a throaty "ka, ka, ka, ka, ka, kow, kowp, kowp, kowp, kowp." Also makes single coos.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds from southeastern Canada southward to Mexico and the Caribbean, westward to Great Plains, and in scattered localities across the West.

Winter Range

Winters in South America.

Habitat

Open woodlands with clearings and dense scrubby vegetation, often along water.

Food

Large insects, caterpillars, some fruits and seeds.

Behavior

Foraging

Waits motionless for long periods, watching for prey to move. Makes running, hopping dashes to catch prey. Works caterpillar back and forth through its bill before swallowing, possibly to aid in removing hairs.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Flimsy shallow platform of twigs, lined sparingly with dried leaves or strips of bark. Placed on branch of small tree or large shrub.

Egg Description

Bluish green, unmarked.

Clutch Size

Usually 2-3 eggs. Range: 1-5.

Condition at Hatching

Altricial, but alert and active within minutes of hatching. Shiny black skin, no down.

Conservation Status

Common in southeastern United States, but populations declining throughout range. Rare in West and declining. Gone from some areas. Listed as endangered in California where development is disrupting the riparian woodlands in which it lives.

Other Names

Coulicou à bec jaune (French)
Cuclillo pico amarillo, Platero piquiamarillo (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Hughes, J. M. 1999. Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus). In The Birds of North America, No. 418 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

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