A medium-sized cuckoo. Subject of recovery efforts in western US.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The yellow-billed cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo family. Common folk names for this bird in the southern United States are rain crow and storm crow. These likely refer to the bird's habit of calling on hot days, often presaging rain showers or thunderstorms. The genus name is from the Ancient Greek kokkuzo, which means to call like a common cuckoo, and americanus means "of America".
Source: Wikipedia — Yellow-billed cuckoo Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Slender cuckoo, brown above and white below, with a downcurved yellow-and-black bill, rufous flashes in the wings, and bold black-and-white spots on the underside of the long tail.
Similar species. Black-billed Cuckoo has an all-dark bill, a red eye ring, no rufous in the wings, and small tail spots. Yellow-billed shows the yellow bill, rufous primaries, and big tail spots.
Voice. A hollow, wooden, slowing 'ka-ka-ka-ka-kow-kow-kowlp-kowlp' often given before storms.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Caterpillars (especially hairy species), insects, lizards.
Behavior. A slim, elusive cuckoo of leafy woodlands and riparian thickets; an important consumer of hairy caterpillars and cicadas. Calls more often before rain, earning the name 'rain crow'.
§ Range
Across North America
§ Habitat
Riparian forests
§ Threats
Habitat loss.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the yellow-billed cuckoo is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support riparian conservation.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Yellow-billed cuckoo
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Coccyzus americanus
- IUCN Red List — search for Coccyzus americanus
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Coccyzus americanus
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
