Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Coccyzus americanus
At a Glance
Sometimes common but usually hard to observe, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo inhabits dense leafy groves and thickets during the summer. Its stuttering, croaking calls, audible at a great distance, are often heard on hot, humid afternoons; people sometimes call this bird the 'rain crow,' imagining that it is calling for rain.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Cuckoos, Roadrunners, Anis, Perching Birds
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Arroyos and Canyons, Fields, Meadows, and Grasslands, Forests and Woodlands, Freshwater Wetlands, Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets
Region
California, Eastern Canada, Florida, Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, New England, Northwest, Plains, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Southwest, Texas
Behavior
Direct Flight
Population
9.600.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
Mostly arrives late in spring and departs early in fall, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo is a long-distance migrant, with some even going as far as Argentina in winter. Sometimes heard calling overhead at night during migration.
Description
Length: 10.2-11.8 in (26-30 cm); wingspan: 15.0-16.9 in (38-43 cm); weight:1.9-2.3 oz (55-65 g). the Yellow-billed Cuckoo showcases a long tail that looks black from below, adorned with big white spots. Rusty red in the wing becomes obvious in flight, and the yellow on its lower mandible is noticeable at close range. Juveniles in the fall may display a paler, duller tail pattern and less yellow on the bill.
Size
About the size of a Robin
Color
Black, Brown, Red, White, Yellow
Wing Shape
Long, Pointed, Tapered
Tail Shape
Long, Rounded, Wedge-shaped
Songs and Calls
A rapid, harsh, rattling ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-kow-kow-kowp, kowp, kowp, kowp, slowing down at the end.
Call Pattern
Falling, Flat
Call Type
Chatter, Hoot, Rattle, Trill
Habitat
The Yellow-billed Cuckoo breeds mostly in dense deciduous stands, including forest edges, tall thickets, dense second growth, overgrown orchards, and scrubby oak woods. This bird is often found in willow groves around marshes. In the west, it resides mostly in streamside trees, including cottonwood-willow groves in arid country.
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Behavior
Eggs
3-4, sometimes 1-5 or even more; may lay more eggs in seasons when caterpillars or other insects are abundant. The Yellow-billed cuckoo occasionally lays eggs in nest of the Black-billed Cuckoo or another bird. Eggs pale bluish green. Incubation is by both parents (but female may do more), 9-11 days, perhaps sometimes longer.
Young
Fed by both parents. Yellow-billed Cuckoo young may leave the nest and climb about in branches after about a week; they can fly in about 3 weeks. In some cases, the first young to leave the nest are tended by the male, while the last ones are cared for by the female.
Feeding Behavior
The Yellow-billed Cuckoo forages by clambering about through shrubs and trees, gleaning insects from foliage and branches. It may fly up and hover momentarily to pluck a caterpillar or other creature from foliage; sometimes it flies out from a perch to catch a flying insect.
Diet
Caterpillars and other insects are a staple for the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. This bird feeds heavily on caterpillars when available, including hairy types such as tent caterpillars and others. It also consumes other insects such as cicadas, beetles, grasshoppers, katydids, and more. Additionally, the diet of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo may include some lizards, frogs, eggs of other birds, and berries and small fruits.
Nesting
In courtship, the male Yellow-billed Cuckoo feeds the female. The nest site is in a tree, shrub, or vines, usually 4-10 ft above the ground, sometimes up to 20 ft or higher. The nest, built by both sexes, is a small, loosely-made platform of twigs and stems, with a thin lining of grass, pine needles, leaves, and other materials.
Conservation
Conservation Status
Local numbers of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo rise and fall with insect outbreaks; however, surveys show a general decline in recent decades. The species has disappeared from some western areas and is considered endangered in others, with loss of habitat a major cause.
Climate Threats Facing the Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
