Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Cuculiformes Family: Cuculidae Genus: Coccyzus
Species: Coccyzus americanus
Sometimes known as the “Storm Crow” in the southern United States, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo tends to call on hot days preceding storms. This bird has been known to lay its eggs in the nests of other birds of different species, but this does not occur often. It does not lay its eggs all at once, and this staggers its chicks such that one chick could be leaving the nest while another is just hatching. Both parents take equal turns in incubating and feeding their brood, usually with the male incubating at night. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is one of the only birds capable of eating furry caterpillars, and it rolls them back and forth to rid them of their hairs. When hunting, it sits still and hides its white chest to be less noticeable. After waiting for its prey to move, it gleans the prey from its surroundings.
Conservation status: Least concern
Description: Brown above and white below with a black tail with white spots; black curved bill with yellow on the lower mandible
Length: 12 inches
Wingspan: 18 inches
Diet: Mostly caterpillars but also katydids, cicadas, and crickets
Habitat: parks and woodlands
Season: Spring-Fall
Credit source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
