Yellow-billed Cuckoo
A species of Spot-tailed Cuckoos and Lizard-cuckoos, Also known as Eastern Yellow-billed Cuckoo Scientific name : Coccyzus americanus Genus : Spot-tailed Cuckoos and Lizard-cuckoos
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, A species of Spot-tailed Cuckoos and Lizard-cuckoos
Also known as:
Eastern Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Botanical name: Coccyzus americanus
Genus: Spot-tailed Cuckoos and Lizard-cuckoos
Content
Description People often ask General Info
Photo By Dominic Sherony , used under CC-BY-SA-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original 
Description
The yellow-billed Cuckoo is a long and slender medium-sized bird that inhabits dense undergrowth. Famous for the male's repetitive knocking call, this fascinating bird is often heard but rarely seen. It usually sings before the rain, predicting heavy storms. A shy and slow-moving bird, this cuckoo is also patient and careful, and can see behind itself without turning its head thanks to its wide-set eyes.
Size
28-33 cm (11-13 in)
Life Expectancy
5 years
Nest Placement
Tree
Clutch Size
1 - 5 eggs
Incubation Period
1 - 2 broods
Number of Broods
9 - 11 days
Feeding Habits
Yellow-billed Cuckoo consume numerous caterpillars, particularly during outbreaks, alongside beetles, ants, and spiders. They exploit cicada, katydid, and cricket surges, supplementing their diet with ground pursuits of frogs and lizards. Seasonally, they eat small fruits like elderberries and wild grapes, with increased fruit and seed intake during winter.
Habitat
Yellow-billed Cuckoo are commonly found in deciduous forests across a range stretching from southern Canada to Mexico and into the Caribbean. They prefer environments that offer dense cover and are proximate to water sources, such as low scrubby vegetation, overgrown orchards, abandoned agricultural lands, and dense streamside thickets and marshes. Suitable habitats also include shrublands with mixtures of willow and dogwood, and American elm stands in the Midwest, as well as riparian woodlands composed of willows, cottonwoods, and mesquite in the Southwest. These birds inhabit areas at a range of altitudes, favoring temperate climates. During migration, yellow-billed Cuckoo travel to Central America and as far as northern Argentina.
Nest Behavior
During the nesting season, yellow-billed Cuckoo pairs jointly build their nest and may continue to add materials even after incubation starts.
Nest Characteristics
Yellow-billed Cuckoo crafts a shallow, oblong platform nest which may measure up to 8 inches in diameter and 5 inches deep, lined sparingly with bark or leaves. It's situated on a horizontal branch or tree fork, at heights varying from 3 to 90 feet above ground.
Dite type
Insectivorous
People often ask
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird Feeder Type
Platform
Sounds
Call
Recording location: United States
Song
Recording location: United States
Behavior
Yellow-billed Cuckoo demonstrate meticulous feeding habits, typically perching stealthily and remaining motionless with their shoulders curved to mingle with the environment as they await prey. They predominantly feed on insects, eagerly consuming caterpillars which they meticulously clean before ingestion. Their breeding behavior is not rigidly seasonal but rather responsive to food availability. A distinctive courtship display involves the female undulating her tail, while the male engages in a unique ritual of offering a twig during copulation. Yellow-billed Cuckoo's flight is characterized as rapid and linear, powered by forceful wing strokes.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Cuckoos and Relatives Family
Cuckoos Species
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 
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