Yellow-billed Cuckoo -- South Dakota Birds
| Length: 11 - 13 inches | Wingspan: 15 - 17 inches | Seasonality: Summer |
| ID Keys: Grayish-brown above, white below, decurved bill with dark upper and yellow lower mandible, tail black underneath with large white spots. | ||
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Coccyzus americanus
The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is probably heard more than seen, as their loud croaking calls emanating from dense forest can often be heard for long distances. They are locally known as the "rain crow" in parts of the U.S., as it is said their loud calls are predictions of rain. Yellow-billed Cuckoos are sometimes practice nest parasitism, but only will only do so in the nests of Black-billed Cuckoos.
Habitat: Primarily breeds in dense deciduous forests.
Diet: Yellow-billed Cuckoo populations often depend heavily on caterpillars. They also will feed on beetles, grasshoppers, cicadas, bird eggs, small lizards, frogs, and fruits and berries.
Nesting: May through June
Breeding Map: Breeding Bird Survey map
Song: A monotonous clatter which slows down toward the end, kakakaka-kah-kah-kowp-kowp. Click here to listen to Yellow-billed Cuckoo song.
Migrations: Summers throughout the eastern half of the U.S., and locally in the southwest and western U.S. A long-distance migrant, wintering in Central and South America.
Similar Species: Black-billed Cuckoo
Status: Numbers have shown a general decline in recent decades, particularly in the western part of its range (due to habitat loss). There also tend to be fairly large annual changes in local populations as insect populations rise and fall.
Further Information: 1) Patuxent
Bird Identification InfoCenter, Yellow-billed Cuckoo
2) Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Yellow-billed Cuckoo
3) eNature.com -- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Photo Information: May 23rd, 2004 -- Near Pierre -- Doug Backlund
Additional Photos: Click on the image chips or file names below for additional higher-resolution photos of this species.
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This page was last edited on 02/03/08