Yellow-Billed Cuckoo
Coccyzus americanus
Habitat
Canopy
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
64 g
About This Species
A shy, secretive bird of leafy riparian woodland and dense canopy, far more often heard than seen — listen for its slow, hollow "ka-ka-ka-kowlp-kowlp" call, often given on hot, still summer days. It specialises in eating caterpillars, including outbreaks of tent caterpillars, and is best looked for from late spring through summer in wooded river corridors across its North American breeding range before it heads to South America for winter.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- View quietly from a trail without pishing or playing calls repeatedly to draw it out, since excessive tape-luring can pull birds away from feeding or nesting and is discouraged or restricted in many protected areas.
- It is covered by general migratory bird protection law across its range, such as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in the US and Canada, which prohibits disturbing active nests, so keep well back from any nest found in streamside thickets.
LCAvesCuculiformesCuculidae
Seasonal Activity
1,268,785 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Canopy
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 64 g
Photo
(c) Jenny, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Jenny
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.