Coccyzus
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C. pumilus |
Coccyzus is a genus of cuckoos which occur in the Americas. The species in taxonomic order are:
- Dwarf Cuckoo, Coccyzus pumilus
- Ash-colored Cuckoo, Coccyzus cinereus
- Black-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus erythropthalmus
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus
- Pearly-breasted Cuckoo, Coccyzus euleri
- Mangrove Cuckoo Coccyzus minor
- Cocos Island Cuckoo, Coccyzus ferrugineus
- Dark-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus melacoryphus
- Gray-capped Cuckoo, Coccyzus lansbergi
- Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo, Coccyzus pluvialis
- Bay-breasted Cuckoo, Coccyzus rufigularis
- Great Lizard Cuckoo, Coccyzus merlini
- Puerto Rican Lizard Cuckoo, Coccyzus vieilloti
- Jamaican Lizard Cuckoo, Coccyzus vetula
- Hispaniolan Lizard Cuckoo, Coccyzus longirostris
The genera Saurothera (the lizard cuckoos) and Hyetornis (Chestnut-bellied and Bay-breasted Cuckoos) were lumped with Coccyzus by the American Ornithologists' Union in 2006.
These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. Many have black and white undertail patterns. They occur in a variety of woodlands or mangroves.
Coccyzus cuckoos, unlike many Old World species, mainly build their own nests in trees and lay two or more eggs. Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos occasionally lay eggs in the nests of other birds, but are not obligate brood parasites like the Common Cuckoo of Eurasia.
Northern species such as Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos are strong migrants, wintering in Central or South America, and occasionally wander to western Europe as rare vagrants, but the tropical Coccyzus cuckoos are mainly sedentary.
These are vocal species when breeding, with persistent and loud calls. They feed on large insects such as cicadas, wasps and caterpillars (including those with stinging hairs or spines which are distasteful to many birds). Lizard cuckoos are large and powerful species, and mainly take vertebrate prey, especially, as the name implies, lizards.
References
- ffrench, Richard (1991). A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago, 2nd edition, Comstock Publishing. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2.
- Hilty, Birds of Venezuela, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
- Stiles and Skutch, A guide to the birds of Costa Rica ISBN 0-8014-9600-4
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Coccyzus". Image Credit.
