Coccyzus erthropthalmus

Description

This is a slender, long-tailed bird. Adults have a narrow red eye-ring. As their name implies, their bill is black. They have small tail spots. Their chin and belly are both white, the rest of the body is brown, except for the tail, which is gray.

Voice

A fast cucucu, cucucu, cucucu.

Habitat

You can find black-billed cuckoos in wooded areas, groves, and edges.

Diet

Caterpillars, insects, spiders.

Range

These birds can be found as far north as southern Canada down to northern Florida and westward to Montana down to New Mexico and Mexico.

Other Useful Information

Black-billed cuckoos like to eat spiny caterpillars. The spines from the caterpillars end up in the stomach wall of the bird. The lining of the stomach is then shed periodically to get rid of the spines that have accumulated.

Similar Species

Yellow-billed cuckoo and mangrove cuckoo.