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Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Coccyzus americanusOrder: CUCULIFORMESFamily: Cuckoos and Roadrunners (Cuculidae)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Head Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: Curved (up or down)
  • Eye Color: Dark brown-black.
  • Head Pattern: Plain, Eyering (complete or broken)
  • Crown Color: Brown
  • Forehead Color: Brown
  • Nape Color: Brown
  • Throat Color: White
  • Cere color: No Data
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 28-33 cm (11-13 in)
  • Weight: 102 g (3.6 oz)
  • Size: Size 3. Medium (9 - 16 in)
  • Color: White, Brown
  • Underparts: White
  • Upperparts: Brown
  • Back Pattern: Solid
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Solid
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Flight Illustration

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Direct flight with steady quick wing beats.
  • Wingspan Range: 38-43 cm (15-17 in)
  • Wing Shape: Pointed-Wings, Long-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Rounded Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Banded
  • Upper Tail: Brown
  • Under Tail: Brown with large white spots.
  • Leg Color: Gray
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Family Roadrunners and Cuckoos (Cuculidae)_blue
Species Coccyzus americanus
Length11 - 13 Inches
Wingspan16 Inches

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Yellow-billed Cuckoo: Medium cuckoo, gray-brown upperparts and white underparts. Bill is mostly yellow. Wings are gray-brown with rufous primaries. Tail is long and has white-spotted black edges. Gray legs, feet. Feeds primarily on hairy caterpillars, also insects, larvae, small fruits, and berries.

● Song: "ka-ka-ka-ka-kow-kow-kow-kow" , "kowp-kowp-kowp"

● Foraging & Feeding: Yellow-billed Cuckoo: Mainly feeds on hairy caterpillars and cicadas; also eats other insects, bird eggs, snails, small vertebrates such as frogs and lizards, berries, and some fruits; forages in trees.

● Breeding & nesting: Yellow-billed Cuckoo: One to five light blue green to yellow green eggs are laid in a flimsy saucer of twigs built in a bush or small sapling. Incubation ranges from 9 to 11 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Yellow-billed Cuckoo: Black-billed Cuckoo has red eye-ring, black bill, smaller tail spots, and lacks cinnamon-brown primaries. Mangrove Cuckoo has black mask, buff breast, larger white tail spots, and lacks cinnamon-brown primaries.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with steady quick wing beats.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Yellow-billed Cuckoo: Breeds from central California, Minnesota, and southern New Brunswick southward. Spends winters in South America. Preferred habitats include moist thickets, willows, overgrown pastures, and orchards.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationUncommon to common
MigrationMigratory
Weight3.6 Ounces