Groove-billed Ani

Crotophaga sulcirostrisOrder: CUCULIFORMESFamily: Cuckoos and Roadrunners (Cuculidae)

Breeding Location:

Bushes and shrubs

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Communal

Breeding Population:

Fairly common to common

Egg Color:

Pale blue

Number of Eggs:

3 - 4

Incubation Days:

13 - 14

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Sticks., Lined with fresh vegetation.

Migration:

Migratory

Overview

Groove-billed Ani: Medium-sized black bird with iridescent blue and green overtones, with a very long tail (half the length of the bird). Bill is huge, with arched ridge and narrow grooves. Feeds on insects, ticks, spiders, lizards, fruits, berries and seeds. Flies low to the ground.

Range and Habitat

Groove-billed Ani: Resident in lower Rio Grande Valley; also occurs in American tropics. Preferred habitats include semi-open habitats, avoiding unbroken forests, including overgrown fields, thickets, and woodland edges.

Breeding and Nesting

Groove-billed Ani: Three to four pale blue eggs are laid in a nest made of sticks, lined with fresh vegetation, and built from 5 to 15 feet above the ground in a low tree or shrub. Incubation ranges from 13 to 14 days and is carried out by both parents; alpha male may incubate at night.

Foraging and Feeding

Groove-billed Ani: Forages by following livestock to catch insects disturbed by grazing; sometimes picks ticks from the backs of cattle. Also takes fruits, berries, small lizards, frogs, and snakes.

Vocalization

Groove-billed Ani: Song is a soft, gurgling "TEE-hoe", repeated from 10 to 12 times. Call is a rollicking "wee-cup."

Similar Species

Groove-billed Ani: Smooth-billed Ani has a larger bill with a smooth curvature to the bill angle and grooves, and different voice. Common Grackle has long, pointed bill, pale eyes, and male has long, keeled tail.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Groove-billed Ani

● Song: "TEE-hoe", "wee-cup"

● Foraging & Feeding: Groove-billed Ani: Forages by following livestock to catch insects disturbed by grazing; sometimes picks ticks from the backs of cattle. Also takes fruits, berries, small lizards, frogs, and snakes.

● Breeding & nesting: Groove-billed Ani: Three to four pale blue eggs are laid in a nest made of sticks, lined with fresh vegetation, and built from 5 to 15 feet above the ground in a low tree or shrub. Incubation ranges from 13 to 14 days and is carried out by both parents; alpha male may incubate at night.

● Similar species: Groove-billed Ani: Smooth-billed Ani has a larger bill with a smooth curvature to the bill angle and grooves, and different voice. Common Grackle has long, pointed bill, pale eyes, and male has long, keeled tail.

Flight Pattern

Flies low to the ground, alternating between rapid shallow wing beats and short glides.

Groove-billed Ani Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Groove-billed Ani: Resident in lower Rio Grande Valley; also occurs in American tropics. Preferred habitats include semi-open habitats, avoiding unbroken forests, including overgrown fields, thickets, and woodland edges.

^BreedingMonogamous, Communal

^PopulationFairly common to common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight3.1 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America