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Smooth-billed Ani

Crotophaga aniOrder: CUCULIFORMESFamily: Cuckoos and Roadrunners (Cuculidae)

Breeding Location:

Bushes and shrubs



Breeding Type:

Cooperative, Communal



Breeding Population:

Uncommon and local



Egg Color:

Pale blue



Number of Eggs:

3 - 6



Incubation Days:

14



Egg Incubator:

Both sexes



Nest Material:

Lined with grasses., Twigs, weeds.



Migration:

Nonmigratory



Splitbar

Overview

Smooth-billed Ani: Medium-sized, shaggy bird, black overall with bronze overtones, thick bill and long tail, often bobbed, wagged, and held beneath body. Feathers on upper breast and back are lined with iridescent silver and are scaled. Flight is slow and weak,often low to the ground.

Range and Habitat

Smooth-billed Ani: Resident in southern Florida; also found in American tropics. Frequents open agricultural country, often near cattle or other livestock; also found in scrub and thickets.

Breeding and Nesting

Smooth-billed Ani: Three to six pale blue eggs are laid in a nest made of twigs and weeds, lined with grass, and built 5 to 30 feet above the ground in a dense shrub or tree. Eggs are incubated for 14 days by both parents, sometimes assisted by extra birds.

Foraging and Feeding

Smooth-billed Ani: Eats mainly insects, but also takes lizards, cattle parasites, snails, seeds, fruits, and berries; forages in scrublands and fields, usually on the ground.

Vocalization

Smooth-billed Ani: Call is a thin and rising "kweeeelik" or "weu-ick, weu-ick."

Similar Species

Smooth-billed Ani: Groove-billed Ani has smaller bill with a smooth curvature to the bend and grooves, different call, and is found in south Texas; ranges do not overlap.

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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.
Family Roadrunners and Cuckoos (Cuculidae)
Species Crotophaga ani
Length12 - 14 Inches
Wingspan17.5 Inches

Smooth-billed Ani

Smooth-billed Ani: Medium-sized, shaggy bird, black overall with bronze overtones, thick bill and long tail, often bobbed, wagged, and held beneath body. Feathers on upper breast and back are lined with iridescent silver and are scaled. Flight is slow and weak,often low to the ground.

● Song: "kweeeelik", "weu-ick, weu-ick"

● Foraging & Feeding: Smooth-billed Ani: Eats mainly insects, but also takes lizards, cattle parasites, snails, seeds, fruits, and berries; forages in scrublands and fields, usually on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Smooth-billed Ani: Three to six pale blue eggs are laid in a nest made of twigs and weeds, lined with grass, and built 5 to 30 feet above the ground in a dense shrub or tree. Eggs are incubated for 14 days by both parents, sometimes assisted by extra birds.

● Similar species: Smooth-billed Ani: Groove-billed Ani has smaller bill with a smooth curvature to the bend and grooves, different call, and is found in south Texas; ranges do not overlap.

Flight Pattern

Slow weak flight, alternating a series of rapid shallow stiff wing beats with short glides.
Smooth-billed Ani Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Smooth-billed Ani: Resident in southern Florida; also found in American tropics. Frequents open agricultural country, often near cattle or other livestock; also found in scrub and thickets.
BreedingCooperative, Communal
PopulationUncommon and local
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight4.2 Ounces