Quantcast

Mangrove Cuckoo

Coccyzus minorOrder: CUCULIFORMESFamily: Cuckoos and Roadrunners (Cuculidae)

Mangrove Cuckoo Breeding Male Portrait
  Copyright 2002-2007 Whatbird.com
Click here for licensing information Splitbar

General

Mangrove Cuckoo: Medium-sized cuckoo with gray-brown upperparts, black ear patch, yellow eye-ring, white throat, and buff-washed white underparts. Tail is long and dark with six large white spots underneath, each with a dark spot. Decurved bill is dark above and yellow below with a dark tip. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Mangrove Cuckoo: Breeds in southern Florida. A few remain during winter, but most leave for the tropics. Frequents mangrove swamps.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"Gah-gah-gah", "qua-qua-qua"

Interesting Facts

  • The Mangrove Cuckoo is found throughout the Caribbean and both coasts of Mexico and South America.
  • It is a non-migratory bird in most of its range, but many Florida birds fly south for the winter. Sightings of birds remaining in Florida for the winter have been increasing steadily.
  • Completely silent except during breeding season, birds can be difficult to detect.
  • A group of cuckoos are collectively known as a "cooch" and an "asylum" of cuckoos.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

Splitbar
Range Map for Mangrove Cuckoo
.
Bird database and its related content, illustrations and media is Copyright © 2002 - 2007  Whatbird.com
All rights reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced without written permission from Mitch Waite Group.
 Privacy Policy.
Percevia® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
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
Species Coccyzus minor
Length11 - 13 Inches
Wingspan16 Inches

Mangrove Cuckoo

Mangrove Cuckoo: Medium-sized cuckoo with gray-brown upperparts, black ear patch, yellow eye-ring, white throat, and buff-washed white underparts. Long, dark tail has six large white spots underneath, each with a dark spot. Decurved bill is dark above and yellow below with a dark tip.

● Song: "Gah-gah-gah", "qua-qua-qua"

● Foraging & Feeding: Mangrove Cuckoo: Eats caterpillars, grasshoppers, moths, flies, and other insects; forages in trees and shrubs.

● Breeding & nesting: Mangrove Cuckoo: Two to three light blue eggs are laid in a nest made of twigs and leaves, and built from 8 to 10 feet above the ground in a mangrove tree or shrub. Incubation ranges from 9 to 11 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Mangrove Cuckoo: Yellow-billed and Black-billed cuckoos have white underparts and lack black masks.

Flight Pattern

Rapid direct flight with quick wing beats.
Mangrove Cuckoo Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Mangrove Cuckoo: Breeds in southern Florida. A few remain during winter, but most leave for the tropics. Frequents mangrove swamps.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester, Sometimes forms loose colonies
PopulationRare to uncommon
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight3.6 Ounces