Birdsong field guide
Black-billed Cuckoo
Coccyzus erythropthalmus
A slender, secretive woodland bird recognized by its entirely black bill and distinctive rhythmic, repetitive vocalizations.
What it sounds like
A repetitive, rhythmic series of 'cu-cu-cu' notes, typically delivered in groups of three or four.
Reference call, compare with what you heard
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Field notes
- Specializes in consuming hairy caterpillars and can even shed its stomach lining to expel accumulated bristles.
- While primarily raising its own young, it is a facultative brood parasite that occasionally lays eggs in the nests of other birds.
- Population numbers often fluctuate locally in direct response to outbreaks of forest pests like tent caterpillars or gypsy moths.
- Adults possess a distinctive red orbital ring around the eye, which is absent in the similar Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
- Chicks develop at an exceptionally fast rate, often leaving the nest to climb nearby branches just 6 to 9 days after hatching.
Habitat
Dense deciduous forests, thickets, groves, and brushy edges, frequently near water sources.
Range
Breeds across the northern and eastern United States and southern Canada; winters in northwestern South America.
Similar & commonly confused birds
Bay-breasted CuckooCoccyzus rufigularisChestnut-bellied CuckooCoccyzus pluvialisCocos CuckooCoccyzus ferrugineusDark-billed CuckooCoccyzus melacoryphusGray-capped CuckooCoccyzus lansbergiGreat Lizard-CuckooCoccyzus merliniHispaniolan Lizard-CuckooCoccyzus longirostrisJamaican Lizard-CuckooCoccyzus vetula
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