Species

Black-billed cuckoo

Coccyzus erythropthalmus

A shy, dark-billed cuckoo that passes through Georgia on migration and nests in the northern mountains.

Photo Rhododendrites (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Migration

At a glance

Size: About 28 to 31 cm long
Weight: About 40 to 65 g
Habitat: Woodland thickets and forest edges
Diet: Mostly caterpillars, including hairy ones
In Georgia: An uncommon migrant; a few nest in the mountains
Voice: A soft, repeated "cu-cu-cu" in groups of three or four
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Slender brown and white bird; dark bill; red ring around the eye; small white spots under the tail
Told apart from: Yellow-billed cuckoo, which has a yellow lower bill, rufous wings and bold white tail spots
Where to look: Dense thickets during migration in May and September

Behaviour

Black-billed cuckoos move quietly through dense growth looking for caterpillars. They sometimes lay eggs in the nests of other birds, including yellow-billed cuckoos, but usually raise their own.

Why they matter

Like its yellow-billed relative, this cuckoo eats hairy caterpillars that most birds avoid, and its numbers follow outbreaks of forest caterpillars. It has declined in much of its range, and it depends on thickets and young woods that many landscapes lose.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A small platform of twigs in a shrub
Eggs — Usually two or three
Incubation — About 10 to 13 days
Nestlings — Climb out of the nest about a week after hatching
Flight — At about three weeks
Lifespan — A few years

Living around people

Cuckoos strike windows during migration.
Insecticide spraying removes the caterpillars they depend on.

Misconceptions

Cuckoos are only in clocks and Europe. Two species live in Georgia and are heard far more than seen.

Related species

Yellow-billed cuckoo

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	In South America	In South America	In South America	In South America	Migrants passing north; a few settle in the mountains	Nesting in the north and mountains	Nesting	Young fledging	Migrants passing south	Last migrants	In South America	In South America

Where it lives

Recorded in 49 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

Mexico

If you found one

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