Gray-capped Cuckoo
Coccyzus lansbergi
Brightly-colored cuckoo found mainly west of the Andes. Combination of rufous-tawny body and gray separates it from other cuckoos in range. Nests in deciduous forest, dense scrub, and savanna at lower elevations. Outside of the breeding season, it disperses widely and can be seen far from its breeding areas, including at high elevations on rare occasions. Furtive and rarely comes out into the open for long. Song is short series of soft, guttural notes; also gives a harsh churr.
Identification
The grey-capped cuckoo is 25 to 28 cm (9.8 to 11 in) long, about half of which is the tail. Males weigh 46 to 56 g (1.6 to 2.0 oz). The species' bill is stout, somewhat decurved, and black with sometimes a gray or yellow spot at the base of the mandible. Males and females have the same plumage. Adults have a slate-gray cap to below the eye. Their upperparts and wings are rufous brown. The upper surface of their tail is black; the underside of the central pair of feathers is black and the rest black with white tips. Their eye is surrounded by a narrow ring of bare skin that is yellow, white, or yellowish gray. Their underparts are dark rufous buff. Juveniles are similar to adults but have a brown crown and less white on the tail.
Taxonomy
The grey-capped cuckoo is more closely related to the Caribbean species of genus Coccyzus than it is to the others found in South America. The species is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Coccyzus lansbergi
- Authority
- Bonaparte, 1850
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
- Genus
- Coccyzus
Range and habitat
The grey-capped cuckoo has two separate populations. One is in northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela and the other in western Ecuador and extreme northern Peru. The species has been documented as a vagrant on Bonaire (an island off the Venezuelan coast) and on the Galapagos Islands. Two reports from Panama have apparently not been accepted by the North American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society.<p>The grey-capped cuckoo inhabits a variety of landscapes including tropical moist to dry semi-deciduous forest, arid forest, gallery forest, and shrubby savanna. In elevation it mostly ranges from sea level to 800 m (2,600 ft) in Peru, to 1,800 m (5,900 ft) in Ecuador, to 600 m (2,000 ft) in Colombia, and to 1,400 m (4,600 ft) in Venezuela. There are a few records from higher elevations.
- Breeding range
- SA : Colombia and Venezuela
- Non-breeding range
- w SA
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
The grey-capped cuckoo is partially or wholly migratory, but the timing and locations involved are poorly known. Migration might be within each separate area rather than between them.<p>The grey-capped cuckoo feeds on insects; caterpillars and some wasps appear to form the bulk of its diet.<p>The grey-capped cuckoo's breeding season in Ecuador may be as long as from January to June, but details there and in the rest of its range are lacking. Its nest is a platform of twigs lined with lichens placed on a horizontal branch between about 0.4 and 5 metres (1 and 20 ft) above the ground and concealed by foliage. The clutch size is two to five eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs over nine to 12 days and fledging occurs eight to 13 days after hatch. Incubation begins with the first egg laid so hatching is asynchronous and the young differ in size.<p>The grey-capped cuckoo's song is a "[f]ast series of 6–8 hollow and falling 'cu' notes, often with a slight pause before the last note, e.g., 'cucucucucucucu-cu'." It may be repeated several times during each song bout.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Rhyticeros everetti
A small black hornbill with an ivory-colored bill that has a reddish smudge at the base and a knob on top. There is a pale blue pouch of skin below the bill. Males have a rich chestnut neck that becomes a darker burnt red around the face and top of the head. Females have black necks and heads. Juveniles resemble male, with a smaller bill. Confined to Sumba, where it is the only hornbill. Inhabits lowland and foothill forest and forest edge, where it frequents the treetops singly or in groups. Calls include a fast-paced, emphatic “kokokokokokok…”.
Brown-breasted Bulbul
Pycnonotus xanthorrhous
A large dull bulbul of scrubby forest edges, farmland, and parks. Brown overall, with a black cap and white throat; a light brown wash on the chest contrasts with the otherwise pale breast and belly, giving it a “vested” appearance. Dull orange undertail feathers are essentially the only bright spot on this species. Can resemble juvenile Sooty-headed Bulbul, but lacks the white cheek and rump of that species. Song consists of short but rich warbled phrases, and is a common background sound in cities and towns. Calls include liquid chirrups and harsher churring calls.
Mourning Sierra Finch
Rhopospina fruticeti
Attractive bulky “finch” that is actually a tanager; found in scrubby habitats in the Andes and Patagonian steppe, often around villages and agricultural terraces. Locally common, and at times in flocks of 100s, associating readily with other seed-eating birds. All plumages have narrow but distinct white wingbars, unlike other similar species. Male has a yellow bill, a variable black “shield” on face and breast (some birds are wholly black on head and breast), and black streaking on the back. Female is quite different, with a warm brown cheek patch, a pinkish bill, and dark streaking below.
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