Smooth-billed Ani
Crotophaga ani
Anis are bizarre, coal-black cuckoos with long floppy tails and unique, curiously tall, flattened bills. Smooth-billed occurs in a variety of open and semi-open habitats in tropical lowlands and foothills, typically staying low in shrubs and grasses. Gregarious and not particularly graceful; usually seen crashing around awkwardly in small groups. Flies with choppy wingbeats and long glides. Widespread and common throughout much of South America and the Caribbean, extending as far west as the Pacific slope of Costa Rica and north to Florida. Compare with the very similar Groove-billed Ani, which overlaps in some areas of Central and South America. Note especially the bill shape: Smooth-billed often (but not always) has a taller ridge on the top of the bill, and a sharper angle on the lower edge of the bill. The sides are typically smooth, rarely with weak grooves. Voice is also important: listen for a rising, hawklike whistle with an inflection at the end. Dark eye, size, and habitat help separate from Greater Ani in South America and Panama.
Identification
The smooth-billed ani is a mid-sized species, larger on average than the groove-billed ani but smaller than the greater ani. It measures approximately 35 cm (14 in) in overall length. Males weigh around 115 g (4.1 oz) while females are lighter and with a weight of around 95 g (3.4 oz). The adult is mainly glossy black, with a long tail, deep ridged black bill and a brown iris. The flight is weak and wobbly, but the bird runs well and usually feeds on the ground. This species is called "el pijul" in Venezuelan folklore.[citation needed] The calls include a whining ooo-leeek.
Taxonomy
The smooth-billed ani was described and illustrated in 1648 by the German naturalist Georg Marcgrave in his Historia Naturalis Brasiliae. He used the name "Ani" but did not explain the origin of the word. It probably comes from the word Anim in the Tupi language which means "social bird". In 1756 the Irish physician Patrick Browne used the name Crotophaga for the species in his The Civil and Natural History of Jamaica. Browne's name combines the Ancient Greek krotōn meaning "tick" with -phagos meaning "-eating". Browne wrote that the smooth-billed anis "live chiefly upon ticks and other small vermin; and may be frequently seen jumping about all cows and oxen in the fields". When the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition in 1758 he included the smooth-billed ani. He placed it in its own genus Crotophaga and coined the binomial name Crotophaga ani. The type locality is Jamaica. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Crotophaga ani
- Authority
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
- Genus
- Crotophaga
Range and habitat
This ani is found in open and semi-open country and areas under cultivation. This common and conspicuous species has greatly benefited from deforestation.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
This is a very gregarious species, always found in noisy groups. <p>The nest, built communally by several pairs, is a deep cup lined with leaves and placed usually 2–6 m (6.6–19.7 ft) high in a tree. A number of females lay their chalky blue eggs in the nest and then share incubation and feeding. Each female is capable of laying up to seven eggs, and nests have been found containing up to 29 eggs, but it is rare for more than ten to hatch. Incubation is 13–15 days, with another 10 days to fledging. Up to three broods may be raised in a season, with the young of earlier broods helping to feed more recent chicks.<p>The smooth-billed ani feeds on termites, large insects, other invertebrates and even lizards, frogs, eggs and hatchlings of other birds, and fruit. They will occasionally remove ticks and other parasites from grazing animals.
Conservation
The smooth-billed ani is considered Least Concern according to the IUCN Red List. Declines in the South Florida population were recorded as the state delayed its protection decision for the species.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Sula variegata
Common and conspicuous seabird of coastlines and inshore waters along the Humboldt Current. Sometimes in flocks of hundreds, diving steeply into the sea among feeding frenzies of cormorants, gulls, and terns. Also seen perched on jetties and cliffs; often with cormorants and pelicans. Adult is distinctive with a snow-white head and neck, and dark upperparts with white scaling on back. Juvenile is dingier overall with a dusky head and body. Compare with Blue-footed Booby (often occurs with Peruvian), which always has white body contrasting with dusky neck.
Chestnut-bellied Seedeater
Sporophila castaneiventris
The gray-and-red seedeater of lowland Amazonia. Males are gray with chestnut throat and breast, and are unlikely to be confused with any other seedeater species in their range; females are tawny yellowish, warmer-colored than other female seedeaters in their range but still very similar. Found in a variety of open and disturbed habitats, including in agricultural areas. Travels in pairs or flocks, sometimes with other seedeater species.
Northern Parula
Setophaga americana
Small, short-tailed warbler with a sharply pointed, bicolored bill. Blue-gray above with mossy-green patch on the back, white eye-arcs, and yellow breast. Adult males have most extensive black and rufous breast band; young females are plain yellow. Breeds in mature coniferous or deciduous forests, especially near water. Builds nest with moss; especially fond of Spanish moss in the southeast U.S. and old-man’s-beard in the Northeast. Found in any wooded habitat in migration. Winters primary in the Caribbean and eastern Mexico. Loud song is a buzzy, ascending trill with sharp chip at the end; sounds like a zipper. Compare with Tropical Parula, which always has a clean yellow or orange breast and lacks white eye-arcs.
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