Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo
Neomorphus geoffroyi
A large ground-dwelling cuckoo. Patchily distributed from Honduras to Brazil; always rare and difficult to find. Unmistakable if seen well. Look for a robust bird with a long tail, shabby crest, and stout pale yellowish bill. Overall brownish with a black breast band and green and purple metallic sheen on the wings and tail. Singles or pairs are most likely to be found following an army ant swarms on the forest floor. Occurs in mature lowland forest, occasionally into the foothills up to around 1,600 m.
Identification
The rufous-vented ground cuckoo is 45 to 51 cm (18 to 20 in) long, about half of which is its tail, and weighs about 300 to 400 g (11 to 14 oz). Adults have a heavy decurved bill that is pale grayish green to horn-colored at its base with a yellow tip. All subspecies have a shaggy, glossy blue-black, erectile crest, bright blue skin surrounding the eye, and a rufous vent area. The sexes have similar plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies N. g. geoffroyi have a cinnamon brown forehead, crown, and lower face; bronzy olive green upperparts and wings; and a glossy purple tail. Their chin, throat, and upper breast are light buffy with a black band across the chest. The rest of their underparts are pale buff. Their head and breast have heavy paler semicircles that give a scaled appearance.<p>Subspecies N. g. salvini has dark bronze-brown upperparts with a purple sheen, especially on the wings and tail. The tail's upper surface may have some green gloss as well. Its face and breast have fainter scaling than the nominate and its underparts are pale buff to grayish. N. g. aequatorialis has a brown forehead and crown, bronzy green wings and upperparts, and a wide black breast band. The scaling on its breast is faint. N. g. australis has a dark brown forehead and crown and a pale grayish throat and central breast with heavily marked sides. N. g. amazonicus has black barring on a light forehead and crown, a green gloss on the hindneck, wings, and upperparts, and a faint purple gloss on the tail's upper surface. Its underparts are pale gray to whitish buff with heavy scaling on the breast. N. g. dulcis has dark glossy blue wings and upperparts and darker underparts than the nominate with heavy scaling on the breast.
Taxonomy
Most taxonomic systems assign these six subspecies to the rufous-vented ground cuckoo:<p>The International Ornithological Committee's Handbook of the Birds of the World adds a seventh, N. g. squamiger, that the other systems treat as the separate species scaled ground cuckoo.<p>In the early 20th century subspecies N. g. salvini was considered by some authors as a separate species but that treatment did not gain wide acceptance.
- Scientific name
- Neomorphus geoffroyi
- Authority
- (Temminck, 1820)
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
- Genus
- Neomorphus
Range and habitat
The subspecies of rufous-vented ground cuckoo are found thus:<p>The species generally inhabits mature undisturbed evergreen forest. It can also be found in riverside forest, seasonally flooded forest, and sometimes in dry forest, canebrakes, and thickets. In Central America it ranges in elevation from sea level to 1,450 m (4,800 ft). In South America it ranges from sea level in Brazil to 1,650 m (5,400 ft) in Bolivia.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The rufous-vented ground cuckoo is a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The rufous-vented ground cuckoo is almost exclusively terrestrial, though it may fly low to the ground or into a tree to escape a predator. It mostly walks or runs on the forest floor and makes powerful leaps to catch prey.<p>The rufous-vented ground cuckoo's diet is mostly insects. It also includes significant amounts of other arthropods; small vertebrates like lizards, amphibians, and small birds; and sometimes fallen fruits. It often follows army ant swarms, peccaries, and monkey troops to catch prey fleeing from them. <p>The rufous-vented ground cuckoo's breeding seasons vary latitudinally, in Central America nesting in the northern summer and in most of South America in the austral summer. It builds a sturdy nest of large sticks with a flatish cup of dry grass and fresh leaves. It is usually placed in the fork of a tree or shrub about 2 to 3 m (7 to 10 ft) above the ground. All of the documented nests contained a single egg. Incubation is believed to be by both parents, but the incubation period and time to fledging are not known. The latter is thought to be similar to the 20 day period of other Neomorphus cuckoos.<p>The rufous-vented ground cuckoo's principal vocalization is "a low, drawn out, moaning coo: ooooooooooooooooop". At army ant swarms they give "a muffled, barking woof call" and also "a sharp, loud kchak! call", apparently to move other birds away from desired prey.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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