Squirrel Cuckoo
Piaya cayana
Very striking and long-tailed bright rusty cuckoo, widespread in tropical lowlands and locally up into foothills. No similar species in Mexico and Central America. Occurs in a wide range of wooded and forest edge habitats. Mostly forages stealthily at mid-upper levels in trees, where can be surprisingly difficult to see. Often seen swooping across roads and eliciting a ‘wow’ reaction. Underside of white-tipped tail feathers is rusty overall in West Mexico, blackish overall in other areas.
Identification
This large and extremely long-tailed cuckoo is 40.5–50 cm (15.9–19.7 in) long and weighs 95–120 g (3.4–4.2 oz). The adult has mainly chestnut upperparts and head, becoming paler on the throat. The lower breast is grey and the belly is blackish. The central tail feathers are rufous, but the outer are black with white tips. The bill is yellow and the iris is red. Immature birds have a grey bill and eyering, brown iris, and less white in the tail. It resembles the little cuckoo, but that species is smaller and has a darker throat.<p>There are a number of subspecies with minor plumage variations. For example, P. c. mehleri, one of the South American subspecies, has mainly brown (not black) outer tail feathers. Additionally, the subspecies from Mexico, Central America, and northern and western South America have a yellow eye-ring, but this is red in the remaining part of South America.<p>It makes explosive kip! and kip! weeuu calls, and the song is a whistled wheep wheep wheep wheep.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Piaya cayana
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
- Genus
- Piaya
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Palau Scops-Owl
Otus podarginus
A reddish-brown owl with a large rounded head, pale whitish eyebrows, and no ear tufts. Upperparts spotted with black-tipped white spots. Legs unfeathered and whitish. Found in a wide range of forest, mostly in lowlands, frequently near villages. No other owls occur on Palau. Voice includes a long series of deep “whok” notes rising in intensity, finishing in a sharp “quirt-quirt” whistle.
Cinderella Waxbill
Glaucestrilda thomensis
Pretty little gray waxbill with a black tail and a red rump which is conspicuous in flight. The male has red and black under the tail, while the female is much paler and grayer below. Both sexes have pink in the bill. Found in arid woodland and savanna, including mopane woodland. Shy and inconspicuous; usually in small flocks. Calls include rising whistles. Very similar to Black-tailed Waxbill, but prefers drier habitat and is paler gray, with pink on the bill.
Red-backed Mousebird
Colius castanotus
A brownish-gray dumpy-bodied bird with a long scruffy tail, a reddish back, brown ears, a brown crest, and pale eyes. Occurs in small sociable groups in forest edge, woodland, thorn scrub, and cultivated areas along the Angolan escarpment, where it is endemic. One of the most familiar and beloved birds of Angola, where it is known as the “Rabo-de-junco”. Scrambles through bushes and tangles, creeping on short legs. In flight, it appears heavy, fluttering rapidly. Calls include a harsh “chee” and twittering notes like those of Speckled Mousebird, which differs from Red-backed by being lightly barred on the breast and mantle, having a brown back, and in the area of overlap in northern Angola, having dark eyes.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.