Squirrel Cuckoo
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| Piaya cayana (Linnaeus, 1766) |
The Squirrel Cuckoo, Piaya cayana, is a near-passerine bird. This cuckoo is a resident breeding bird from northwestern Mexico to northern Argentina and Uruguay, and on Trinidad.
The Squirrel Cuckoo is found in woodland canopy and edges, second growth, hedges and semi-open habitats from sea level to as high as 2500 m altitude, although it is uncommon above 1200 m. The nest is a cup of leaves on a twig foundation, hidden in dense vegetation 1-12 m high in a tree. The female lays two white eggs.
This large species is 43-46 cm long and weighs 95-105 g. The adult has mainly chestnut upperparts and head, becoming paler on the throat. The lower breast is grey and the belly is blackish. The tail is boldly banded in black and white. The bill and bare eyering are yellow and the iris is red. Immature birds have a grey bill and eyering, brown iris, and less white in the tail.
There are a number of subspecies with minor plumage variations. For example, P. c. mehleri, a South American form, has a brown-and-white banded tail.
This species’ English name derives from its habit of running along branches and leaping from branch to branch like a squirrel. It normally flies only short distances, mainly gliding with an occasional flap.
The Squirrel Cuckoo makes explosive kip! and kip! weeuu calls, and the song is a whistled wheep wheep wheep wheep.
It feeds on large insects such as cicadas, wasps and caterpillars (including those with stinging hairs or spines), and occasionally spiders and small lizards. Its static prey is typically taken off the foliage with a quick lunge, but wasps may be picked out of the air.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Piaya cayana. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- ffrench, Birds of Trinidad and Tobago ISBN 0-7136-6759-1
- Hilty, Birds of Venezuela, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
- Stiles and Skutch, A guide to the birds of Costa Rica ISBN 0-08-149600-4
