- Mangrove Cuckoo
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Mangrove Cuckoo 
Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Cuculiformes Family: Cuculidae Genus: Coccyzus Species: C. minor Binomial name Coccyzus minor
(Gmelin, 1788)Synonyms - Coccyzus maynardi
The Mangrove Cuckoo, Coccyzus minor, is a species of cuckoo that is native to the Neotropics.
Adults have a long tail, brown above and black-and-white below, and a black curved bill with yellow on the lower mandible. The head and upper parts are brown. There is a yellow ring around the eye. This bird is best distinguished by its black facial mask and buffy underparts.
This cuckoo is found primarily in mangrove swamps and hammocks. It usually nests 2–3 metres (6.6–9.8 ft) above water in a mangrove tree or in a fork of a tree above ground. The nest is a relatively flat platform of twigs and leaves. The female lays 2-4 eggs with both adults sharing in feeding the young bird.
The Mangrove Cuckoo is a resident of southern Florida in the United States, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, both coasts of Mexico and Central America, and the Atlantic coast of South America as far south as the mouth of the Amazon River.[2]
It prefers caterpillars and grasshoppers, but will also take other insects, spiders, snails, small lizards, and fruit.
The most common call heard is a guttural “gawk gawk gawk gawk gauk gauk”. It will also call a single “whit”.
The Mangrove Cuckoo is generally fairly common in its specialized range. This bird could be threatened by human development of mangrove habitat.
References
- ^ BirdLife International (2004). Coccyzus minor. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
- ^ "Mangrove Cuckoo Life History". All About Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mangrove_Cuckoo/lifehistory. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
- "National Geographic" Field Guide to the Birds of North America ISBN 0-7922-6877-6
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol 4, Josep del Hoyo editor, ISBN 84-87334-22-9
- "National Audubon Society" The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley, ISBN 0-679-45122-6
External links
Categories:- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Coccyzus
- Birds of the Bahamas
- Birds of the Caribbean
- Birds of Central America
- Birds of French Guiana
- Birds of Guyana
- Birds of Mexico
- Birds of Puerto Rico
- Birds of Suriname
- Native birds of the Southeastern United States
- Animals described in 1788
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