CuckoosSquirrel CuckooPiaya cayana
- ORDER: Cuculiformes
- FAMILY: Cuculidae
Basic Description
The Squirrel Cuckoo is a spectacular large cuckoo of the New World tropics, with rich rufous upperparts, a striking yellow or red eyering, a lime-green bill, and a remarkably long tail. Despite its size, this species nimbly navigates trees in forests and woodlands, hopping along branches like a squirrel and bounding from perch to perch in search of caterpillars, grasshoppers, and other insects. Squirrel Cuckoos call infrequently, but their loud calls, especially an explosive “keek! wahh” can be helpful in locating them.
More ID InfoOther Names
- Cuco Ardilla Común (Spanish)
- Piaye écureuil (French)
- Cool Facts
- Nestling Squirrel Cuckoos have bold white spots on the roof of their mouth, along with a white spot on the tongue. Many other cuckoo species also have odd mouth decorations but the exact purpose is unknown. One suggestion is that these bold markings help adults find and feed their chicks, while another suggests that they are warning spots to potential nest predators.
- Common Cuckoo and many other cuckoos around the world are famous—or infamous—for laying their eggs in the nests of other species and leaving the host parents to raise their young. But not the Squirrel Cuckoo—it takes a more normal approach to parenting, with both sexes incubating their own eggs and feeding their nestlings.