The little cuckoo (''Coccycua minuta'') is a species of bird in the
cuckoo
Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae ( ) family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes ( ). The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are somet ...
family (Cuculidae) from
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
and
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
. It was formerly placed in the genus ''
Piaya
''Piaya'' is a small genus of relatively large and long-tailed cuckoos, which occur in Mexico, Central America and South America.
Species
The two species in taxonomic order are:
The little cuckoo has been found to be closer to some spe ...
'', but was moved to the reinstated genus ''Coccycua'' following the discovery that its closest living relatives are a couple species traditionally placed in ''
Coccyzus'' or ''Micrococcyx'', rather than the other members of ''Piaya''.
[IUCN (2008)]
Description

This species is about long and weighs . The adult is mainly chestnut brown, with a greyish lower belly, browner tail and white tips to the tail feathers. The bill is yellow, short, and decurved; the
iris of the eyes is red. Immature birds are dark brown with a black bill and no white tail tips.
[ It is smaller and the throat is darker than in the ]squirrel cuckoo
The squirrel cuckoo (''Piaya cayana'') is a large and active species of cuckoo found in wooded habitats from northwestern Mexico to northern Argentina and Uruguay, and on Trinidad. Some authorities have split off the western Mexican form as the M ...
.[
The little cuckoo makes harsh ''chek'' and ''kak'' calls.]
Range, habitat and behavior
This small cuckoo occurs from Panama and Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
south through Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
to Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
, Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
and Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
; in Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
, it has been recorded as high up as ASL. The little cuckoo is found in mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...
swamps, and scrubby woodland near water. It is generally believed to be an all-year resident, but its irregular occurrence in some areas has led to speculations that it undertakes seasonal short-distance migrations. Fairly widely distributed and not particularly rare, it is not considered a threatened species
A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...
by the IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...
.[
This is a shy species which tends to keep to cover as it forages in low branches for ]insect
Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
s and other arthropod
Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...
s. The female lays two white eggs in a deep cup nest in a tree or bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...
. Like most American cuckoos, it incubates the eggs itself.
References
External links
Little Cuckoo videos
on the Internet Bird Collection
VIREO
* ttp://www.pbase.com/csloan/image/75157452 Photo-High Res ttp://www.pbase.com/csloan/eastern_venezuela_2007&page=6 Articlepbase.com
Photo-High Res
geometer–"Best Bird Photos"
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1267915
little cuckoo
little cuckoo
Birds of the Amazon rainforest
Birds of the Guiana Shield
Birds of Colombia
Birds of Venezuela
Birds of Ecuador
Birds of Trinidad and Tobago
Birds of Panama
little cuckoo
little cuckoo
Birds of Brazil