Yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus)

Species: Yellow-billed cuckoo

Scientific name:Coccyzus americanus

Nicknames: Raincrow

Claim to fame: Thanks to cuckoo clocks and the term “cuckoo,” which is sometimes used to describe strange or eccentric actions, most of us know there is a bird by this name. However, many people don’t know the yellow-billed and the black-billed cuckoo can be seen in Missouri in summer. In Missouri, the yellow-billed is the more commonly seen of these two cuckoos.

Species status: Yellow-billed cuckoo sightings are probably most common in the southeastern United States, but the bird’s numbers are declining throughout its range. Habitat loss and fragmentation are considered to be the primary reasons for the bird’s decline.

First discovered: The first scientific description of the yellow-billed cuckoo was written by the renowned naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758.

Family matters: The yellow-billed cuckoo belongs to the bird family Cuculidae, a group of species commonly referred to as the cuckoos and their allies. This family consists of more than 100 species worldwide, most of which reside in warm, temperate regions. Of these species, the bird that made cuckoos famous is Cuculus canorus — the European cuckoo. It was the repetitive call of this Old World bird (which sounds something like “koo-koo”) that German clock-makers immortalized in the cuckoo clock. Linguistic experts think it could have been this same oft-repeated, seldom-varying call that some people considered to be peculiar and, thus, led to the word “cuckoo” being associated with strange behavior.

Length: 10 to 12 inches

Diet: The main food item of yellow-billed cuckoos is insects. The bulk of their diet consists of caterpillars, katydids, cicadas, grasshoppers and crickets.

Weight: 1.9 to 2.5 ounces

Distinguishing characteristics: Yellow-billed cuckoos are long-tailed, medium-sized birds that have grayish-brown plumage on their head and back and dull-white underparts. Their long tails have two rows of four to six large white circles on the underside. The bill of the yellow-billed cuckoo is short to medium in length. It curves downward and consists of a black upper mandible and a yellow or orange lower mandible. Females are slightly larger than males. Yellow-billed cuckoos are generally silent during winter but vocalize regularly during the early breeding season. Their calls sound nothing like a cuckoo clock; the yellow-billed cuckoo’s call resembles a “ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-kow-kowp-kowp-kowp.” They also make single coos. Pioneer folklore said their coos were a sign of coming rain — hence the name “rain crow.”

Life span: Yellow-billed cuckoos are known to live at least four years in the wild.

Habitat: Yellow-billed cuckoos prefer open woodlands with clearings and a dense shrub layer. They are often found in woodlands near streams, rivers or lakes. They also can be found on abandoned farm land that features old orchards and/or some type of shrubby habitat.

Life cycle: After overwintering in South America, yellow-billed cuckoos return to this region and other parts of the U.S. to begin courtship and breeding in May. Males and females work together to build a nest of twigs, roots, dried leaves and pine needles. The female lays one to five eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs, which hatch in nine to 11 days. Chicks begin to fly at around 21 days. Like some other cuckoo species, yellow-bills sometimes lay their eggs in other birds’ nests. This habit of cuckoos is the basis for the word “cuckold,” an archaic term for a married woman who has a child by another man. This term is derived from the word “cuckoo.”