Coccyzus

Coccyzus is a genus of cuckoos which occur in the Americas. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kokkuzo, which means to call like a common cuckoo.[1] These include the lizard cuckoos formerly included in the genus Saurothera.

Coccyzus
Black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Cuculiformes
Family: Cuculidae
Genus: Coccyzus
Vieillot, 1816
Species

13, see text

Synonyms

Hyetornis
Saurothera

Species and taxonomy

The species in taxonomic order are:

ImageCommon NameScientific nameDistribution
Black-billed cuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmusthe United States, east of the Rockies
Yellow-billed cuckooCoccyzus americanussouthern United States
Pearly-breasted cuckooCoccyzus euleriArgentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname, Peru, and Venezuela
Mangrove cuckooCoccyzus minorsouthern 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.
Cocos cuckooCoccyzus ferrugineusCosta Rica
Dark-billed cuckooCoccyzus melacoryphusArgentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela
Grey-capped cuckooCoccyzus lansbergiAruba, Colombia, Ecuador, Netherlands Antilles, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
Chestnut-bellied cuckooCoccyzus pluvialisJamaica
Bay-breasted cuckooCoccyzus rufigularisDominican Republic
Great lizard cuckooCoccyzus merliniThe Bahamas (on Andros, Eleuthera and New Providence) and Cuba
Puerto Rican lizard cuckooCoccyzus vieillotiPuerto Rico
Jamaican lizard cuckooCoccyzus vetulaJamaica
Hispaniolan lizard cuckooCoccyzus longirostrisHaiti and the Dominican Republic

The genera Saurothera (the lizard cuckoos) and Hyetornis (chestnut-bellied and bay-breasted cuckoos) were lumped with Coccyzus by the American Ornithologists' Union in 2006.

On the other hand, the ash-colored cuckoo and dwarf cuckoo at one time separated in Micrococcyx have been found to be closest relatives of the little cuckoo, formerly in Piaya. These three are now again placed in the reinstated genus of the latter, Coccycua.

Description and ecology

These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. Many have black and white undertail patterns. They occur in a variety of forests, woodlands or mangroves.

Coccyzus cuckoos, unlike many Old World species, build their own nests in trees and lay two or more eggs. Yellow-billed and black-billed cuckoos occasionally lay eggs in the nests of other birds, but are not obligate brood parasites like the common cuckoo of Eurasia.

Northern species such as yellow-billed and black-billed cuckoos are strong migrants, wintering in Central or South America, and occasionally wander to western Europe as rare vagrants, but the tropical Coccyzus cuckoos are mainly sedentary.

These are vocal species when breeding, with persistent and loud calls. They feed on large insects such as cicadas, wasps and caterpillars (including those with stinging hairs or spines which are distasteful to many birds). Lizard cuckoos are large and powerful species, and mainly take vertebrate prey, especially, as the name implies, lizards.

References

  1. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
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