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Squirrel Cuckoo
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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Cuculiformes
Family: Cuculidae
Genus: Piaya
Species: Piaya cayana

The Squirrel Cuckoo (Piaya cayana) is a large species of cuckoo native to many wooded areas of South and Central America.

Subspecies[]

There are many subspecies of the Squirrel Cuckoo:

  • P. c. cabanisi (Allen, 1893)
  • P. c. cayana (Linnaeus, 1766)
  • P. c. circe (Bonaparte, 1850)
  • P. c. hellmayri (Pinto, 1938)
  • P. c. insulana (Hellmayr, 1906)
  • P. c. macroura (Gambel, 1849)
  • P. c. mehleri (Bonaparte, 1850)
  • P. c. measura (Cabanis & Heine, 1863)
  • P. c. mexicana (Swainson, 1827)
  • P. c. mogenseni (JL Peters, 1926)
  • P. c. nigricrissa (Cabanis, 1862)
  • P. c. obscura (E. Snethlage, 1908)
  • P. c. pallescens (Cabanis & Heine, 1863)
  • P. c. thermophila (PL Sclater, 1860)

Description[]

It measures between 43 and 46 cm in length and weighs between 95 and 105 g. The plumage is brown on the back and head, paler on the throat. The chest is gray and the belly is blackish. The central tail feathers are reddish and the rest are black with white spots. The beak is yellow and the iris is red. Juvenile specimens are distinguished by the gray beak, brown iris and fewer white spots on the tail. The South American subspecies P. c. mehleri generally has brown and not black tail feathers. The subspecies of Mexico and Central America have a yellow eye ring, whereas those of the South American subspecies are red.

Voice[]

The call is an explosive kip! and kip! weeuu and whistles a wheep wheep wheep wheep.

Behavior[]

It runs through branches, typically forages in the mid-story and canopy, and generally flies short distances. It mainly consumes caterpillars, especially the stinging ones, but also other invertebrates such as walking sticks, grasshoppers, beetles, wasps, bees, army ants, cicadas, hemipteras, odonates and spiders. Small lizards and fruit are consumed to a smaller extent. Flying insects may be caught in the air. The bird may feed alongside other species of birds. Its nest is a cup of leaves, built on a tree branch, hidden in dense vegetation, at a height of 1 to 12 m. The female lays 1-3 white eggs. The altricial chicks hatch after around 16-20 days and are tended by both parents.

Distribution and Habitat[]

The Squirrel Cuckoo occurs throughout Central America and South America (excluding Chile), and on Trinidad and Tobago. It remains in the canopy or on the edges of forests, up to an altitude of 2,500 m.

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