Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Although Yellow-billed Cuckoo is a common bird, people have observed it for a long time. They are hard to find as they hide in dense deciduous forests. It is only when you hear the sound of their call that you can notice their presence in the neighborhood. The croaky, stuttering calls can be heard from a considerable distance. The sound of cicadas in summer is often intermingled with that of Yellow-billed Cuckoos. 

The bird species also have the adorable nickname of rain crow. This is because it jokes that they are actually constantly calling for rain through their calls. 

Today, we’ll learn about: 

• Yellow-billed Cuckoo color patterns, songs, and size
• Yellow-billed Cuckoo behavior, habitat, and diet
• Yellow-billed Cuckoo lifecycle, nesting, and migration range

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Yellow-billed Cuckoos Color Pattern

Yellow-billed Cuckoos have a white shade of neck, chest, and belly. A rich, deep black tail with large white spots on them is what actually differs this species of cuckoos from the rest, despite being named after its bill. The white spots are similar to those you find on mushrooms and have a clean, pretty vibe to them. Then, of course, there is the bill. As you can guess from the name, this bird species comes with a yellow bill that has a bit of black on the tip. 

The wings and back are overall brown but there are also some patchy shades of rust on the wings. 

There isn’t much difference in color patterns between adult and immature Yellow-billed Cuckoos. The only notable exception is in the back, which is a more rusty shade than brown. 

Description And Identification

How do you go about identifying Yellow-billed Cuckoos? Well, their name is certainly one way of beginning to identify them. If you see a cuckoo that has a yellow bill with the top of the bill actually an ashy black color, it is a good chance of being the one you are looking for. If the bill is curved towards the end, then it is even more of a giveaway it is the species of your dreams. Then, we should check if the belly, chest, and neck are a bright shade of white. If the white feathers feel like they are sparkling. If there’s one thing we should know about this species, it is that they genuinely enjoy being clean. It is one of the reasons they are often found in riverside forests. 

The back should be brown with a rusty tint to it to be even more certain that is this exact species. And then, there is the tail. They truly have one of the most beautiful trails you will ever see in birds. It is black in color with white spots in the undertail. The white spots are large and look like the ones you might find in mushrooms. It is those white spots combined with the overall brown and white plumage of Yellow-billed Cuckoos that sets them apart from others. 

Now, despite having such wonderful color patterns, they are not the easiest to spot. They hid in shrubs, thickets, and amongst deciduous trees. So, when you do spot them, you can easily identify them with their color and body type. However, spotting them is half the work. 

A good way to know Yellow-billed Cuckoos is in the area is to see if the nearby forest edges have reported insect outbreaks recently. If you hear about such reports, visit the area and then try to find them by sound first. As a birdwatcher, you should prepare yourself by familiarizing yourself with their songs. 

When it comes to their song, it is actually a sweet, cooing melody. They sing those repeatedly during courtship season. During nesting though, you can hear their rattling calls. They produce deep metallic noises that remind you of hollow wood being knocked again and again. It sounds like someone’s saying a roaring kow kow. These calls are surprisingly long. They go on for 8 seconds. So, you can really focus on the call and try to find them through these sounds alone. 

When you do find them, you will want a picture to remember this pretty bird species. So, among your other birding gear such as binoculars, maps, guides, don’t forget to bring your camera!

Before you continue check out a national park to give you ideas on where you could go to see more birds.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo Song 

Male and female Yellow-billed Cuckoos are known to sing this cooing, soft song repeatedly. Before courtship, unmated males sing like this to attract the attention of a potential female partner. During courtship, it is the female cuckoos that coo to communicate. 

From male Yellow-billed Cuckoos, you can hear a series of wooden sounds that sounds a lot like when someone knocks on woods. There’s a hollow quality to it with ka ka or kow kow sounds that go on for a long time. They have one of the longest calls among the bird species, lasting for about 8 seconds. Instead of accelerating towards the end, their call speed only gets slower. 

In a pair, both male and female Yellow-billed Cuckoos are known to give metallic calls that rattle. Then, there’s the other series of calls that sounds like rapid kow tows. It’s as if a strike plate is being hit with a metal door. 

Yellow-billed Cuckoo Size

For cuckoos, Yellow-billed ones can be considered a large species. They have a beautiful, slender, long body. They have a small head further accentuated by the bill, which is almost as long. It’s a curved, thick bill. They are overall thin with a generous tail length. They have long, pointed wings. 

They are actually lengthier than American Kestrels, but have a smaller body. An appropriate size range for them would be Swestern Scrub Jay or Blue Jay. In length, they can range from 26 to 30 cm. In weight, they can go from 55 to 65 g. Then, their wingspan can range from 38 to 43 cm. 

Yellow-billed Cuckoo Behavior

The foraging involves inspecting foliages and stems to find insects. They will clamber around trees and shrubs to do so. Sometimes, they will be in flight mode, hovering above foliage as they spot a caterpillar and swoop in to capture their prey. Sometimes, they will simply fly out to seize a flying prey. 

What Yellow-billed Cuckoos Eat

The main food of Yellow-billed Cuckoos is insects and caterpillars. If caterpillars are in the area, they will focus on it and nothing else. It doesn’t matter what species of caterpillar it is, if it has hairs like tent caterpillars, that’s their favorite food. Other than that, they will munch on different insects like grasshoppers, cicadas, beetles, etc. As a result, the population of cuckoos is denser where insect outbreaks happen regularly. 

Fruits, berries, lizards, and even eggs from other bird species make their way into their diet of Yellow-billed Cuckoos when there’s a visible shortage of food. 

Birds need to eat so check the best bird seeds out there!

Where Yellow-billed Cuckoos Live And Habitat

Yellow-billed Cuckoos show up on groves running along streams, thickets, woodlands, and orchards. The breeding takes place in heavy deciduous forests. It could be on the edge of forests, scrubby woods of oak, long thickets, and second growths. Often, they will breed in willow groves, specifically in marshlands. 

If you look at their settlements in the west, they are seen mostly around trees with river or other stream water running around it. In arid countries, groves of cottonwood or willow are especially places where they are found the most. 

Range and Migration

Yellow-billed Cuckoos are where deciduous forests are. So, you will find them in the Caribbean as you will in Mexico and south of Canada. Migration involves quick trips to Central America. The furthest they go to is northern Argentina. In western Europe, they are a rarity but present species. 

They arrive at the end of spring but are the quickest to leave once fall comes around. They don’t mind making long-distance journeys and some even end up in Argentina in the process of wintering. They will migrate at night too so sometimes, you might just hear them going over your house as their calls echo. 

If you liked learning about this migration pattern check out these cooler migration patterns Duck migration, Snow geese migration, Robin migration, and Sandhill Crane migration

Yellow-billed Cuckoo Lifecycle

Usually, Yellow-billed Cuckoos have about 3 to 4 eggs in a brood. Sometimes, while in times of insect outbreaks, they can even have 5. Sometimes, they will invade the nest of Black-billed cuckoos among many other bird species to lay eggs instead. The color of the eggs is usually either a pale shade of blue or greenish in color. 

Both sets of parents are involved in the incubation process. However, the female Yellow-billed Cuckoos might do most of the work sometimes. The warming period lasts for about 9 to 11 days. Incubation can happen for a long time too. 

Both parents feed their young ones. About a week after they are born, they are ready to leave the nest and climb around. In 3 weeks, they are stable enough to fly. There are cases where the first set of young that leaves the nest are taken care of by the male Yellow-billed Cuckoos. The next set is looked after by the female parent. 

Nesting

Courtship involves feeding the female Yellow-billed Cuckoos from their male partner. The nests are usually about 4’ to 10’ from the ground. It can even be 20’ above or even higher. The nests are built on top of vines, trees, or shrubs. Both the male and female cuckoos do the nest building with stems and twigs arranged haphazardly. Leaves, pine needles, and the grass is used to line the nest along with other nest material. 

Anatomy of an Yellow-billed Cuckoo

The anatomy of Yellow-billed Cuckoos consists of a long tail that adds further to their slender. They have a thin, slim body that appears regal in flight. When they are perched, they hunchback a little. They don’t have a particularly large chest or belly. Their neck area also ends fast followed by a small head that follows the similar theme of a slim body. Adorned by large eyes with yellow eye rings that give them more character. 

The bill of Yellow-billed Cuckoos is curved at the end. In-flight, their wings are swept back and it seems pointed to anyone looking. They have short legs that you don’t even notice while they are perched. 

Final Thoughts

In the case of Yellow-billed Cuckoos, you are likely to hear them all around you but somehow never manage to catch a proper glimpse of them. Summer season, you will need to start by scouring deciduous forests where tent caterpillar infestations have been reported. If there’s a rise in Cicadas in the area or similar arthropods, that’s a good sign too. Listen closely for the familiar sound of Yellow-billed Cuckoos. Do you hear their calls that sound like knocks? They don’t have a particular designated time for calling, so you can hear them during the day or night. 

Late summer, their familiar knocking calls change into coos, imitating that of a dove. The knocking sounds become a rarity. During the day, when they are migrating, the species is pretty much quiet. From below, you might see their long, slim form, and the smooth rapid gliding of their wings. They are usually below the treetop level, just where the open patches of lands are while flying from one lot of wood to another. If you want to see them in the fall, your biggest chances are areas where webworm infestation is known to happen. 

The rise and fall in the number of Yellow-billed Cuckoos depend mostly on outbreaks of insects in the area. Most surveys show a decline in general for this species. There are western areas where the species has been completely wiped out while they are listed as endangered in some areas. The biggest reason for the fall in their numbers has been attributed to habitat loss. 

While Yellow-billed Cuckoos are still in abundance, we think it might be a good idea to see them as soon as you can before deforestation drives them out of the east too. 

Check out some more birds on our page! Confused about how our page works watch this quick video. Or look at some fun coloring pages for the birds you love!

Ornithology

Bird Watching Academy & Camp Subscription Boxes

At Bird Watching Academy & Camp we help kids, youth, and adults get excited and involved in bird watching. We have several monthly subscription boxes that you can subscribe to. Our monthly subscription boxes help kids, youth, and adults learn about birds, bird watching, and bird conservation.

Bird Watching Binoculars for Identifying Yellow-billed Cuckoo 

The most common types of bird-watching binoculars for viewing Yellow-billed Cuckoo are 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. Bird Watching Academy & Camp sells really nice 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. You can view and purchase them here.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo Iron On Patches 

Kids, Youth, and Adults love to collect our Bird Watching Academy & Camp iron-on patches. Our bird-watching patches help you keep track of the birds you have seen and identified. You can also display the patches on our Bird Watching Academy & Camp banners.

The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is a great iron-on patch to start your collection with. The patches are durable and can be sewn on or ironed on to just about anything.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo Stickers

Stickers are a great way for you to display your love for bird watching and the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Here is the sticker pack we sell with a Yellow-billed Cuckoo sticker.

Considered buying a cool mug from Bird Academy!

Bird Feeders For Yellow-billed Cuckoo

There are many types of bird feeders. Here are our favorite bird feeders for your backyard. We use all of these bird feeders currently. Kids will have a great time watching birds eat at these bird feeders. Using this collection of bird feeders will provide a wide variety and many types of birds.

Here are some birdfeeders that you might want to look at Suet bird feeders, hanging bird feeders, and Cardinal bird feeders.

Best Birdhouses for Yellow-billed Cuckoo

There are many types of birdhouses. Building a birdhouse is always fun but can be frustrating. These 4 birdhouses have become our favorites. Getting a birdhouse for kids to watch birds grow is always fun. We spent a little extra money on these birdhouses but they have been worth the higher price and look great.

Check out some of these birdhouses Wren birdhouse, Sparrow birdhouse, and Finch birdhouse.