ODNR Division of Wildlife - A to Z Species Guide - Black-billed Cuckoo

Black-billed Cuckoo

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Because they prefer to hide in dense vegetation, both the yellow and black-billed cuckoos are more often heard than seen. These birds are very beneficial to farmers because they eat large quantities of destructive hairy caterpillars, especially gypsy moth and tent caterpillars.

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Black-billed Cuckoo

Coccyzus erythropthalmus

At-a-Glance

• Incubation: 10-13 days

• Clutch Size: 2-4 eggs

• Young Fledge: 7-9 days after hatching

• Typical Foods: caterpillars, insects

Description
Cuckoos are slender, long-tailed birds. The black-billed is similar to the yellow-billed, but the billl is black, a narrow red ring surrounds the eye in adults, and there is little or no rufous coloring in the wings.

Habitat and Habits
Of our two cuckoos, this species is less common and often avoids detection. Black-billed cuckoos also frequently call at night, and they may be partly nocturnal in their habits. They are a woodland species, but tend to favor younger forests and dense, scruffy thickets.

Reproduction and Care of the Young
An interesting and little-known facet of cuckoo behavior involves nest parasitism; they sometimes lay their eggs in other bird's nests, and the unwitting host raises the young cuckoos.