Black-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus erythropthalmus   [A Wilson, 1811]

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   Page updated:16-January-2013

Order: Cuculiformes Family: Cuculidae
BTO Codes: , BLBCU EURING No: 7270
Number in Britain: Fewer than 20 records
Conservation Status:
UK: Not Assessed
European: Not evaluated
Global: (Details)
Links to: Images   Videos   Sound  
Status in UK: (A)  Accidental
Subspecies: Monotypic
.
Length: 29 cm Wingspan: 40 cm Weight: M: 45 g   F: 58 g    
Scientific name from: Gr.: kokkuzo=to cry cuckoo and Gr.: eruthrus=red + -ophthalmus=eye
World Distribution: BREEDS: e North America, WINTERS: n South America
Habitat: Forest, open woodland
Diet: Large insects, esp caterpillars, grasshoppers, cicadas
TitBit: Black-billed Cuckoos eat many spiny caterpillars the spines of which stick in the lining of the stomach, so periodically the stomach lining is shed to remove the spine.  

Records and Distribution

First Record: Isles of Scilly, 1932 (Antrim, 1871) (Palmer. P 2000. First for Britain & Ireland, Arlequin Press. [502.74 PAL])
Total Number of Records (1950-2007): 10
Most Likely to Occur in: August to October
Most Recent County Records:
   Scotland: Argyll (1950), Shetland (1953),
   North-east England: Cleveland (1975),
   North-west England: Cheshire (1982),
   English Midlands:
   Eastern England:
   South-east England:
   South-west England: Cornwall (1965), Devon (1982), Isles of Scilly (1990),
   Wales:

Information provided by BirdGuides and BBRC

Other Names

 
Gaelic: Welsh:
Danish: Sortnæbbet gøg Dutch: Zwartsnavelkoekoek
Finnish: Mustanokkakäki French: Coulicou ā bec noir
German: Schwarzschnabelkuckuck Hungarian: Feketecsoru esokakukk
Icelandic: Regngaukur Irish: Cuach Ghobdhubh
Italian: Cuculo americano occhirossi Norwegian: Svartnebbgjøk
Polish: Kukawik czarnodzioby Portuguese: Cuco-de-bico-negro
Spanish: Cuco piquinegro Swedish: Svartnäbbad regngök

For More Information...

Books and Monographs:
   Payne, R.B. 2005 The Cuckoos Oxford University Press [598.62 PAY]
See Also:
Find scientific papers on Google Scholar or Scirus by clicking the icon
Wikipedia entry
BirdLife species page
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides
All About Birds (from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Details from the Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter