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
Total Number of Records (1958-2004):
10
Summary of Records by Year
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:
No Records
Eastern England:
No Records
South-east England:
No Records
South-west England:
Cornwall
(1965),
Devon
(1982),
Isles of Scilly
(1990),
Wales:
No Records
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:
All About Birds (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Gough, G.A. et al. (1998) Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter
Wikipedia entry
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides.com
These data should be cited as: Robinson, R.A. (2005) BirdFacts: profiles of birds occurring in Britain & Ireland (v1.22, Oct 2008). BTO Research Report 407, BTO, Thetford (http://www.bto.org/birdfacts)