Cuckoos are slender, medium sized birds, known for being difficult to find. Due to their secretive nature, they can be exciting for birders to see in the wild. In Pennsylvania, there are two species of cuckoos that can be found on an annual basis. Here’s everything you need to know about them.
Black-billed Cuckoo
Identification
Black-billed Cuckoos have a brown head, back, wings, and tail with a white underside. As their name would suggest, they have a black bill and a red eye.
Range
Black-billed Cuckoos winter in the northwestern part of South America. In spring they migrate north into northeastern and northcentral United States along with southern Canada.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Black-billed Cuckoos feed primarily on insects (especially caterpillars). In nonbreeding season, they also eat fruits and other plant matter such as seeds.
Where to Find this Bird
Black-billed Cuckoos are found in forests, edge habitat, woodlands, and marshes with numerous trees. They can be extremely elusive and are difficult to get eyes on even if they are in the area.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Identification
Yellow-billed Cuckoos have a brown head, back, and wings. Their long tails are black with white at the end of the feathers giving their tails a spotted appearance. These birds have a clean white underside and a yellow bill with some black on the upper mandible.
Range
Yellow-billed Cuckoos winter throughout most of South America with the exception of the most southern and western parts of the country. In spring, they move north inhabiting the Carribean, parts of Mexico, the eastern United States, southeastern Canada, and seemingly random pockets in the western United States.
Diet and Foraging Habits
A large portion of the Yellow-billed Cuckoos diet consists of caterpillars. They will often find large quantities of tent caterpillars, fall webworms, and spongy moths. Aside from caterpillars they will also eat other types of insects and small invertebrates along with some types of fruits and seeds.
Where to Find this Bird
Yellow-billed Cuckoos frequent woodlands (especially woodlands with water nearby), scrublands with thick bushes, and even stands of trees in otherwise more open areas.
Summary
Cuckoos are goofy and elusive birds that are always fun to see in the field but can sometimes be tough to identify. We hope this post has helped you learn about and identify the Cuckoos of Pennsylvania.
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