All birds/Cuculidae/Black-billed Cuckoo
AI reconstruction of Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus)AI

AI reconstruction created with Nano Banana 2 · 1K, grounded in the profile’s documented taxonomy, habitat, natural-history sources, and an open-license visual reference when available. It is an interpretive image, not documentary evidence. Image policy

Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus)
Verified source photographDavid BirdCC0 · View source
PRB-0053Cuculiformes

Black-billed Cuckoo

Pájaro Bobo Piquinegro

Coccyzus erythropthalmus

Accidental / vagrantIUCN LC · Least Concern

The black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus) is a New World species in the Cuculidae (cuckoo) family. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name, kokkuzo, means to call like a common cuckoo, and erythropthalmus is from eruthros, "red" and ophthalmos, "eye". It is very similar and overlaps in range with the closely related yellow-billed cuckoo. A distinguishing characteristic of the family Cuculidae is laying eggs in the nests of other birds. Although many cuckoos are obligate brood parasites, C. erythropthalmus often incubate their own chicks.

FamilyCuculidaeCuckoos
Puerto Rico occurrenceAccidental / vagrantAvibase inferred core 380
Primary habitatforestsForest
Primary dietInvertebrateInvertivore
Average mass53.20000000000001 gGlobal trait estimate
MovementMigratory; Irregular / nomadic movementsInsessorial

Sound archive

Hear its voice

Explore real songs and calls. The spectrogram turns each sound into a visual trace of time and frequency.

XC1011254Recording 1 of 3song
Spectrogram of Black-billed Cuckoo: song
SpectrogramCoccyzus erythropthalmus

Play: song by David A. Brinkman

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Sound recorded by David A. Brinkman · XC1011254 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Visualization by Stichting Xeno-canto voor Natuurgeluiden.

Every recording retains the creator, catalogue number, and license published by Xeno-canto. Metadata via GBIF

Island profile

Catalog scopeAvibase inferred core 380

About the Black-billed Cuckoo

The black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus) is a New World species in the Cuculidae (cuckoo) family. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name, kokkuzo, means to call like a common cuckoo, and erythropthalmus is from eruthros, "red" and ophthalmos, "eye". It is very similar and overlaps in range with the closely related yellow-billed cuckoo. A distinguishing characteristic of the family Cuculidae is laying eggs in the nests of other birds. Although many cuckoos are obligate brood parasites, C. erythropthalmus often incubate their own chicks.

Conservation

Least Concern

IUCN LC

Global IUCN
LC
Puerto Rico DNER
No current listing in source crosswalk
Federal ESA
No current listing in source crosswalk
Critical habitat
Not identified in source crosswalk

Natural history

How it lives

Habitat
forests
Elevation
0–2400 m
Nest
Half cup / shallow; Platform · Tree
Clutch
2–5 eggs
Social behavior
Singly and pairs

Keep exploring

This bird belongs to 6 paths through the atlas.

Evidence trail

Sources, media & further reading