Gray-capped Cuckoo (Coccyzus lansbergi)

Identification & Behavior: ~27.5 cm (11 in). The Gray-capped Cuckoo is reddish-brown, with a distinctive gray cap and black bill. The tail is long, dark, with white tail tips. The color structure is similar to that of Black-bellied Cuckoo, but their ranges do not overlap. Also, see Dark-billed Cuckoo.

Status: The Gray-capped Cuckoo is a rare migrant to the humid and semi-deciduous forest of northwest Peru during the months of January through May. It is very rare or perhaps a vagrant further south in riparian vegetations. It is known to breed and apparently departs to northern South America after the rainy season in northwest Peru. It also occurs in Co and Ec.

Name in Spanish: Cuclillo de Gorro Gris.

Sub-species: Gray-capped Cuckoo (Coccyzus lansbergi), Bonaparte 1850.

Meaning of Name: Coccyzus: Gr. kokkuzö, kokku= crying, crying cuckoos. lansbergi: in honor of R. F. Van Lansberge, (1804-1873), Dutch Administrator in the West Indies.

See more of the Family Cuculidae