Squirrel Cuckoo (Piaya cayana)

Identification & Behavior: ~43.5 cm (17.1 in). The Squirrel Cuckoo is mostly reddish-brown with a gray belly. The bill is yellow. The iris is reddish. It has a very long dark tail with broad white tips. It is similar to the Black-bellied Cuckoo but is distinguished by having a yellow bill, a cap of the same color as the back, and by lacking the yellow bare spot in front of the eye.

Status: The Squirrel Cuckoo is common in various forest types in Amazonia and the humid and semi-deciduous forest of northwest Peru. It has been recorded at elevations of about 2500 m along both sides of the Andes. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Cuco Ardilla.

Sub-species: Squirrel Cuckoo (Piaya cayana nigricrissa), (Cabanis), 1862. W Colombia (occurring E to slopes of C Andes), W Ecuador, and NW Peru (Tumbes).
(P. c. mesura), (Cabanis and Heine), 1863. Colombia E of Andes, E Ecuador, and NE Peru (N of R Marañón).
(P. c. obscura), E. Snethlage, 1908. C Brazil S of Amazon from R Juruá E to R Tapajós and S to upper Ji-Paraná, E Peru and N Bolivia.

Meaning of Name: Piaya: Creole, Piaye= a native name for birds of the family Cuculidae. cayana: L. originating in Cayenne or in French Guiana.

See more of the Family Cuculidae