Tag Archives: Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Walking with ibises

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White Ibis out for a walk.

Getting our steps, the ibis and I.

What’s missing from the sign at the top of our street? Caution! Watch for strolling ibises.

Why is this bird smiling?

I think these are the tamest wading birds. And the wading birds least likely to be seen wading.

Treetop ibis. These birds make it easy for lazy bird-watchers to spot birds.

On the opposite end of the bird-spotting spectrum: the Yellow-billed Cuckoo!  I got another pic finally this morning. It’s a neighborhood bird I have been trying to see again since I first spotted it a week ago.

Cuckoo!

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I have to use this terrible photo because I only got two pics of this weird bird that turns out to be a Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

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When I saw it flying to this perch yesterday morning I thought it was a small hawk. When I downloaded the pics and saw the bill and tail, I went right to the experts on What’s This Bird. A couple of them IDed it in several seconds.

Yellow-billed Cuckoos are slender, long-tailed birds that manage to stay well hidden in deciduous woodlands. They usually sit stock still, even hunching their shoulders to conceal their crisp white underparts, as they hunt for large caterpillars. Bold white spots on the tail’s underside are often the most visible feature on a shaded perch. Fortunately, their drawn-out, knocking call is very distinctive.