RARE BIRD REPORT #: 86-B-06
IDAHO BIRD RECORDS
COMMITTEE
RARE BIRD REPORT FORM
SPECIES:
Black-billed Cuckoo
HOW MANY:
one; adult; sex unknown
REPORTER:
Dave Trochlell
2409 East N Ave.
La
Grande, OR 97850
(541) 962-7819
REPORTER EMAIL:
dtrochlell@verizon.net
OTHER OBSERVERS:
Darren Clark, Marty
Collar, Dave and Elise Faike, Marlin Jones, Dale Miller, R.L. Rowland, and
likely others.
DATE REPORT PREPARED:
December 27,
3006
DATE SIGHTING OCCURRED:
May 26, 2001
LOCALITY OF
OBSERVATION:
Camas N.W.R.
HABITAT:
stream riparian
vegetation
CONDITIONS:
About 3-5 minutes within a 15-30
minute period.
DID YOU TAKE NOTES?:
No, not at all
DID YOU CONSULT FIELD GUIDE OR OTHER REFERENCES?:
No, not
at all
WHAT GUIDE(S) OR REFERENCE(S) DID YOU CONSULT?:
DESCRIPTION:
Description: It was a slender bird about the size
of a Mourning Dove that was brownish above, including its crown, nape, mantle,
scapulars, wings, and tail. Below, the bird's auriculars, throat, chest, belly,
and undertail covert areas were white. The bird's bill was short,
slender, hooked, and appeared to be dark gray or black. The undertail area was
very dark with contrasting small, white spots. The eyes and legs were dark. I
don't believe I saw the bird's reddish eyering, but did note that it lacked the
rufous primaries that Yellow-billed Cuckoos have.
BEHAVIOR:
At our first viewing, the bird slowly moved through the dense lower limbs
of the riparian trees, seemingly in search of the BBCU "competitor" it had
heard on the CD. After Marty re-played the BBCU song on his CD-player, I recall
that the bird answered with a brief "cu-cu-cu" song and emerged from the dense
vegetation rather quickly and moved about through the cover in an agitated
manner. It was visible this time for another minute or two, until it dropped
down and disappeared into the cover. As I remember it, there were no other
birds present in the immediate area around the cuckoo, so I saw no
interactions.
HOW AND WHEN DID YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE BIRD, AND
WHAT CLINCHED THE IDENTIFICATION FOR YOU?
The bird's call, undertail
pattern, and bill color were diagnostic for Black-billed Cuckoo.
HOW
DID YOU ELIMINATE SIMILAR SPECIES, AND WHAT WERE THEY?
1)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - has a stouter yellow bill, rufous primaries, a very
different song, and large white elongated spots on the underside of the
tail.
2) Mangrove Cuckoo - has a larger yellowish bill, dark mask, and
tail pattern similar to YBCU.
3) Greater Roadrunner - nearly twice as
large as the genus Coccyzus cuckoos and strongly streaked.
4)
Thrashers (e.g. Brown, Curve-billed, Sage, etc.) - Most are spotted or streaked
below and have very different songs from cuckoos.
EXPERIENCE WITH THIS
SPECIES (AND SIMILAR SPECIES):
I was raised in the midwest
where Black-billed Cuckoos were uncommon, but occasionally seen or heard. Since
I first studied birds there, I am very familiar with both midwestern
cuckoo species. After leaving the midwest, I made many birding trips
throughout North America during which I studied and saw other Cuculidae such as
Mangrove Cuckoo, both anis, Greater Roadrunner, and Common Cuckoo.
GENERAL BIRDING EXPERIENCE:
I've been birding for nearly 40
years and have good birding skills and experience.
WERE PHOTO(S),
VIDEO, AND/OR AUDIO OBTAINED BY YOU?:
None