Coccycua cinerea
The Ash-colored Cuckoo (Coccycua cinerea) is a relatively small and slender member of the cuckoo family, measuring approximately 20-23 cm in length with a weight typically ranging from 30-40 grams. Its plumage is characterized by a soft, uniform ash-gray on the head and upperparts, transitioning to a paler gray on the throat and breast, and eventually to a clean white on the belly. A distinctive field mark is its rufous undertail coverts, which contrast subtly with the otherwise muted colorat...
Primarily inhabits arid to semi-arid scrublands, open woodlands, gallery forests, and woodland edges, typically found in lowlands up to 1000 meters elevation.
Almost exclusively insectivorous, primarily consuming caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers, and other large invertebrates, typically gleaned from foliage.
The Ash-colored Cuckoo is a diurnal bird, though it often remains inconspicuous, moving deliberately and stealthily through dense foliage. Its foraging strategy involves actively gleaning insects from leaves and twigs while moving through the arboreal layers, occasionally performing short sally-f...
The Ash-colored Cuckoo is widely distributed across central and eastern South America, exhibiting a largely resident pattern throughout its extensive range. Its primary breeding distribution spans from northeastern Brazil, extending southward through eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and re...
Least Concern
- The Ash-colored Cuckoo is one of the smallest cuckoos in the New World, making it an agile hunter through dense scrub. - Unlike many Old World cuckoos, which are brood parasites, the Ash-colored Cuckoo proudly builds its own nest and raises its young. - Its distinctive call, a rapid and acceler...