Yellow-Billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus)


Group	Cuckoos
Code	ABNRB02020
Order	Cuculiformes
Family	Cuculidae
Author	(Linnaeus, 1758)
Rank	G5 (definitions)
Occurrence	LM (definitions)
Scale	C (definitions)

County List:


Western UP	Marquette, Menominee, Houghton, Delta, Gogebic, Dickinson, Ontonagon, Iron, Keweenaw
Eastern UP	all
Northern LP	all
Southern LP	all

Rule:

Mixed Forested/Nonforested Landscapes

1st alternative:
      (Any Upland Deciduous (Regen))
      or (Bottomland Hardwoods (Regen or Uneven) 
   adjacent to:
      Edge

2nd alternative:
      Upland Brush
      or Savanna
      or Lowland Brush

view decision rule term definitions

Habitat List:

Habitats	Regen	Sap	Pole	Sm Saw	Lg Saw	Uneven
Aspen	YES	no	no	no	no	-
Paper Birch	YES	no	no	no	no	-
Oak	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Assorted Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Northern Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Spruce/Fir	no	no	no	no	no	no
Hemlock	no	no	no	no	no	no
Jack Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Red Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
White Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Conifer Plantations	no	no	no	no	no	-
Mixed Upland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Upland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Swamp Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Balsam Poplar & Swamp Aspen & Swamp Birch	no	no	no	no	no	no
Bottomland Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	YES
Tamarack	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern White Cedar	no	no	no	no	no	no
Black Spruce	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Non-Forested	Upland Brush, Savanna, Lowland Brush
Special Features	Edges

view size class definitions

Literature:

Eastman, J. 1991. Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Pages 234-235 In: R. Brewer, G. A. McPeek, and R. J. Adams, Jr. (eds.) The atlas of breeding birds of Michigan. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing. 594 pp.

Habitat: This bird requires semi-open areas containing ample amounts of dense shrubby vegetation. Wet thickets and brushy fields are favored nesting locales. Atlas Habitat Survey data indicate that young northern hardwoods and willow-dogwood shrub wetland dominate the northern nesting areas; these types plus dry and wet deciduous forest habitats were occupied in the southern Lower Peninsula. The nest, a flimsy platform, is often built low in a vine tangle, thorn shrub, or conifer.

The frequency of cuckoos in Michigan indicates a general abundance of forest-edge habitats. Before wide-spread forest clearing, these birds probably had a more restricted distribution.

DeGraaf, R. M. and D. D. Rudis. 1986. New England wildlife: habitat, natural history, and distribution. GTR NE-108. Broomall, PA:USDA, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 491 pp.

Habitat: Open woods, overgrown weedy fields, roadsides, abandoned orchards, streambanks with dense thickets, brushy pastures with small trees and vines. Seldom seen at high elevations.

Special Habitat Requirements: Low, dense shrubby vegetation.

Kaufman, K. 1996. Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 675 pp.

Habitat: Woodlands, thickets, orchards, streamside groves. Breeds mostly in dense deciduous stands, including forest edges, tall thickets, dense second growth, overgrown orchards, scrubby oak woods. Often in willow groves around marshes.

Diet: Caterpillars and other insects. Feeds heavily on caterpillars when available, including hairy types such as tent caterpillars; also other insects such as cicadas, beetles, grasshoppers, katydids. Also may eat some lizards, frogs, eggs of other birds, berries and small fruits.

Nest: Site is in tree, shrub, or vines, usually 4-10 feet above the ground, sometimes up to 20 feet or higher. Nest is a small loosely made platform of twigs and stems with thin lining of grass, pine needles, leaves, and other materials.