Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus) - Secretive Singer in the Woods Did you Know? They have a tendency to call or sing more frequently before rain. This has lead to them sometimes being referred to as “Rain Crows”. 17 days is all it takes from the time of egg laying until the young leave the nest. One of the shortest brood times of the bird world. During the breeding season they will often call throughout the night. A group of Cuckoos is collectively known as a “cooch” or “asylum”. Photo : 2013 Brian Popelier Range – Southern Canada extending down through the american Midwest and eastern states. Their wintering grounds are in western South America. Habitat – Moist thickets in low overgrown pastures and orchards, thicker undergrowth and sparse woodlands. Size – 28-31 cm, 40 – 65 g Diet – In the summertime: large insects, occasionally eggs from other bird species. In the wintertime: insects, fruits and seeds. Status – S5/ Common in Ontario The Bruce Trail Conservancy | PO Box 857 Hamilton, ON L8N 3N9 | 1.800.665.4453 | [email protected] Identification: Black-billed Cuckoos are slender, medium sized birds with a brownish back, head and tail. The belly and chin are white and the bill is of course black with a slight downward curve. They have a long, slender tail with faint white and dark spots underneath. There is a red ring around the eye. Call is a series of rhythmic, similar pitched notes with a small pause in between : Cu Cu Cu Cu- Cu Cu Cu Cu Photo : Wolfgang Wander, 2005 (Wikipedia) Interesting Facts: They build their shallow cup nests in a tangle of leaves and twigs in deciduous trees, shrubs or brambles. Both adults help to build the nest and the female will lay the eggs before it is even finished. They have been known to occasionally lay eggs in the nests of other species. Their primary food is large insects such as grasshoppers, caterpillars and cicadas. They will sit motionless for long periods of time then quickly hopping or running out to snatch a victim. They seem to prefer large caterpillars which they proceed to hammer or shake the prey onto a branch to rid their meal of any spines that may be on it. The Bruce Trail Conservancy | PO Box 857 Hamilton, ON L8N 3N9 | 1.800.665.4453 | [email protected] Black-billed Cuckoos on the Bruce Trail The lands that The Bruce Trail Conservancy acquires contain a variety of habitat including the forest edges and thickets that the Black Billed Cuckoo uses to rear their young. These protected areas not only provide a summer home to these birds but innumerable other species that need the undisturbed forests, wetlands and meadows along the Niagara Escarpment to survive. The Bruce Trail Conservancy | PO Box 857 Hamilton, ON L8N 3N9 | 1.800.665.4453 | [email protected] .