Coccyzus

Coccyzus is a genus of cuckoos which occur in the Americas. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kokkuzo, which means to call like a common cuckoo.[1] These include the lizard cuckoos formerly included in the genus Saurothera.

Coccyzus
Black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Cuculiformes
Family:	Cuculidae
Genus:	Coccyzus Vieillot, 1816
Species
13, see text
Synonyms
Hyetornis Saurothera

Species and taxonomy

The species in taxonomic order are:

Image	Common Name	Scientific name	Distribution
	Black-billed cuckoo	Coccyzus erythropthalmus	the United States, east of the Rockies
	Yellow-billed cuckoo	Coccyzus americanus	southern United States
	Pearly-breasted cuckoo	Coccyzus euleri	Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname, Peru, and Venezuela
	Mangrove cuckoo	Coccyzus minor	southern Florida in the United States, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, both coasts of Mexico and Central America, and the Atlantic coast of South America as far south as the mouth of the Amazon River.
	Cocos cuckoo	Coccyzus ferrugineus	Costa Rica
	Dark-billed cuckoo	Coccyzus melacoryphus	Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela
	Grey-capped cuckoo	Coccyzus lansbergi	Aruba, Colombia, Ecuador, Netherlands Antilles, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
	Chestnut-bellied cuckoo	Coccyzus pluvialis	Jamaica
	Bay-breasted cuckoo	Coccyzus rufigularis	Dominican Republic
	Great lizard cuckoo	Coccyzus merlini	The Bahamas (on Andros, Eleuthera and New Providence) and Cuba
	Puerto Rican lizard cuckoo	Coccyzus vieilloti	Puerto Rico
	Jamaican lizard cuckoo	Coccyzus vetula	Jamaica
	Hispaniolan lizard cuckoo	Coccyzus longirostris	Haiti and the Dominican Republic

The genera Saurothera (the lizard cuckoos) and Hyetornis (chestnut-bellied and bay-breasted cuckoos) were lumped with Coccyzus by the American Ornithologists' Union in 2006.

On the other hand, the ash-colored cuckoo and dwarf cuckoo – at one time separated in Micrococcyx – have been found to be closest relatives of the little cuckoo, formerly in Piaya. These three are now again placed in the reinstated genus of the latter, Coccycua.

Description and ecology

These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. Many have black and white undertail patterns. They occur in a variety of forests, woodlands or mangroves.

Coccyzus cuckoos, unlike many Old World species, build their own nests in trees and lay two or more eggs. Yellow-billed and black-billed cuckoos occasionally lay eggs in the nests of other birds, but are not obligate brood parasites like the common cuckoo of Eurasia.

Northern species such as yellow-billed and black-billed cuckoos are strong migrants, wintering in Central or South America, and occasionally wander to western Europe as rare vagrants, but the tropical Coccyzus cuckoos are mainly sedentary.

These are vocal species when breeding, with persistent and loud calls. They feed on large insects such as cicadas, wasps and caterpillars (including those with stinging hairs or spines which are distasteful to many birds). Lizard cuckoos are large and powerful species, and mainly take vertebrate prey, especially, as the name implies, lizards.

References

1. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.