Very striking with his red and brown suit elegantly topped by that long and elegant train, in Central America there can only be one.

MEET THE SQUIRREL CUCKOO

The squirrel cuckoo (Piaya cayana) is a large, active species of cuckoo with an extremely long tail measuring 40.5 to 50 centimeters long (15.9 to 19.7 in) and weighing 95 to 120 grams (3 .4 to 4.2 ounces). Adult birds are mainly brown in color. back and head, becoming softer, almost soft pink at the throat. The underside of the breast is gray, the belly almost black, and the central tail feathers are reddish, with the outer ones tipped with white. The beak is yellow and the eyes are red.

Juvenile birds have gray beak and eye rings, brown irises, and less white on the tail.

It is similar to the Black-bellied Cuckoo but is distinguished by having a yellow beak and a cap of the same color as the back.

These birds are found from northwest Mexico to northern Argentina and Uruguay and Trinidad.

The squirrel cuckoo prefers to live in forests and wooded areas, in the canopy and along forest edges. It also frequents coffee plantations, bushes, grasslands with trees, areas along water courses in dry regions and also residential areas. Avoid dry wooded areas.

The squirrel cuckoo feeds mainly on insects, cicadas, wasps and caterpillars, and sometimes spiders and small lizards. Very occasionally eating fruit.

During the breeding season, a shallow cup-shaped nest is built with sticks and leaves from foliage or dancing trees. The female lays up to 3 eggs inside and incubates them with the male for about 18 to 20 days. The chicks are also fed and cared for by both sexes.

The squirrel cuckoo is abundant throughout most of its range and appears to be quite tolerant of human disturbance, as long as forests remain.

YOU CAN SEE THIS BIRD HERE IN THE VIDEO BELOW:

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