More often heard than seen, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo has a call that will not be confused with another bird. Its loud and harsh kuk-kuk-kuk-kukk-kowp-kowp in staccato, lends the sound of a much larger bird than it is.
In a good year for webworms, this cuckoo is found everywhere in deciduous trees, waiting for the webbed nests of the fall webworm. Uncommon in wooded areas near water, in second-growth forest along riparian corridors, and in willow or cottonwood groves, the good sized, thin bird often sits upon a limb in silence.
The yellow orbital ring and the yellow bill with the white throat, breast, and belly with the large white tips on the black feathers easily give its identity away. From the top of its head to the end of its tail, it measures a good foot.
An Oklahoma summer resident, it relishes in caterpillars, which it finds on twigs and within leaves.
During nesting time, both members of the pair incubate and brood the young. Second clutches are not out of the ordinary, and the young will wander around the branches before they become flighted.
Surprisingly, rain crows or storm crows as they are known in the South, are rather gregarious, sometimes in the area of other birds, such as the American Robin, out in the open and foraging on the ground in shaded areas. Many of my sightings have been with this bird out in the open.
The cuckoo had been in a steep decline until the past few years when its loss of habitat by farmland and development caused much consternation. It was hardest hit in the extreme western regions causing near extirpation. These long distance migrants are also very susceptible to collision with manmade structures. It has proven to be an excellent candidate for habitat restoration, which only takes a few years.
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