Little Cuckoo (Piaya minuta)

Little Cuckoo

[order] Cuculiformes | [family] Cuculidae | [latin] Piaya minuta | [UK] Little Cuckoo | [FR] Petit Piaye | [DE] Rotelkuckuck | [ES] Cuco-ardilla Menor | [IT] Cuculo scoiattolo nano | [NL] Kleine Eekhoornkoekoek

Subspecies

Genus Species subspecies Breeding Range Breeding Range 2 Non Breeding Range
Coccycua minuta LA e Panama to ne Brazil and n Bolivia
Coccycua minuta gracilis e Panama to n Bolivia
Coccycua minuta minuta e Colombia to the Guianas, Brazil and Amazonian Peru

Physical charateristics

This species is about 27 cm long and weighs 40 g. The adult is mainly chestnut, with a greyish lower belly, browner tail and white tips to the tail feathers. The bill is yellow and the iris is red. Immature birds are dark brown with a black bill and no white tail tips.

Listen to the sound of Little Cuckoo

[audio:http://www.aviflevoland.nl/sounddb/L/Little Cuckoo.mp3]

Copyright remark: Most sounds derived from xeno-canto

wingspan min.: 0 cm wingspan max.: 0 cm
size min.: 28 cm size max.: 29 cm
incubation min.: 0 days incubation max.: 0 days
fledging min.: 0 days fledging max.: 0 days
broods: 0   eggs min.: 0  
      eggs max.: 0  

Range

This small cuckoo is a resident breeding bird from Panama, Colombia and Trinidad south to Bolivia, Peru and Brazil. It can be found everywhere in Suriname, but not deep in the forest, mostly at the edge of open spaces.

Habitat

The Little Cuckoo is found in mangrove swamps, and scrubby woodland near water.

Reproduction

The female lays two white eggs in a deep cup nest in a tree or bamboo.

Feeding habits

Diet consists of insects including caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers and crickets. Forages in under- and midstorey

Conservation

This species has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 8,800,000 km2. The global population size has not been quantified, but it is believed to be large as the species is described as ‘frequent’ in at least parts of its range (Stotz et al. 1996). Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Little Cuckoo status Least Concern

Migration

Probably resident throughout range.

Distribution map

Little Cuckoo range map

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