Cuckoos
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Cuculiformes Family: Cuculidae Vigors, 1825
Genera
See text. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x1024, 608 KB) Description: Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus-americanus), Cyprus Lake, Bruce Peninsula National Park, Canada, 2005; de: Gelbschnabelkuckuck Photograph: Mdf first upload in en wikipedia on 22:28, 4 July 2005 by Mdf Licence: File links The following pages on... Binomial name Coccyzus americanus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus, is a cuckoo. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... “Animalia” redirects here. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... Families Musophagidae Cuculidae Opisthocomidae The near passerine bird order Cuculiformes traditionally included three families as below: Order Cuculiformes Family Musophagidae: turacos and allies Family Cuculidae: cuckoos Family Opisthocomidae: Hoatzin However, the taxonomy of this group is now controversial. ... Nicholas Aylward Vigors (1785 – October 26, 1840) was an Irish zoologist and politician. ... Opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway 1825 (MDCCCXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... In biology, a genus (plural genera) is a grouping in the classification of living organisms having one or more related and morphologically similar species. ...

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Cuculidae

The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos (family Musophagidae, sometimes treated as a separate order, Musophagiformes). Some zoologists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, though it is now usually placed in an order of its own, Opisthocomiformes. The taxonomy of this enigmatic species, however, remains in some dispute. Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... Near passerine is a term often given to those land birds most closely related to the true passerines in the order Passeriformes Rainbow Bee-eater They comprise Order Pterocliformes sandgrouse Order Columbiformes dodos, pigeons and doves Order Psittaciformes cockatoos and parrots Order Cuculiformes turacos and cuckoos Order Strigiformes owls Order... “Aves” redirects here. ... Families Musophagidae Cuculidae Opisthocomidae The near passerine bird order Cuculiformes traditionally included three families as below: Order Cuculiformes Family Musophagidae: turacos and allies Family Cuculidae: cuckoos Family Opisthocomidae: Hoatzin However, the taxonomy of this group is now controversial. ... Genera Corythaeola Tauraco Ruwenzorornis Musophaga Corythaixoides Crinifer The turacos, plantain eaters and go-away birds make up the bird family Musophagidae (literally banana-eaters). ... Genera Corythaeola Tauraco Ruwenzorornis Musophaga Corythaixoides Crinifer The turacos, plantain eaters and go-away birds make up the bird family Musophagidae (literally banana-eaters). ... Binomial name Ophisthocomus hoazin (Muller, 1776) The Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) is an odd species of tropical bird which is found in the swamps associated with the Amazon and Orinoco rivers of South America. ...

The cuckoo family, in addition to those species named as such, also includes the roadrunners, the coucals, and the anis. The latter two are often separated as distinct families Centropodidae and Crotophagidae, respectively. Species The roadrunners are two species of bird in the genus Geococcyx of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, native to North and Central America. ... A coucal is one of 28 species of birds in the cuckoo family. ... The Anis are the three species of near-passerine birds in the genus Crotophaga of the cuckoo family. ... Species c. ... Genera See text. ...

Morphology and behavior

Cuckoos are birds of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. Most occur in forests, but some prefer more open country. Most are insect eaters, with hairy caterpillars, which are avoided by many birds, being a speciality. Cuckoos range in size from the Little Bronze Cuckoo, at 17 g and 15 cm (6 inches), to the Channel-billed Cuckoo, at 630 g (1.4 lbs) and 63 cm (25 inches). Insects (Class Insecta) are a major group of arthropods and the most diverse group of animals on the Earth, with over a million described species—more than all other animal groups combined. ... Caterpillar of the Emperor Gum Moth A caterpillar is the larval form of a member of the Order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). ...

Many of the Old World species and some New World species are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other birds. The best-known example is the European Common Cuckoo. The cuckoo egg hatches earlier than the host's, and the cuckoo chick grows faster; in most cases the chick evicts the eggs or young of the host species. The chick has no time to learn this behavior, so it must be an instinct passed on genetically. The mother still feeds the cuckoo chick as if it were her own, the chick's open mouth serving as a sign stimulus for the host to feed it.^[1] The Old World consists of those parts of Earth known to Europeans, Asians, and Africans before the voyages of Christopher Columbus; it includes Europe, Asia, and Africa (collectively known as Africa-Eurasia), plus surrounding islands. ... Frontispiece of Peter Martyr dAnghieras De orbe novo (On the New World). Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, 1722. ... A Common Cuckoo being raised by a Reed Warbler. ... In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ... Binomial name Cuculus canorus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, the coucals, and the Hoatzin. ... The suckling of a newborn at its mothers nipple is an example of an instinctive behavior. ... In ethology, an external trigger for a fixed action pattern[1]. Signal stimuli are simple visual cues which usually bring about a fixed action pattern response in a different organism of the same spieces. ...

Female parasitic-cuckoos seem to specialize and lay eggs that closely resemble the eggs of their chosen host. This has also been aided by natural selection, as some birds are able to distinguish cuckoo eggs from their own, leading to those eggs least like the host's being thrown out of the nest.^[1] Parasitic cuckoos are grouped into gentes, with each gente specializing in a particular host. There is some evidence that the gentes are genetically different from one another. Darwins illustrations of beak variation in the finches of the Galápagos Islands, which hold 13 closely related species that differ most markedly in the shape of their beaks. ...

The roadrunners, anis and coucals all build their own nests, as do most American cuckoos. Most of these species nest in trees or bushes, but the coucals lay their eggs in nests on the ground or in low shrubs. These large tropical cuckoos are capable of taking vertebrate prey such as lizards. Classes and Clades See below Male and female Superb Fairy-wren Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata (within the phylum Chordata), specifically, those chordates with backbones or spinal columns. ... Families Many, see text. ...

The arboreal types are insectivorous; the larger, ground types also feed variously on snakes, lizards, small rodents, and other birds, which they bludgeon with their strong bills.

Non-parasitic cuckoos, like most other non-passerines, lay white eggs, but many of the parasitic species lay coloured eggs to match those of their passerine hosts. Families Many, see text A passerine is a bird of the giant order Passeriformes. ...

Cuckoo genera differ in the number of primary wing feathers as below.

• Phaenicophaeus, Coccyzus, Piaya - 9
• Cuculus - 9 or 10
• Pachycoccyx, Clamator levaillantii, Centropus - 10
• Microdynamis, Eudynamys,Clamator glandarius - 11
• Some coucals - 12
• Scythrops novaehollandiae - 13

The cuckoo family gets its English and scientific names from the call of the Common Cuckoo, which is also familiar from cuckoo clocks. Cuckoo clock, a so-called Jagdstück, Black Forest, ca. ...

Systematics

Unassigned

• Genus Dynamopterus - fossil (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene of Caylus, France)
• Genus Cursoricoccyx - fossil (Early Miocene of Logan County, USA) - Neomorphinae?
• Cuculidae gen. et sp. indet. - fossil (Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, USA: Olson 1985)
• Genus Nannococcyx - St Helena Cuckoo (extinct)

FOSSIL is a standard for allowing serial communication for telecommunications programs under DOS. FOSSIL is an acronym for Fido Opus Seadog Standard Interface Layer. ... FOSSIL is a standard for allowing serial communication for telecommunications programs under DOS. FOSSIL is an acronym for Fido Opus Seadog Standard Interface Layer. ... FOSSIL is a standard for allowing serial communication for telecommunications programs under DOS. FOSSIL is an acronym for Fido Opus Seadog Standard Interface Layer. ... Binomial name Olson (1975) The St. ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ...

Subfamily Cuculinae

Brood-parasitic cuckoos.

• Genus Eocuculus - fossil (Late Eocene of Teller County, USA)
• Genus Clamator (4 species)
• Genus Pachycoccyx
  • Thick-billed Cuckoo, Pachycoccyx audeberti
• Genus Cuculus - typical cuckoos (some 15 species)
• Genus Cercococcyx - long-tailed cuckoos
  • Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo, Cercococcyx mechowi
  • Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo, Cercococcyx olivinus
  • Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, Cercococcyx montanus
• Genus Cacomantis
  • Banded Bay Cuckoo, Cacomantis sonneratii
  • Plaintive Cuckoo, Cacomantis merulinus
  • Rusty-breasted Cuckoo, Cacomantis sepulcralis
  • Grey-bellied Cuckoo, Cacomantis passerinus
  • Brush Cuckoo, Cacomantis variolosus
  • Moluccan Cuckoo, Cacomantis heinrichi
  • Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo, Cacomantis castaneiventris
  • Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Cacomantis flabelliformis
• Genus Chrysococcyx - bronze cuckoos
  • Black-eared Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx osculans
  • Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx basalis
  • Shining Bronze Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx lucidus
  • Rufous-throated Bronze Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx ruficollis
  • White-eared Bronze Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx meyeri
  • Little Bronze Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx minutillus
  • Asian Emerald Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx maculatus
  • Violet Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus
  • Yellow-throated Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx flavigularis
  • Klaas' Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx klaas
  • African Emerald Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx cupreus
  • Dideric Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx caprius
• Genus Rhamphomantis
  • Long-billed Cuckoo, Rhamphomantis megarhynchus
• Genus Surniculus - drongo-cuckoos
  • Asian Drongo-cuckoo, Surniculus lugubris
  • Philippine Drongo-cuckoo, Surniculus velutinus
• Genus Caliechthrus
  • White-crowned Koel, Caliechthrus leucolophus
• Genus Microdynamis
  • Dwarf Koel, Microdynamis parva
• Genus Eudynamys - true koels
  • Black-billed Koel, Eudynamys melanorhynchus
  • Asian Koel, Eudynamys scolopaceus
  • Australian Koel, Eudynamys cyanocephalus
  • Long-tailed Koel, Eudynamys taitensis
  • Henderson Island Koel, Eudynamis cf. taitensis - prehistoric
• Genus Scythrops
  • Channel-billed Cuckoo, Scythrops novaehollandiae

FOSSIL is a standard for allowing serial communication for telecommunications programs under DOS. FOSSIL is an acronym for Fido Opus Seadog Standard Interface Layer. ... species Clamator is a genus of large cuckoos. ... Binomial name Cuculus micropterus Gould, 1837 The Indian Cuckoo, Cuculus micropterus, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, and the Hoatzin. ... Binomial name Cacomantis sonneratii (Latham, 1790) The Banded Bay Cuckoo Cacomantis sonneratii is a species of small cuckoo found in South Asia. ... Binomial name Cacomantis passerinus Vahl, 1797 The Grey-bellied Cuckoo, Cacomantis passerinus, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, and the Hoatzin. ... Binomial name Cacomantis variolosus (Vigors & Horsfield, 1826) The Brush Cuckoo, Cacomantis variolosus, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, and the Hoatzin. ... Binomial name Chrysococcyx caprius Boddaert, 1783 The Dideric Cuckoo or Didric Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx caprius, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, and the Hoatzin. ... Binomial name Surniculus lugubris (Horsfield, 1821) The Asian Drongo-cuckoo Surniculus lugubris is a species of cuckoo that resembles a black drongo. ... species Eudynamys melanorhynchus Eudynamys scolopaceus Eudynamys cyanocephalus Eudynamys taitensis The true koels, Eudynamys, are a genus of cuckoos from Asia, Australia and the Pacific. ... Binomial name Eudynamis scolopacea Linnaeus, 1758 The Asian Koel (Eudynamis scolopacea), or Common Koel, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, and the Hoatzin. ... For a list of early taxa of birds known only from fossils, see Fossil birds. ...

Subfamily Phaenicophaeinae

Malkohas and couas.

• Genus Ceuthmochares
  • Yellowbill, Ceuthmochares aereus
• Genus Phaenicophaeus - malkohas (12 species)
• Genus Carpococcyx - ground-cuckoos
  • Sumatran Ground-cuckoo, Carpococcyx viridis
  • Bornean Ground-cuckoo, Carpococcyx radiatus
  • Coral-billed Ground-cuckoo, Carpococcyx renauldi
• Genus Coua - couas (9 living species, 1 recently extinct)

Phaenicophaeus is a genus in the family cuculidae. ... Binomial name Carpococcyx viridis Salvadori, 1879 The Sumatran Ground Cuckoo, Carpococcyx viridis is a large, up to 55cm long, long-tailed terrestrial cuckoo. ... Species see text Couas are birds in the cuckoo family endemic to the island of Madagascar. ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ...

Subfamily Coccyzinae

American cuckoos.

• Genus Coccyzus - including Saurothera and Hyetornis (15 species)
• Genus Piaya (3 species)

species Coccyzus is a genus of cuckoos which occur in the Americas. ... species Piaya is a small genus of cuckoos which occur in tropical Central and northern South America. ...

Subfamily Neomorphinae

Ground cuckoos. Genera See text. ...

• Genus Neococcyx - fossil (Early Oligocene of C North America)
• Genus Tapera - Striped Cuckoo
• Genus Dromococcyx
  • Pheasant Cuckoo, Dromococcyx phasianellus
  • Pavonine Cuckoo, Dromococcyx pavoninus
• Genus Morococcyx
  • Lesser Ground Cuckoo, Morococcyx erythropygus
• Genus Geococcyx - roadrunners (2 species)
• Genus Neomorphus
  • Scaled Ground Cuckoo, Neomorphus squamiger
  • Rufous-vented Ground Cuckoo, Neomorphus geoffroyi
    • Bahía Rufous-vented Ground Cuckoo, Neomorphus geoffroyi maximiliani - extinct (mid-20th century)
  • Banded Ground Cuckoo, Neomorphus radiolosus
  • Rufous-winged Ground Cuckoo, Neomorphus rufipennis
  • Red-billed Ground Cuckoo, Neomorphus pucheranii

FOSSIL is a standard for allowing serial communication for telecommunications programs under DOS. FOSSIL is an acronym for Fido Opus Seadog Standard Interface Layer. ... Binomial name Tapera naevia (Linnaeus, 1766) The Striped Cuckoo, Tapera naevia, is a near-passerine bird, the only member of the genus Tapera (Thunberg, 1819). ... Species The roadrunners are two species of bird in the genus Geococcyx of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, native to North and Central America. ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...

Subfamily Centropodinae

Coucals. Species c. ...

• Genus Centropus (some 30 species)

A coucal is one of 28 species of birds in the cuckoo family. ...

Subfamily Crotophaginae

Anis. Genera See text. ...

• Genus Crotophaga - true anis (3 species)
• Genus Guira - Guira Cuckoo

The Anis are the three species of near-passerine birds in the genus Crotophaga of the cuckoo family. ... Binomial name Guira guira (Gmelin, 1788) The guira (Guira guira) is a cuckoo related to anis. ...

References

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Origin of Species: Instincts of the Cuckoo

1. ^ ^{a b} Biology (4th edition) N.A.Campbell, p.1179 'Fixed Action Patterns' (Benjamin Cummings NY, 1996) ISBN 0-8053-1957-3

• Feduccia, Alan (1996): The Origin and Evolution of Birds. Yale University Press, New Haven. ISBN 0-300-06460-8

• Olson, Storrs L. (1985): Section VII.C. Cuculidae. In: Farner, D.S.; King, J.R. & Parkes, Kenneth C. (eds.): Avian Biology 8: 110-111. Academic Press, New York.

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ...

External links

• Cuckoo videos on the Internet Bird
• Cuckoo sounds from the Neotropics on xeno-canto.org