Dromococcyx phasianellus
Silhouette: Nicolas Huet le Jeune and Jean-Gabriel Prêtre (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The pheasant cuckoo (Dromococcyx phasianellus) is a species of neotropical cuckoo in the subfamily Neomorphinae of the family Cuculidae. It is native to Central and South America where it occurs in lowland tropical forest.
The pheasant cuckoo is a large cuckoo with a short crest tipped with rusty brown. The bird's upper parts are dark sooty-brown and the underparts are pale buff with small black streaks on the breast. The feathers of the large tail are of varying lengths, with the central ones being the longest. The call consists of two short whistles, the second being of higher pitch, followed by a trill "whee! whee! wheerr-rr". It can be sung from low, medium, or high perches or from the ground.
The breeding season in Mexico appears to be March through August when the males sing. In Oaxaca breeding is from April to June while in Panama calling most frequent from mid-April to July, i.e. from the onset of wet season. There is little information about territorial behaviour. Males respond to singing males with counter-singing or by a strutting display involving head and crest raised, breast feathers puffed out and wings partially extended... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biotopo Cerro Cahuí | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 2 | Tikal National Park | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 3 | Chapada dos Guimarães National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Calakmul Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | Chagres National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 6 | Cañón del Sumidero National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 7 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 8 | Cusuco National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 9 | Pico Bonito National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 10 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 11 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 12 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 13 | Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 14 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Campo Grande | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pheasant Cuckoo sighting in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park on a given day, based on 51 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 131st most-seen of the 273 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and August–September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pheasant Cuckoo in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May, July and October–January, the lowest months. Those are among Chapada dos Guimarães National Park's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 240 mm in March. February to April have too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pheasant Cuckoo sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Pheasant Cuckoo sightings, Chapada dos Guimarães National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Biotopo Cerro Cahuí (Guatemala, about 10%) and Tikal National Park (Guatemala, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pheasant Cuckoo is recorded against all the birds logged in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park (51 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
