Coccyzus melacoryphus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The dark-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus melacoryphus) is a species of bird in the tribe Phaenicophaeini, subfamily Cuculinae of the cuckoo family Cuculidae. It is regularly found in every mainland South American country except Chile plus the Galápagos Islands. It has also occurred as a vagrant in Chile and several other countries and islands.
The dark-billed cuckoo is monotypic. The dark-billed cuckoo is 25 to 28 cm (9.8 to 11.0 in) long, about half of which is the tail. Males weigh about 42 to 54 g (1.5 to 1.9 oz) and females about 50 to 66 g (1.8 to 2.3 oz). Males and females have the same plumage. They have a gray crown and nape and grayish brown upperparts. Their wings are a darker grayish brown with no rufous. The upper surface of their tail is brown; the underside of the central pair of feathers is brown with black tips, the next pair blackish with narrow white tips, and the rest black with wide white tips. Their face is gray with a wide black "mask" past the eye, which is surrounded by a narrow ring of citron yellow, olive yellow, or gray bare skin. Their underparts are pale buff with the breast somewhat darker than the rest; the sides... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galápagos Islands | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 2 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | El Impenetrable National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 5 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Amacayacu National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 7 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 8 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 3 | Asuncion | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | |
| 4 | Guayaquil | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 5 | Montevideo | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | |
| 6 | Cordoba | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 7 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Dark-billed Cuckoo sighting in Iguazú National Park on a given day, based on 197 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 187th most-seen of the 343 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October and November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Dark-billed Cuckoo in Iguazú National Park on a given day, against under 5% in December to September, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dark-billed 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.
4th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Dark-billed Cuckoo sightings, Iguazú National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Galápagos Islands (Ecuador, about 10%), Iberá National Park (Argentina, about 10%) and El Impenetrable National Park (Argentina, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dark-billed Cuckoo is recorded against all the birds logged in Iguazú National Park (197 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.
