Coccyzus erythropthalmus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus) is a New World species in the Cuculidae (cuckoo) family. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name, kokkuzo, means to call like a common cuckoo, and erythropthalmus is from eruthros, "red" and ophthalmos, "eye".
It is very similar to, and overlaps in range with, the closely related yellow-billed cuckoo. A distinguishing characteristic of the family Cuculidae is laying eggs in the nests of other birds. Although many cuckoos are obligate brood parasites, C. erythropthalmus often incubate their own chicks.
Adults have a long, graduated brown tail and a black, slightly downcurved bill. The head and upper parts are brown and the underparts are white. The feet are zygodactylous. Juveniles are drabber and may contain some rufous coloration on the wing. The adults have a narrow, red orbital ring while the juveniles' is yellow. Black-billed cuckoo chicks have white, sparsely distributed, sheath-like down that contrasts heavily with their black skin. They also have complex, creamy-colored structures on their mouth and tongue, which may appear like warts or some type of parasitic infection however they are normal... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Isle Royale National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 6 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 8 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 4 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 8 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-billed Cuckoo sighting in Point Pelee National Park on a given day, based on 588 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 162nd most-seen of the 278 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black-billed Cuckoo in Point Pelee National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to June, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-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.
2nd of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Black-billed Cuckoo sightings, Point Pelee National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Riding Mountain National Park (Canada, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-billed Cuckoo is recorded against all the birds logged in Point Pelee National Park (588 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.
