Bob Smith Posted June 21 Share Posted June 21 Hi, I found this poor thing a short time after it hit the big glass door to my apartment building. I've not seen one of these before and using the "bird search" has left me high and dry. I took two photos prior to consigning the body to the forest. The container lid it is laying on is 16 inches long, the tail alone is 9 inches long. The two toned beak is puzzling. I do not know what it sounds like, or if it is a perching type, and I don't recall ever seeing this type of bird anywhere, upon first glance I thought it could be a type of mocking bird due to the tail length. Using the search functions has left me flummoxed. I'd like to know what the little guy is. Inserting image from URL didn't work--here's the photos. He is passed away but there's no blood/guts. Just in case anyone is sensitive. https://imgur.com/a/hEpx5xj https://imgur.com/a/hEpx5xj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted June 21 Share Posted June 21 (edited) Welcome to the forum, Bob. That is a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Hope you will see (and hear!) a living one one day! It seems they are abundant this year. Edited June 21 by The Bird Nuts 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Smith Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 Well I'll be--that's the bird. This bird did not even show up in OH birds when I searched and I've never heard one around here either. All of their "sounds" would be quite memorable. Spending hours on my outdoor patio--not even once have I heard such calls! Poor thing--his family is going to miss him. In the 15 years I've lived here I've never had a door crash death likely due to the angle. I hate that this happens at all :(. Thanks so much for the help!! I did try to search and got so frustrated as absolutely nothing resembling him was on the list! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peromyscus Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 Welcome to Whatbird, Bob. You photographed a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, a 12-inch long bird of the forests. They "are among the few bird species able to eat hairy caterpillars." https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-billed_Cuckoo/overview 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Smith Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 Thanks Peromyscus--I also just discovered they are on the endangered species list. :( I just don't understand why it was impossible to ID him from the databases. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Smith Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 Another tidbit--they love Catalpa tree worms and I have a rare Catalpa tree on the property, I park under it. Apparently they can strip a Catalpa tree of their worms in just a few days. Catalpas are very messy trees! Perhaps that's why it was visiting. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 Just now, Bob Smith said: Another tidbit--they love Catalpa tree worms and I have a rare Catalpa tree on the property, I park under it. Apparently they can strip a Catalpa tree of their worms in just a few days. Catalpas are very messy trees! Perhaps that's why it was visiting. Oh, that's interesting. We have a catalpa too. I haven't seen the worms or the moths, though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peromyscus Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 14 minutes ago, Bob Smith said: Thanks Peromyscus--I also just discovered they are on the endangered species list. 😞 I just don't understand why it was impossible to ID him from the databases. It's only the western population that is considered to be threatened (not endangered). Ohio cuckoo populations are in relatively good shape. https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/3911 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aveschapines Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 Welcome to WhatBird @Bob Smith! Thank you for being respectful about posting photos of a deceased bird. I love cuckoos. I get occasional Yellow-Billed moving through at migration time (I'm in Guatemala) and Mangrove in November and December. They love to hide out in cherry trees and pig out on caterpillars! The bluebirds also eat them. They're a bit secretive so not always easy to see. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Thomas 2.0 Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 13 hours ago, Bob Smith said: Another tidbit--they love Catalpa tree worms and I have a rare Catalpa tree on the property, I park under it. Apparently they can strip a Catalpa tree of their worms in just a few days. Catalpas are very messy trees! Perhaps that's why it was visiting. I too have a rather mature Catalpa in my new yard, and get regular visits from a Yellow-billed Cuckoo as well to it and the nearby Walnut and Ash tree. May have to plant a couple more, because I absolutely love those birds. Thanks for the intel! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted Wednesday at 04:23 PM Share Posted Wednesday at 04:23 PM 16 hours ago, The Bird Nuts said: It seems they are abundant this year. That's interesting, there are very few of them down here this year, last year there were a bunch, I would hear 6/7 every day, not even birding, but this year the most I have had in one day was 3. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted Wednesday at 04:27 PM Share Posted Wednesday at 04:27 PM 2 minutes ago, Kevin said: That's interesting, there are very few of them down here this year, last year there were a bunch, I would hear 6/7 every day, not even birding, but this year the most I have had in one day was 3. Well, we've got a lot of tent caterpillars and such this year. I've mostly been hearing Black-billed, but I've seen a couple Yellow-billed (which is a lot for me). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted Wednesday at 08:42 PM Share Posted Wednesday at 08:42 PM 4 hours ago, The Bird Nuts said: Well, we've got a lot of tent caterpillars and such this year. I've mostly been hearing Black-billed, but I've seen a couple Yellow-billed (which is a lot for me). We normally have some kind of inchworms that cover the elm trees, they were so bad a few years ago the trees got pretty skimpy on their foliage, but there have been none this year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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