the yellow-billed cuckoo , coccyzus americanus , is a cuckoo .
common folk-names for this bird in the southern united states are rain crow and storm crow .
these likely refer to the bird's habit of calling on hot days , often presaging thunderstorms .
adults have a long tail , brown above and black-and-white below , and a black curved bill with yellow especially on the lower mandible .
the head and upper parts are brown and the underparts are white .
there is a yellow ring around the eye .
it shows cinnamon on the wings in flight .
juveniles are similar , but the black on the undertail is replaced by gray .
this bird has a number of calls; the most common is a rapid ka ka ka ka ka kow kow kow .
there is an ongoing debate regarding the taxonomic status of the western race and if it is distinct from those birds in the east .
this question is significant to the conservation status of this species in the west , where it has declined to a tiny fraction of its population a century ago .
populations of this species in western north america are in steep decline .
the bird disappeared from british columbia , washington , and oregon during the first half of the twentieth century .
eastern populations have declined as well , though not as precipitously .
the united states fish and wildlife service has proposed listing the western distinct population segment (dps) of yellow-billed cuckoos as threatened under the endangered species act , and the service also has proposed establishing 546,335 acres in nine western states as critical habitat for the western dps of the yellow-billed cuckoo .
their breeding habitat is deciduous woods from southern canada to mexico .
they migrate to central america and as far south as northern argentina .
this bird is a rare vagrant to western europe .
their breeding habitat is deciduous woods from southern canada to mexico .
they migrate to central america and as far south as northern argentina .
this bird is a rare vagrant to western europe .
these birds forage in dense shrubs and trees , also may catch insects in flight .
they mainly eat insects , especially tent caterpillars and cicadas , but also some lizards , eggs of other birds and berries .
cuckoos sometimes congregate near insect outbreaks or emergences , including outbreaks of exotic gypsy moth caterpillars .
they nest in a tree or shrub , usually up to 212 feet (14 meters) above the ground .
the nest is a flimsy platform of short twigs placed on a horizontal branch .
the 3-4 eggs are incubated for 14 days or less .
the chicks are able to climb about with agility at 79 days of age .
at about this same time , the feathers of the chicks burst out of their sheaths and the young are able to fly .
the entire time from egg-laying to fledging may be as little as 17 days .
yellow-billed cuckoos occasionally lay eggs in the nests of other birds (most often the closely related black-billed cuckoo), but they are not obligate brood parasites of other birds as is the common cuckoo of eurasia .
