Bird Guide

Hispaniolan Lizard Cuckoo vs Puerto Rican Lizard Cuckoo

Hispaniolan Lizard Cuckoo (Coccyzus longirostris)

Hispaniolan Lizard Cuckoo

Coccyzus longirostris

Medium100 gWoodland

The Hispaniolan lizard cuckoo is 41 to 46 cm (16 to 18 in) long, about half of which is the tail. Males weigh about 83 to 99 g (2.9 to 3.5 oz) and females about 92 to 128 g (3.2 to 4.5 oz). Both subspecies have a long straight bill with a black maxilla and a paler mandible. The sexes within a subspecies have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have entirely gray upperparts. Their wings are chestnut with a rufous patch. Their throat is rufous, the breast pale gray, and the belly rufous. Their tail is black, and the underside of the feathers have large white tips. Voice: The Hispaniolan lizard cuckoo's principal call is "attling, grating...in descending series". It also makes calls described as "a harsh 'tchk', a click, and a 'tick cwuh-h-h'."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0
Puerto Rican Lizard Cuckoo (Coccyzus vieilloti)

Puerto Rican Lizard Cuckoo

Coccyzus vieilloti

Medium82 gWoodland

The Puerto Rican lizard cuckoo is 40 to 48 cm (16 to 19 in) long, about half of which is the tail. It has a long decurved bill with a black maxilla and a yellow mandible with a black tip. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have entirely gray-brown upperparts. Their throat and breast are gray and the belly and undertail coverts tawny. The upper surface of their tail is gray-brown and the underside gray brown darkening to black near the large white tips. Their eye is surrounded by bare red skin. Voice: The Puerto Rican lizard cuckoo's principal call is " a harsh series of ka-ka-ka-ka notes." The call is described in more detail as "an emphatic ka-ka-ka-ka of long duration gradually accelerating and becoming louder, sometimes with altered syllables at the end". The species also makes other calls likened to those of jays, crows, ravens, and doves.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ron Knight · CC BY 2.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Hispaniolan Lizard Cuckoo and Puerto Rican Lizard Cuckoo.