Greater Ani

Overview

The greater ani (Crotophaga major) is a large black cuckoo bird found in tropical South America. It is a highly gregarious species that lives in noisy groups and exhibits communal nesting behaviour.

Identification

• Adults are mainly blue-glossed black with a long tail and a massive ridged black bill.
• Distinguished by a white iris in adults, which is brown in immature birds.
• Males weigh approximately 162 g and females 145 g, with a length of around 46 cm.
• Calls include croaking and turkey-like gobbling sounds.

Habitat

Found in mangrove swamps, semi-open woodland near water, and forest edges across tropical South America from Panama and Trinidad south to northern Argentina. It acts as a seasonal migrant in parts of its range.

Diet

Feeds on large insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, and caterpillars, as well as spiders, lizards, frogs, fruits, berries, and Euphorbia seeds.

Did you know?

Around 15% of females engage in conspecific brood parasitism, laying eggs in the nests of other groups primarily after losing their own clutch to predation.