Black-bellied Cuckoo

Overview

The black-bellied cuckoo, also known as the black-bellied squirrel cuckoo (Piaya melanogaster), is a bird of the family Cuculidae found in the Amazon region. Despite its wide distribution, little is known about its ecology and natural history.

Identification

• Average length between 38 and 40.5 cm with a ruffled back and grey head contrasting with a dark face.
• Intense purple-red beak, dark red iris with blue orbital skin, and a cinnamon-brown throat and chest.
• Black belly and undertail coverts, with a black tail featuring conspicuous white stripes.
• Characteristic song is a repeated "dyerií-dyu" phrase that can last for minutes, often sung while remaining motionless in the forest.

Habitat

Found in tropical rainforests, scrub, and occasionally wooded savannas, typically at the upper levels of the forest canopy. Its range includes the Amazon basin, extending to southern and eastern Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, eastern Venezuela, northern Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, eastern Peru, and Brazil, generally at altitudes up to 800 meters.

Diet

Feeds in the forest canopy on large insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, ants, and caterpillars, as well as small vertebrates like lizards.

Did you know?

The species epithet melanogaster is derived from Greek roots, with melas meaning black and gaster meaning belly, directly describing its most distinctive plumage feature.