Groove-billed Ani

Crotophaga sulcirostrisOrder: CUCULIFORMES Family: Cuckoos and Roadrunners (Cuculidae)

Codes: Common Name: GBAN Scientific Name: CROSUL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 177839

Breeding Location:

Bushes and shrubs

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Communal

Breeding Population:

Fairly common to common

Egg Color:

Pale blue

Number of Eggs:

3 - 4

Incubation Days:

13 - 14

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Sticks., Lined with fresh vegetation.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Groove-billed Ani: Medium-sized black bird with iridescent blue and green overtones, with a very long tail (half the length of the bird). Bill is huge, with arched ridge and narrow grooves. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Groove-billed Ani: Resident in lower Rio Grande Valley; also occurs in American tropics. Preferred habitats include semi-open habitats, avoiding unbroken forests, including overgrown fields, thickets, and woodland edges.

Breeding and Nesting

Groove-billed Ani: Three to four pale blue eggs are laid in a nest made of sticks, lined with fresh vegetation, and built from 5 to 15 feet above the ground in a low tree or shrub. Incubation ranges from 13 to 14 days and is carried out by both parents; alpha male may incubate at night.

Foraging and Feeding

Groove-billed Ani: Forages by following livestock to catch insects disturbed by grazing; sometimes picks ticks from the backs of cattle. Also takes fruits, berries, small lizards, frogs, and snakes.

Vocalization

Groove-billed Ani: Song is a soft, gurgling "TEE-hoe", repeated from 10 to 12 times. Call is a rollicking "wee-cup."

Similar Species

Groove-billed Ani: Smooth-billed Ani has a larger bill with a smooth curvature to the bill angle and grooves, and different voice. Common Grackle has long, pointed bill, pale eyes, and male has long, keeled tail.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Groove-billed Ani

● Song: "TEE-hoe", "wee-cup"

● Foraging & Feeding: Groove-billed Ani: Forages by following livestock to catch insects disturbed by grazing; sometimes picks ticks from the backs of cattle. Also takes fruits, berries, small lizards, frogs, and snakes.

● Breeding & nesting: Groove-billed Ani: Three to four pale blue eggs are laid in a nest made of sticks, lined with fresh vegetation, and built from 5 to 15 feet above the ground in a low tree or shrub. Incubation ranges from 13 to 14 days and is carried out by both parents; alpha male may incubate at night.

● Similar species: Groove-billed Ani: Smooth-billed Ani has a larger bill with a smooth curvature to the bill angle and grooves, and different voice. Common Grackle has long, pointed bill, pale eyes, and male has long, keeled tail.

Flight Pattern

Flies low to the ground, alternating between rapid shallow wing beats and short glides.

Groove-billed Ani Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Groove-billed Ani: Resident in lower Rio Grande Valley; also occurs in American tropics. Preferred habitats include semi-open habitats, avoiding unbroken forests, including overgrown fields, thickets, and woodland edges.

^BreedingMonogamous, Communal

^PopulationFairly common to common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight3.1 Ounces

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America