General

Mangrove Cuckoo: Medium-sized cuckoo with gray-brown upperparts, black ear patch, yellow eye-ring, white throat, and buff-washed white underparts. Tail is long and dark with six large white spots underneath, each with a dark spot. Decurved bill is dark above and yellow below with a dark tip. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Mangrove Cuckoo: Breeds in southern Florida. A few remain during winter, but most leave for the tropics. Frequents mangrove swamps.

Breeding and Nesting

Mangrove Cuckoo: Two to three light blue eggs are laid in a nest made of twigs and leaves, and built from 8 to 10 feet above the ground in a mangrove tree or shrub. Incubation ranges from 9 to 11 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Mangrove Cuckoo: Eats caterpillars, grasshoppers, moths, flies, and other insects; forages in trees and shrubs.

Vocalization

Mangrove Cuckoo: Call is a thick, throaty, and squirrel-like "gah-gah-gah" or "qua-qua-qua."

Similar Species

Mangrove Cuckoo: Yellow-billed and Black-billed cuckoos have white underparts and lack black masks.