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: Found in in mangrove forests in the United States, part of its range, as well as in some tropical hardwood species. In the tropical range, it is found in mangroves, but also in other types of woodlands. Not always found near water in the tropics, with some birds nesting far from water sources. Considered a permanent resident throughout its tropical range.

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.