YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO } Coccyzus americanus DESCRIPTION: The
yellow-billed cuckoo is a robin-sized bird with a slender, long-
tailed profile, a length of roughly 12 inches, and a weight of
two ounces. The bill is stout, slightly down-curved, and blue-
black with yellow on the base of the lower mandible. Plumage is
grayish-brown above and white below, with red primary flight
feathers; tail feathers are boldly patterned with black and
white below. All adults have a narrow yellow eye ring. Gender or
seasonal variations in coloration are not present, but females
are larger than males. HABITAT: Western yellow-billed cuckoos
require large patches (ideally 25 to 100 acres) of streamside
willows and cottonwoods. RANGE: W estern yellow-billed cuckoo s
occur west of the crest of the Continent al Divide; in southern
Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas , western yellow-billed cuckoos
are found west of the mountain ranges that form the eastern edge
of the Rio Grande watershed. MIGRATION: Cuckoos leave North
America in August and