Bird
Bird
Little Cuckoo
Coccycua minuta
The Little Cuckoo is a small, rufous, long-tailed cuckoo of Trinidad's wetland edges and riverside thickets, more often glimpsed slipping through dense tangled vegetation than seen in the open.
The Little Cuckoo is a small, rufous, long-tailed cuckoo of Trinidad's wetland edges and riverside thickets, more often glimpsed slipping through dense tangled vegetation than seen in the open.
Identification
A small cuckoo around 26 to 28 cm long including a notably long, graduated tail, with rich rufous-chestnut plumage overall, a slightly darker tail tipped pale, and a yellow or greenish-yellow bill. It is considerably smaller and more uniformly rufous than the larger Squirrel Cuckoo with which it can be confused.
Behaviour
Forages low in dense waterside thickets, reedbeds, and overgrown swamp margins for large insects, caterpillars, and spiders, moving deliberately through tangled cover rather than flying in the open. It is generally solitary or in pairs, with a distinctive low, guttural call, and builds a shallow cup nest in dense waterside vegetation.
Status in T&T
Found in swamp edges, riverside thickets, and wetland margins across Trinidad, including areas around Caroni and Nariva swamps. Not considered threatened, though its skulking habits make it easy to overlook. It is protected as native wildlife under the Conservation of Wildlife Act.
Threats
- Loss of wetland-edge and riverside thicket habitat
