Guira Cuckoo
Guira cuckoos are noisy, outgoing birds that live in large family groups in the upper half of South America. Related to the roadrunner, guira cuckoos can often be found running along the ground in small groups while hunting insects, small reptiles and amphibians. They are readily identified by their shaggy brown feathers, spiky crest and long tail.
Like other cuckoos, guira cuckoos are communal nesters, but not the most polite roommates. Groups will use a single nest to house approximately 20 blue speckled eggs from multiple females, but when others aren’t looking, the cuckoos will sometimes push eggs from the nest to decrease competition for their own chicks.
Tracy Aviary’s guira cuckoos are almost all from the same family and were hatched here at the Aviary.
