Black-bellied Cuckoo - Piaya melanogaster

Black-bellied Cuckoo (Piaya melanogaster)

Brazilian name: chincoã-de-bico-vermelho

Brazil

The Black-bellied Cuckoo is distributed in the western half of Amazonia and into the Guianas. It is found in forest and in low scrubby woodland areas. It feeds in the canopy on insects, beetles, ants and caterpillars.

It is similar to the Squirrel Cuckoo Piaya cayana but has a black belly and crissum. It also has a grey cap, red bill and a yellow spot on the lores, all of which features can best be seen on the last two photos.

There are illustrations in HBW, Volume 4, Page 600; and in Hilty & Brown, Plate 12.

Black-bellied Cuckoo, São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Brazil, August 2004 - click for larger image

Occasionally they feed on forest borders rather than the canopy as the series of a Black-bellied Cuckoo struggling with a hairy caterpillar shows.

There is a recording and distribution map on xeno-canto.

Black-bellied Cuckoo, Cristalino, Mato Grosso, Brazil, December 2006 - click for larger image

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