Smooth-billed Ani - Crotophaga ani

Smooth-billed Ani (Crotophaga ani)

Smooth-billed Ani, Marchantaria Island, Amazonas, Brazil, July 2001 - click for larger image

The most noticeable feature of the Smooth-billed Ani is the raised hump on its bill. I am not sure what purpose this serves though it has been suggested that it is used to part vegetation while the bird is looking for food.

It is a very common bird throughout Brazil and much of the rest of South and Central America. It is usually seen in flocks at the side of roads.

Although it is a member of the cuckoo family it is not a brood parasite.

Smooth-billed Ani, Aguas de São Pedro, São Paulo, Brazil, August 2004 - click for larger image

There are illustrations in Hilty & Brown, Page 220; HBW, Volume 4, Pages 525 and 600; and Sick, Page 283

Smooth-billed Ani, Santo Tomás, Zapata Swamp, Cuba, February 2005 - click for larger image

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