Birdfinding.info ⇒ Most readily found along Zapotén Road at La Placa, and can sometimes be found in the highland forest zone of Zapotén and along the Rabo de Gato Trail. This spectacular and highly sought-after species has a reputation for shyness that may be undeserved. It seems to move slowly and deliberately across a large area. When encountered, it often allows a close, clear view, studying the observer with apparent curiosity before continuing on its way.
Bay-breasted Cuckoo
Coccyzus rufigularis
Endemic to Hispaniola: endangered and declining, apparently limited to a few relict populations in the western Dominican Republic, and possibly also in adjacent parts of Haiti. Formerly more widespread across Hispaniola and Gonâve.
The Bay-breasted Cuckoo’s global stronghold is the Sierra de Bahoruco, where it is known primarily from middle elevations of the northern slope in the transition zone between broadleaf and dry forest. Sometimes in adjacent areas, including montane forests and lowland scrub.
Smaller populations are believed to persist in the northwestern Cordillera Central, in the Río Limpio and Nalga de Maco area, and at the southern edge of the Cordillera Central, between Las Charcas and San José de Ocoa.
May be more widely distributed, as there are recent reports from two additional areas: the Sierra de Neiba, and the vicinity of El Choco National Park, east of Puerto Plata.
Identification
Spectacular and unmistakable: a very large cuckoo with a strongly curved bill, slaty upperparts, rich chestnut breast and throat, and buffy-yellow belly.
Bay-breasted Cuckoo. (La Placa, Dominican Republic; May 18, 2016.) © Dax M. Román E.
Bay-breasted Cuckoo. (Sierra de Bahoruco, Dominican Republic; January 28, 2014.) © Dubi Shapiro
Bay-breasted Cuckoo. (Puerto Escondido, Dominican Republic; April 12, 2014.) © Dax M. Román E.
Bay-breasted Cuckoo. (Zapotén, Dominican Republic; March 9, 2014.) © Stephen Gast
Bay-breasted Cuckoo. (Rabo de Gato Trail, Dominican Republic; April 5, 2017.) © Mark van Beirs
Bay-breasted Cuckoo. (Rabo de Gato Trail, Dominican Republic; March 13, 2019.) © Émile Brisson-Curadeau
Bay-breasted Cuckoo. (Puerto Escondido, Dominican Republic; April 12, 2014.) © Dax M. Román E.
Bay-breasted Cuckoo. (La Placa, Dominican Republic; November 4, 2014.) © Dax M. Román E.
Bay-breasted Cuckoo. (Dominican Republic; October 17, 2010.) © Miguel A. Landestoy T.
Bay-breasted Cuckoo. (La Placa, Dominican Republic; November 4, 2014.) © Dax M. Román E.
Bay-breasted Cuckoo. © Adam Riley / Rockjumper Birding Tours
Bay-breasted Cuckoo. (La Placa, Dominican Republic; November 4, 2014.) © Dax M. Román E.
Voice. Most typical call is a froglike rendition of its Spanish name, “Cúa,” repeated several times: Also gives various other calls, including a goat-like bleating (the source of its Haitian name: “Takó Kabrit,” or “Goat Cuckoo”), and a longer version of its song, that accelerates into a guttural ak-ak-ak-ak-ak-ak-ak:
Notes
Monotypic species. This species and the Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo of Jamaica were formerly recognized as a separate genus, Hyetornis.
IUCN Red List Status: Endangered.
References
Alas & Colores: Bay Breasted Cuckoo (Coccyzus rufigularis), https://alasycolores.com.do/en/aves/cua.
BirdLife International. 2017. Coccyzus rufigularis (amended version of 2016 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22684360A93027479. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22684360A119421716.en. (Accessed December 28, 2018.)
eBird. 2018. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed December 28, 2018.)
Erritzøe, J., C.F. Mann, F.P. Brammer, and R.A. Fuller. 2012. Cuckoos of the World. Christopher Helm, London.
Latta, S., C. Rimmer, A. Keith, J. Wiley, H. Raffaele, K. McFarland, and E. Fernandez. 2006. Birds of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.