Birdfinding.info ⇒ Can be found at all forested sites across the island, most reliably at Cambalache State Forest. Also frequently found at Guánica and Maricao State Forests and El Yunque National Forest. Within San Juan, it has been found at Julio Enrique Monagas National Park, but is not common there.
Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo
Coccyzus vieilloti
Endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is a fairly common resident of most wooded habitats throughout the island, both dry and wet, in mountains and lowlands.
There are historical specimen records from St. Thomas and Vieques (one each), but no recent records.
Identification
Unmistakable in its range: a large, lanky, long-tailed, long-billed cuckoo, unlike any other bird on Puerto Rico.
Its long, nearly straight bill, scarlet orbital skin, broad tail, ashy throat and breast, and chestnut belly all distinguish it from the smaller cuckoos found on the island.
Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo. (Cambalache State Forest, Puerto Rico; March 22, 2015.) © Tom Johnson
Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo. (Maricao State Forest, Puerto Rico; May 17, 2009.) © Kristof Zyskowski
Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo. (Cambalache State Forest, Puerto Rico; July 13, 2017.) © Jim Buxton
Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo. (El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico; February 1, 2010.) © Steve Metz
Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo. (Barrio Naranjo, Comerío, Puerto Rico; May 13, 2013.) © Ernesto Burgos
Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo. (Cambalache State Forest, Puerto Rico; March 24, 2014.) © Eric Hynes
Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo. (Cambalache State Forest, Puerto Rico; March 21, 2017.) © Alex Lamoreaux
Voice. Common call is a harsh, staccato cackle, like the chatter of a wren played back at a slower speed:
Notes
Monotypic species. The lizard-cuckoos were formerly placed in their own genus, Saurothera.
References
eBird. 2018. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed October 25, 2018.)
Erritzøe, J., C.F. Mann, F.P. Brammer, and R.A. Fuller. 2012. Cuckoos of the World. Christopher Helm, London.
Kendrick, S.W. 2010. Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo (Coccyzus vieilloti), version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T.S. Schulenberg, ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. https://doi.org/10.2173/nb.purlic1.01.
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.