Black-billed cuckoo
Coccyzus erythropthalmus (A. Wilson, 1811)
The black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus) is a species in the family Cuculidae, order Cuculiformes. Recorded adults weigh 44.1 g to 55.8 g and live up to 5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the black-billed cuckoo
- Weight
- 44.1 g – 55.8 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 12 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.61src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the black-billed cuckoo live?
Not recorded
What is the black-billed cuckoo?
The black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus) is a New World species in the Cuculidae (cuckoo) family. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name, kokkuzo, means to call like a common cuckoo, and erythropthalmus is from eruthros, "red" and ophthalmos, "eye".
It is very similar to, and overlaps in range with, the closely related yellow-billed cuckoo. A distinguishing characteristic of the family Cuculidae is laying eggs in the nests of other birds. Although many cuckoos are obligate brood parasites, C. erythropthalmus often incubate their own chicks.
From the Wikipedia article “Black-billed cuckoo” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black-billed_cuckoo&oldid=1380656205), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the black-billed cuckoo endangered?
The black-billed cuckoo is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the black-billed cuckoo classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCuculiformes
- familyCuculidae
- genusCoccyzus
- SpeciesCoccyzus erythropthalmus (A. Wilson, 1811)
Synonyms Coccyzus erythopthalmus, Coccyzus erythrophthalmus, Cuculus erythrophtalma, Cuculus erythropthalmus
Other names and names in other languages (56)
- وقواق أسود المنقارArabic
- Черноклюна кукувицаBulgarian
- Koukoug beg duBreton
- cucut becnegreCatalan
- kukačka černozobáCzech
- Cog bigdduWelsh
- sortnæbbet gøgDanish
- SchwarzschnabelkuckuckGerman
- nigrabeka kukoloEsperanto
- Cuclillo pico negroSpanish
- Cuclillo de Pico NegroSpanish
- Cuclillo ojo coloradoSpanish
- Cuclillo piquinegroSpanish
- Pájaro Bobo Pico NegroSpanish
- Pájaro bobo piquinegroSpanish
- põhja-vihmakäguEstonian
- mississipinkäkiFinnish
- Eygreyður grágeykurFaroese
- coulicou à bec noirFrench
- Cuach bhobdhubhIrish
- Cuach ghobdhubhIrish
- Cooag ghob-dooManx
- Tuja kueGuarani
- Ti Tako bèk nwaHaitian Creole
- קוליקו אדם עיןHebrew
- קוליקו אדום־עיןHebrew
- קוקיה שחורת-מקורHebrew
- crnokljuna kukavicaCroatian
- feketecsőrű esőkakukkHungarian
- Maleo paruh-hitamIndonesian
- RegngaukurIcelandic
- cuculo becconeroItalian
- Cuculo occhirossiItalian
- ハシグロカッコウJapanese
- Juodasnapė gegutėLithuanian
- raudonakė amerikinė gegutėLithuanian
- melnknābja dzeguzeLatvian
- svartnebbgjøkNorwegian Bokmål
- zwartsnavelkoekoekDutch
- svartnebbgaukNorwegian Nynorsk
- kukawik czarnodziobyPolish
- cuco-de-bico-pretoPortuguese
- papa-lagarta-de-bico-pretoPortuguese
- Черноклювая пиайяRussian
- Черноклювая американская кукушкаRussian
- кукушка американская черноклюваяRussian
- ČahppesnjungiehkaNorthern Sami
- kukavka čiernozobáSlovak
- črnokljuni kukavecSlovenian
- Crnokljuna američka kukavicaSerbian
- svartnäbbad regngökSwedish
- kara gagalı gugukTurkish
- Kara Kuyruklu GugukTurkish
- кукліло чорнодзьобийUkrainian
- 黑嘴美洲鵑Chinese
- 黑嘴美洲鹃Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the black-billed cuckoo
Other species in the same genus Coccyzus.
Yellow-billed cuckoo
Coccyzus americanus
Dark-billed cuckoo
Coccyzus melacoryphus
Great lizard cuckoo
Coccyzus merlini
Mangrove cuckoo
Coccyzus minor
Jamaican lizard cuckoo
Coccyzus vetula
Cocos cuckoo
Coccyzus ferrugineus
CompareBlack-billed cuckoo vs Yellow-billed cuckooBlack-billed cuckoo vs Dark-billed cuckooBlack-billed cuckoo vs Great lizard cuckooBlack-billed cuckoo vs Mangrove cuckoo
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the black-billed cuckoo?
An adult black-billed cuckoo weighs 44.1 g – 55.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the black-billed cuckoo endangered?
The black-billed cuckoo is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the black-billed cuckoo live?
The black-billed cuckoo has a recorded lifespan of 5 years.
What kind of animal is the black-billed cuckoo?
The black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus) belongs to the family Cuculidae in the order Cuculiformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-billed-cuckoo
“Black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-billed-cuckoo.
@misc{black_billed_cuckoo_2026,
title = {Black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-billed-cuckoo},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}