The Yellow-billed Cuckoo has become endangered in the Southwestern United States. It still has a large world-wide population of about 9 million.
In layman terms, it is hard to classify. It looks similar to doves, except it is seldom on the ground like a dove. It is more technically related to Roadrunners, but acts nothing like a roadrunner.
The American Birding Association here in Arizona does field annual field counts on the Yellow-billed Cuckoo because of its declining population.
It is a summer migrant, seldom reported before May or after September. Some good places to look are along the Santa Cruz River near Tubac and Tumacacori, along the San Pedro River near Hereford, Pena Blanca Lake near the US/Mexico boarder, Arivaca Cienegas, Patagonia Creek, and Empire Gulch. As a general rule, in wet, riparian areas south of Tucson not far from the border.
Here are a few photos:
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| Yellow-billed Cuckoo at Arivaca Cienegas |
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| Yellow-billed Cuckoo at Empire Gulch |
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