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Black-billed Cuckoo



Friends,

I need a little help.  After speaking with Steve Schultz this afternoon,
he suggested that I place a question regarding my Cuckoo sighting on the
CBC e-mail board.

This afternoon shortly after lunch, a friend and I walked the nature
trail at our RTP location.  Heavily wooded in most spots, it makes for a
great birding spot, (43 species since February), and with a small creek
running through, we see our friend the copperhead snake most every day.

We witnessed a Cuckoo working approximately 6-8 feet off the ground, in
some small thin hardwoods.  We were standing 25 yards from this bird, in
great light, and neither of us noticed a yellow bill.  This bird had a
completely black bill.  Because of the fact that this bird was low to
the ground, we could not see underneath his or her tail to identify. 
But again, this bird had no yellow on it's bill, and my field guide has
a picture of a juvenile YB Cuckoo, and the bill is yellow.

You know my question by now, can it be that we saw a BB Cuckoo?  Is the
bill color, always a reliable field mark.  It's a lifer for me, thus the
concern.  My friend is just getting started, so it's a lifer for him
also.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Brian K. Pendergraft
bkpbbird@bellsouth.net