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Re: Cuckoo question



On 9/5/03 9:00 AM, "Shelley Theye" <veery@bellsouth.net> wrote:

> Hopefully this is not a cuckoo (aka silly) question!
> 
> I've been hearing a Yellow-billed Cuckoo(s)  calling in
> the woods around my house for weeks now.
> much more often, it seems, than in the past few years.
> It is the call with a single repeated note, over
> and over again.
> 
> Last night, with the windows open, I even heard it calling
> numerous times in complete darkness, somewhere between
> say midnight and 3 AM.
> 
> Is it that unusual to hear a Cuckoo calling in the middle of the night?
> 
> Shelley Theye
> 
> Shelley Theye
> N. Chatham County, NC
> veery@bellsouth.net

The bird could still be feeling quite territorial. Below are a few instances
of YB Cuckoos nesting quite late in our two states.  I don't know how
atypical such breeding behavior among YB Cuckoos may be.

1) A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was found incubating eggs at Southern Pines, NC on
Sep 15, 1974.

2) An adult Yellow-billed Cuckoo was observed feeding young at Pea Island
NWR, NC on Sep 2, 1954.

3) A Yellow-billed Cuckoo nest with 2 eggs was found in Effingham, SC on Sep
18, 1963.  The eggs hatched, but the young were apparently taken by
predators.

4) A Yellow-billed Cuckoo nest with 2 eggs was found in Statesville, NC on
Aug 12, 1959.  The birds hatched and fledged on Aug 22. (Apparently, YB's
fledge 7-8 days after hatching.)

I guess most of these incidents were very late second broods, perhaps in
response to some kind of caterpillar outbreak or such.  Just speculating.

What are typical egg-laying dates for Yellow-bills at our latitude(s)?  I
remember seeing a YB incubating near Rutherfordton, NC during the last few
days of April one year.

The last few years, a YB Cuckoo has shown up in our yard around Jul 1st. It
sings for a day or two, then vanishes.

-- 
Russ Tyndall
Wake Forest, NC
www.redshanksoftware.com