| IN THE NEWS | BIRDING SITES | BIRDING PEOPLE | BACK TO NEWSLETTER |

Rufous-winged Ground-cuckoo (Neomorphus rufipennis)

Identification

The Rufous-winged Ground-cuckoo (Neomorphus rufipennis) is known to be a difficult bird to spot in the field, but those birders lucky enough to have already ticked this one off likely couldn’t stop talking about its mix of vibrant colors. Markings of the male and female are the same, with a forehead, crown and crest that are black with a slight purple tinge, and the head and neck are more of a purplish-blue black. Wings have mixed colors, with the coverts being dark bronzy green, the primaries are black and the secondaries are dark brownish red. The back, and on down to the upper tail coverts, is dull olive in color; the rest of the tail is black with a greenish gloss with central feathers that are a striking metallic purple. The underside of the bird is mostly ashy white to gray in color, but the lower throat feathers have black borders that form a ‘V’, and the breast is black. The cuckoo’s face has dark red, bare skin. The nape is cobalt blue covered by black feathers and the black bill is a greenish-white on the tip. Average overall length of adult birds is 50 cm.

Juveniles have black crowns, brownish-gray backs and wing coverts, black primaries and dark-brownish red secondaries similar to adults. The lower back and rump are black and the tail is a mixture of black, glossy purple and green.

To identify the bird by call, listen for a short, single low hoot. Another distinctive behaviour of this species is the loud, single snapping sounds they make with their bills.

Habitat

Rufous-winged Ground-cuckoos are found in northern South America, from Amazonian Columbia through southern Venezuela, into northern Brazil and in many regions of Guyana. Now that birdwatchers are seeking them out, sightings of the bird are becoming more common in Guyana. In fact, these birds can now be found with a degree of regularity in the Iwokrama Forest area (especially around Surama village) and this could potentially be the best place to see any members of this family in South America.

Behavior

These Cuckoos live a mostly terrestrial, solitary existence restlessly wandering the floor (often at high speeds) of tropical lowland forest, seasonally flooded forest and even the foothills of interior highlands. With a diet of insects, they can often be found perched on ant mounds and following groups of peccaries to dine in the rooted-up earth left in their wake. When not on the ground, they typically perch in the mid-level of the forest canopy.

Source: Payne, Robert B, The Cuckoos