Black-billed Cuckoo,Cocayzus erythropthalmus.
April 30 to October 19. Very uncommon to somewhat rare transient and very rare summer resident.
Most reports involve the northward migration, April 30 to May 22. A nest was found at Harrison
in 1958. There are two old nesting records for the region (Baerg 1951). In 1986, there were three
records of single birds seen May 1019. One was found on a Breeding Bird Survey in Van Buren County
in June 1976.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo,Coccyzus americanus.
April 25 to November 6. Common summer resident. During summer this cuckoo nests at the forest edge
or in forest openings throughout the region. It often selects a cedar or a small tree covered by
vines as the nest site. During the 1985 nesting season, seven nests with eggs or young were observed
in forested area southeast of Fayetteville from the last week of May to mid-August. The nests were all
12 feet or lower, and were in cedar trees (3), oaks (2), hackberry (1), and winged elm (1). A rat snake
ate the contents of one of these nests and a wind storm in early June destroyed another. In his studies
in the Winslow area, Black (1935) found young in "about five different nests on September 11, 12 and 16,
all of the young still being in quills."