Coccyzus

{{Taxobox
| name =  ''Coccyzus''
| image = BlackbilledCuckoo23.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = [[Black-billed Cuckoo]] (''Coccyzus erythropthalmus'')
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Bird|Aves]]
| ordo = [[Cuculiformes]]
| familia = [[Cuculidae]]
| genus = '''''Coccyzus'''''
| genus_authority = [[Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot|Vieillot]], 1816
| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
| subdivision = 
13, see text
| synonyms =''Hyetornis''<br />
''Saurothera''
}}

'''''Coccyzus''''' is a [[genus]] of  [[cuckoo]]s which occur in the [[Americas]].

==Species and taxonomy==
The species in taxonomic order are:
* [[Black-billed Cuckoo]], ''Coccyzus erythropthalmus''
* [[Yellow-billed Cuckoo]], ''Coccyzus americanus''
* [[Pearly-breasted Cuckoo]], ''Coccyzus euleri''
* [[Mangrove Cuckoo]]  ''Coccyzus minor''
* [[Cocos Cuckoo]], ''Coccyzus ferrugineus''
* [[Dark-billed Cuckoo]], ''Coccyzus melacoryphus''
* [[Gray-capped Cuckoo]], ''Coccyzus lansbergi''
* [[Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo]], ''Coccyzus pluvialis''
* [[Bay-breasted Cuckoo]], ''Coccyzus rufigularis''
* [[Great Lizard Cuckoo]], ''Coccyzus merlini''
* [[Puerto Rican Lizard Cuckoo]], ''Coccyzus vieilloti''
* [[Jamaican Lizard Cuckoo]], ''Coccyzus vetula''
* [[Hispaniolan Lizard Cuckoo]], ''Coccyzus longirostris''

The genera ''Saurothera'' (the lizard cuckoos) and ''Hyetornis'' (Chestnut-bellied and Bay-breasted Cuckoos) were lumped with ''Coccyzus'' by the [[American Ornithologists' Union]] in 2006.

On the other hand, the [[Ash-colored Cuckoo]] and [[Dwarf Cuckoo]] &ndash; at one time separated in ''Micrococcyx'' &ndash; have been found to be closest relatives of the [[Little Cuckoo]], formerly in ''[[Piaya]]''. These three are now again placed in the reinstated genus of the latter, ''[[Coccycua]]''.

==Description and ecology==
These [[bird]]s are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. Many have black and white undertail patterns. They occur in a variety of forests, woodlands or [[mangrove]]s.
 
''Coccyzus'' cuckoos, unlike many [[Old World]] species, build their own nests in trees and lay two or more eggs. [[Yellow-billed Cuckoo|Yellow-billed]] and [[Black-billed Cuckoo]]s occasionally lay [[egg (biology)|egg]]s in the nests of other birds, but are not obligate [[brood parasite]]s like the [[Common Cuckoo]] of Eurasia.

Northern species such as Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos are strong [[bird migration|migrants]], wintering in [[Central America|Central]] or [[South America]], and occasionally wander to western [[Europe]] as rare vagrants, but the tropical  ''Coccyzus'' cuckoos are mainly sedentary.

These are vocal species when breeding, with persistent and loud calls. They feed on large [[insect]]s such as [[cicada]]s, [[wasp]]s and  [[caterpillar]]s (including those with stinging hairs or spines which are distasteful to many birds). Lizard cuckoos are large and powerful species, and mainly take [[vertebrate]] prey, especially, as the name implies, [[lizard]]s.

==References==<!-- Systematics and Biodiversity4: 483–488 10.1017/S1477200006002052 -->
*{{cite book
 | last = ffrench<!--this name should not be capitalized-->
 | first = Richard
 | title = A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago
 | edition = 2nd edition
 | year = 1991
 | publisher = Comstock Publishing
 | isbn = 0-8014-9792-2 }}
* Hilty, '' Birds of Venezuela'', ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
* Stiles and Skutch,  ''A guide to the birds of Costa Rica''  ISBN 0-8014-9600-4






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