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ARTISTS AND BIRDS By Marilyn and Keith Davis "Where's Sherlock
Holmes when you need him?"
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
The great detective
Sherlock Holmes, could track down any
elusive criminal. We could use his
help here in southern Utah to track down
the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. This
specie seems headed for extinction.
Changes in habitat both in its breeding
and wintering ranges has caused its number
to decline rapidly. So if you
choose to go searching for this Cuckoo,
you will need more than a pipe and a
magnifying glass. In fact, your
equipment will be totally different.
Binoculars, water bottle, bird book, and a
great deal of luck.
Most birders would
like to add the Yellow-billed Cuckoo to
their Life List. When they do,
generally it’s by accident, while
searching for another specie. The
Yellow-billed Cuckoo hunts quietly,
listening for insects.
Due to this hunting technique, it is
extremely hard to detect. I have
birded for 20 years, and
 am
still waiting to put one on my Life
List. But, I'll keep right on
looking, and hoping to find this elusive
bird. Searching and finding a
rarely seen bird is like going
prospecting for gold and coming up with
a mother load.
Many Utah birders
saw a Cuckoo along the Provo River
Parkway. Several others have seen
them throughout Utah and at Cedar
Pockets. This sleek, elegant
Yellow-billed Cuckoo breeds east of the
Rocky Mountains.
Finding it takes patience, skill, and
luck. A really cool fact
about the Cuckoo is... their young
mature at a very fast rate. They
have to because their food supply of
caterpillars is only available for a few
short weeks. Around day 6 or 7,
the chick’s feathers burst out of their
sheaths, and they are completely
feathered within two hours, ready to
leave the nest when Mom’s
ready. Their yearly diet is
hairy caterpillars, insects and larvae,
small lizards, frogs, birds' eggs, and
small fruits and berries. Yellow-billed
Cuckoos are found in woodlands,
thickets, and orchards. They
have a rapid, throaty call of
ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-kow-kow-kowlp-kowlp-kowlp-kowlp.
(Who
could mistaken that song?)
Most people love a
hunt. Why not make your hunt the
“The Hunt for the Yellow-billed
Cuckoo”? Brenda Rusnell has
illustrated another great picture so we
might recognize the Yellow-billed
Cuckoo. Thank you Brenda.
Saturday, November 17,
is the Red Cliffs Audubon Field Trip to
Quail Creek Reservoir, Grandpa's Pond, and
Washington Fields. Meet at the BLM
at 8:00 a.m. Laura Tomlinson, DWR
Wildlife Biologist, will lead the field
trip. If you have questions about
this field trip or the Yellow-billed
Cuckoo, call Marilyn Davis at 435
673-0996.
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