Guira Cuckoo Gallery

Guira guira

The Birds of the World website provides this description of the Guira Cuckoo:  The Guira Cuckoo is perhaps the most common cuckoo over a diversity of drier habitats from the mouth of the Amazon south to central Argentina. The Guira Cuckoo is highly social and is generally seen in flocks of 6-8 birds which can accrue to over 20 individuals at times, especially after breeding. The species also breeds communally, with several females laying up to 20 eggs in a single nest. Within the nest, there is much competition between parents and only a quarter of the eggs survive to fledging, the remainder are destroyed or buried or killed as hatchlings by competing adults.

I saw and photographed my first Guira Cuckoos on the morning of August 18, 2023 in the Amazon Basin Region of Brazil.  Our small group with Jeff Parker Tours had arrived at a private fazenda (ranch) to watch a Harpy Eagle nest when I spotted several Guira Cuckoos near the ranch house.  For a more detailed description of this day, look here at my blog post on my Brazil trip.  Here are some of my photos of this striking bird.