Species guide
Guira Cuckoo: how to recognise it
A bird of South America. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Andrés Pautasso · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Guira guira
- Family
- Cuckoos
- Size
- About 34–40 cm
- Habitat
- Open country, farmland and savanna
- Found in
- South America
The key marks
An orange-buff, streaky cuckoo with a shaggy crest and a long tail with white tips.
Voice
A series of long, rasping whistles and squeals.
Good to know
Groups of birds lay their eggs in one communal nest.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in open country, farmland and savanna. It is especially common in Brazil. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.