Coccyzidae

Coccyzidae
Coccyzus americanus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Cuculiformes
Family:	Coccyzidae

Coccyzidae is a family of birds comprising 18 new world cuckoos, ranging from Canada to Argentina. The family consists of the genera Coccyzus, Hyetornis, Piaya and Saurothera. ^[1]

Of those whose habits are known, their main diet is insects. They tend to nest in trees and can lay up to 7 eggs (Coccyzus) although Saurothura only lays 2-3. Only one of the family, the Black-billed cuckoo Coccyzus erythropthalmus (Wilson), is known to be a brood parasite. The nesting habits of the genus Piaya, are virtually unknown.

Both the yellow-billed cuckoo and the black-billed cuckoo are vagrants to Europe.^[2]

References

1. del Hoyo, J.; et al., eds. (1997). Handbook of the Birds of the World vol. 4. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
2. The Birds of the Western Palearctic [Abridged]. OUP. 1997. ISBN 0-19-854099-X.