Wendy Paulson's Birds of Barrington | Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Often on restoration workdays with Citizens for Conservation, participants share sightings of mammals, insects, reptiles, birds, plants they have seen recently. We also pause at times to study something discovered by a fellow worker as we collect seed or plant wetland plugs or pull invasive plants – perhaps an unusual butterfly or a leopard frog or a moth cocoon. My ears are always open to birdsong and I like to point out nearby vocalizations so that others can familiarize themselves with the sounds.

This summer, once workdays resumed under COVID-19 protocols, one bird species has offered such frequent accompaniment that just about everyone involved has learned to identify its sound. It can hardly be called a song, but it is rather more of a chant which ornithologist David Sibley calls guttural. The vocalization belongs to the Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus), a good-sized, elegantly shaped bird that populates the Barrington area only in summer and whose favorite food is caterpillars.

I’m always happy to hear or see cuckoos – they come in both yellow-billed and black-billed varieties – but can sometimes go an entire nesting season without seeing one. This year has been different. I’ve seen Yellow-billed cuckoos on bike rides, bird walks, in my yard, at CFC workdays at Flint Creek Savanna. A Conservation Corps intern asked me in June about a largish bird she’d spotted flying on the slope above Spring Creek Prairie, telling me it was brown with white underparts. While I was puzzling over the question, she spotted it again and we were both able to watch, at relatively close range, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo perched on a fallen log. Everything about that sighting was unusual: the species rarely is seen near the ground and it rarely perches in plain view, especially for more than a few seconds. Most often it disappears mysteriously into tree foliage even though you KNOW where it landed!

The intern was right. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is brown, though it has conspicuous chestnut flight feathers. It has a remarkably long tail and a graceful, gliding flight. It can be difficult to tell the two cuckoo species apart. But if the impression is rufous, it’s a Yellow-billed. Another distinction is the tail, if you get to see it: the Yellow-billed Cuckoo has large white spots on its black tail feathers. And of course its bill is mostly yellow, not black like its cousin’s.

365 - Birds of Barrington - Yellow Billed Cuckoo - 2

An additional difference is the voice. I have to admit that I have a hard time remembering, from year to year, which call belongs to which cuckoo. This summer, after listening to so many Yellow-bills, I believe I’ll not again mistake its dove-like chant nor its accelerating ku-ku-ku-ku-ku-ku-kwol-kwol for the notes of the Black-bill.

Soon the Yellow-billed Cuckoos that have nested locally will reverse their long spring migration and fly south, usually via Central America, to winter throughout the Andes-Amazon region as far south as Bolivia. They will linger in our area until late August and September. Good places to watch and listen for them include wooded forest preserves, CFC’s Flint Creek Savanna, and other little-populated, wooded sites. Listen for their hollow chants, stop when you hear them, and see if you can get a glimpse of this enigmatic, sleek, fascinating bird.

About Wendy Paulson

Wendy Paulson has lived in Barrington Hills since 1975, and has led bird walks in the area for many years. She re-established the Nature Lady program in the Barrington 220 school district and St. Anne’s in the late 70s, under the auspices of The Garden Club and Little Garden Club of Barrington. Wendy developed the education program for Citizens for Conservation, initiated and edited its newsletter, and has been an active volunteer with CFC for over 30 years.

During interludes in New York City and Washington, DC, Wendy taught classes about birds in the public schools and is helping to develop a similar program in Chicago public schools with Openlands. She is chairman of The Bobolink Foundation, serves on the board or advisory committee of multiple conservation and bird-related organizations, both domestic and international, and is former chairman of IL and NY chapters of The Nature Conservancy.

Wendy and her husband Hank have two grown children and are avid hikers, cyclists, and kayakers.

CLICK HERE to explore all of the local bird profiles Wendy has authored in our Birds of Barrington series at 365Barrington.com.

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Brown Creeper

Wendy Paulson’s Barrington Area Bird Walks Return for Late Summer & Fall, 2020

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Ruby-crowned Kinglet

In a bleak year, the natural world stirs hope

Barrington Christmas Bird Count Helps Map Population Trends Globally

Annual Christmas Bird Count to Reveal New Insights on Barrington Bird Population

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Field Sparrow

New Schedule of Fall Bird Hikes with Wendy Paulson

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Common Yellowthroat

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Wilson’s Snipe

New Schedule of Spring Bird Hikes with Wendy Paulson

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Red-breasted Merganser

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Cooper’s Hawk

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | American Robin

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Bald Eagle

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Eastern Wood Peewee

Wendy Paulson’s Barrington Area Bird Hikes this Fall!

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Chimney Swift

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Yellow Warbler

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Song Sparrow

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Common Goldeneye

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Of Music & Mourning Doves

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Northern Shrike

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Tale of the Turkey Vulture

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Song of the Sedge Wren

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Dickcissel Discovery

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | American White Pelican

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | American Woodcock

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Common Merganser

Barrington Area Spring Bird Walks & Hikes with Wendy Paulson

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | American Tree Sparrow

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Golden-crowned Kinglet

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Blue Jay

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | American Goldfinch

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Black-billed Cuckoo

FIVE Memorial Day Weekend Deals at Ace Hardware Barrington

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Brown Thrasher

Spring Bird Spotting with Wendy Paulson

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Wood Duck

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Red-bellied Woodpecker

Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | White-throated Sparrow

365. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Great Horned Owl

311. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Pied-billed Grebe

266. New Schedule of Fall Bird Hikes With Wendy Paulson

265. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Common Nighthawk

235. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Cedar Waxwing

200. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Indigo Bunting

164. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Scarlet Tanager

163. Stunning Photos Captured During Annual Baker’s Lake Island Rookery Bird Count

126. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | The Eastern Towhee

97. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Return of the Red-winged Blackbird

61. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington: The Upside-Down Bird

60. New Season of Spring Bird Walks & Hikes with Naturalist Wendy Paulson

43. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | The Downy Woodpecker Yawns at Dawn

13. The Ultimate Recycling Project Refreshes Heron Rookery with Christmas Trees

6. Recycled Christmas Trees Bound for Rookery Island

5. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington: Red-tailed Hawk

321. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington: The Sandhill Crane

278. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

248. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | The Call of the Killdeer

228. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Barn Swallows Signal Autumn’s Approach

199. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington: Eastern Kingbird

153. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Baltimore Oriole

126. Wendy Paulson Highlights The Great Blue Heron, Barrington’s Official Town Bird

125. Hands of Hope’s 14th Annual Barrington Country Garden & Antique Faire

89. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Eastern Meadowlark, the Flautist of Prairies

66. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Northern Cardinal

64. Barrington Spring Bird Walks with Wendy Paulson

36. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | The Black-Capped Chickadee

18. Christmas Trees Transported to Refresh Nests at Baker’s Lake Rookery

337. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | ‘Tis the Season for Snowbirds

279. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Eastern Bluebird

201. Fall Bird Walks Scheduled with Wendy Paulson

186. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | The Bobolink

116. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Great Egret Spotting at Baker’s Lake

84. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Finding the Northern Flicker

72. Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | An Eye on the Eastern Phoebe

60. Citizens for Conservation Spring Bird Hikes

One response to Wendy Paulson’s Birds of Barrington | Yellow-billed Cuckoo

A. Curtis says:

September 20, 2020 at 3:42 pm

Wendy…I enjoy reading your “Open spaces) articles in the Quintessential Barrington magazine and have some questions regarding cranes and egrets in Barrington area. Could you direct me to an email address for me to submit them to you?