Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes. The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families, the Centropodidae and Crotophagidae, respectively. The cuckoo order Cuculiformes is one of three that make up the Otidimorphae, the other two being the turacos and the bustards. The family Cuculidae contains 150 species, which are divided into 33 genera.
The black-billed cuckoo is a New World species in the Cuculidae (cuckoo) family. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name, kokkuzo, means to call like a common cuckoo, and erythropthalmus is from eruthros, "red" and ophthalmos, "eye".
The striped cuckoo is a near-passerine bird, the only member of the genus Tapera. This resident cuckoo is found from Mexico and Trinidad south to Bolivia and Argentina.
In biological classification, Neomorphidae is a proposed family of birds, separating the ground cuckoos from the rest of the cuckoo family. It is traditionally nested within the family Cuculidae as the subfamily Neomorphinae.
Phaenicophaeus is a genus of 6 species of cuckoos in the family Cuculidae.
The Crotophaginae are a small subfamily, within the cuckoo family Cuculidae, of four gregarious bird species occurring in the Americas. They were previously classified as a family Crotophagidae.
Cacomantis is a genus of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. The genus name is derived from the Greek kakos meaning evil or ill-boding and mantis for prophet and is derived from their association with "rains" being supposed to be predicted as also ill fortune and bad weather. Most of them have a round nostril and are mainly in brown and gray colours. The tails are graduated and barred. The bars are transverse in sonneratii and oblique in all others.
Carpococcyx is a genus of large terrestrial cuckoos in the family Cuculidae. They are restricted to humid forested regions in Southeast Asia. Despite their similarities, they are not closely related to the South American ground cuckoos of the genus Neomorphus.
Cercococcyx is a genus of cuckoos in the family Cuculidae, known as the long-tailed cuckoos.
Ceuthmochares is a genus of 2 species of cuckoos in the family Cuculidae. The two species were once treated as a single species, known as the yellowbill. Both species are found in evergreen forest in Africa. Although they are cuckoos they are not brood parasites. This indicates that they do not lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species.
Dromococcyx is a genus of uncommon to rare cuckoos found in forests and woodlands of the Neotropics. They have strikingly graduated tails, and are among the few cuckoos of the Americas that are brood parasites.
The pheasant cuckoo is a species of neotropical cuckoo in the subfamily Neomorphinae of the family Cuculidae. It is native to Central and South America where it occurs in lowland tropical forest.
The rufous-vented ground cuckoo is a Vulnerable species of cuckoo in the tribe Neomorphini of subfamily Crotophaginae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru.
The red-billed ground cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the tribe Neomorphini of subfamily Crotophaginae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and possibly Ecuador.
The banded ground cuckoo is an endangered species of cuckoo in the tribe Neomorphini of subfamily Crotophaginae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.
The rufous-winged ground cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the tribe Neomorphini of subfamily Crotophaginae. It is found in Brazil, Guyana, Venezuela, and possibly Colombia.
The scaled ground cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the tribe Neomorphini of subfamily Crotophaginae. It is endemic to the Amazon rainforest near the Tapajos River in Brazil.
The black-bellied cuckoo or black-bellied squirrel cuckoo is a bird of the family Cuculidae found in the Amazon region. Even though this species has a wide distribution, little is known about its ecology and natural history. The word melanogaster means "black belly"; it has Greek roots, melas meaning "black" and gaster meaning "belly".
Surniculus is a small genus of birds in the cuckoo family. Its four members are found in tropical Asia and the Philippines. They are:
Hierococcyx or hawk-cuckoos is a genus of birds in the family Cuculidae. They are distributed in South, Southeast, and East Asia. The resemblance to hawks gives this group the generic name of hawk-cuckoos.
