Trinidad: LIttle Cuckoo - Coccycua minuta

We were a bit lucky to see the Little Cuckoo (Coccycua minuta) in Trinidad, as it is a shy uncommon creature that skulks about in the thick undergrowth looking for insects. This one was in low foliage along a road and seemed almost curious about out group, so we were able to get photos. Head and chest of rich chestnut, tail brown with white tips, and belly gray. Bill of the adult is yellow, iris dark red and orbital ring red-pink. There are about 8 Cuckoo family species in Trinidad-Tobago, but only 3 on Tobago. The Smooth-billed Ani and the Squirrel Cuckoo were the most common cuckoos that we saw.

This Little Cuckoo, sometimes known as Lesser Chestnut Cuckoo, is like a smaller version of the more common Squirrel Cuckoo, aka Chestnut Cuckoo, although they are in different genera. The 11" long Little Cuckoo is residential, incubates its own eggs like most New World cuckoos, and has a range from Panama and Trinidad south to Bolivia Peru and Brazil.

Taxonomy is interesting - Really, it is.

Order: Cuculiformes - Cuckoos and allies. Cuckoos are currently between the Parrots and the Owls, and are not closely related to the other bird orders. They have long tails and decurved beaks.
Family: Cuculidae - No other families in the Order. Diverse family of about 141 species in 30 genera found around the globe. Included here are 50+ birds with the common name "Cuckoo", but many other names such as Hawk-Cuckoo (1), Bronze-Cuckoo (5), Drongo-Cuckoo (2), Koel (6), Malkoha (12), Ground-Cuckoo (3), Coua (9), Coucal (27), Lizard-Cuckoo (4), Ani (3), Roadrunner (2), and Ground-Cuckoo (5). The Cuckoo-Shrikes (50+) are perching birds, and of course totally unrelated.
Genus: Coccycua..The Little Cuckoo was once place in the genus Piaya, with the Squirrel Cuckoo.
Species: Coccycua minuta - Little Cuckoo. About 5 subspecies, and this one may be the nominate subspecies. Seems like a lot of the Trinidad birds are the nominate subspecies.