Striped Cuckoo

Taxobox
name = Striped Cuckoo
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Cuculiformes
familia = Cuculidae
genus = "Tapera"
species = "T. naevia"
binomial = "Tapera naevia"
binomial_authority = (Linnaeus, 1766)

The Striped Cuckoo, "Tapera naevia", is a near-passerine bird, the only member of the genus "Tapera" (Thunberg, 1819). This cuckoo is a resident breeding bird from Mexico and Trinidad south to Bolivia and Argentina.

The Striped Cuckoo is found in open country with trees or shrubs, and the edges of mangrove forests. This species is a brood parasite usually on spinetails, but often also wrens, and other species with domed nests. The female cuckoo lays one, sometimes two, white or bluish eggs in the host’s large stick nest. The eggs hatch in 15 days, with a further 18 days until the cuckoo fledges. The young spinetails disappear.

This species is about 27 cm long and weighs 40 g. The adult is mainly grey-brown above, streaked with black and buff. It has a pale supercilium and a chestnut and black crest which is raised as part of its display. The underparts are off-white, and the tail is long and graduated. Immature birds are spotted with buff and are more rufous on the back and wings.

The Striped Cuckoo eats large insects, often taken off the ground. This is a solitary and fairly shy species which tends to keep to the cover of bushes, although it will sing from more open perches. It has a whistled call usually of two or three notes, "wu-weee" or "wu-wu-wee", and can be attracted by imitations of this.

Brazilian folklore

This bird is very important in Brazilian folklore, being related to the legend of the saci, or matita-perê. Other than the name saci, the bird is also known as matinta-pereira, pitica (Pará), crispim, fenfém, martim-pererê, matimpererê, matintapereira, matintaperera, matitaperê, peitica, peito-ferido, roceiro-planta, seco-fico, sede-sede, saci-do-campo, sem-fim, fém-fém, tempo-quente, peixe-frito (Bahia), e peixe-frito-seu-veríssimo. [http://www.eln.gov.br/Pass500/BIRDS/2birds/p129.htm] [http://www.sosaci.org/aparicoes59.htm]

Matita-pereira is famously mentioned in Tom Jobim's song Águas de Março.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
*cite book
last = ffrench
first = Richard
title = A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago
edition = 2nd edition
year = 1991
publisher = Comstock Publishing
isbn = 0-8014-9792-2
*cite book
last = Hilty
first = Steven L
title = Birds of Venezuela
publisher = Christopher Helm
date = 2003
location = London
isbn = 0-7136-6418-5

External links

* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=2531 "American Striped Cuckoo" videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
* [http://www.bird-stamps.org/cspecies/7612800.htm Stamps] (for Suriname) with RangeMap
* [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Common&KEYWORDS=striped+cuckoo&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Striped Cuckoo photo gallery] VIREO [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/species_image.php?species=Tapera+naevia Photo-High Res]
* [http://www.andeanbirding.com/assets/images/060305_DSC0667_striped_cuckoo.jpgPhoto-Medium Res] ; [http://www.andeanbirding.com/html/western.html Article] andeanbirding
* [http://www.guyana.org/Guyana_Photo_Gallery/birds/Striped%20cuckoo.jpgPhoto] ; [http://www.guyana.org/Guyana_Photo_Gallery/birds/birds.html Article] guyana.org–"Birds of Guyana"