Bird
Smooth-billed Ani
Crotophaga aniSmooth-billed anis are highly social, noisy black cuckoos that live in tight communal groups of up to twenty individuals. Groups defend territories together and build massive communal nests where multiple females lay eggs and take turns incubating. When foraging, flock members follow cattle or army ants across pastures, pouncing on fleeing grasshoppers and small reptiles.
GregariousCooperative BreederTropical
—observations
—countries
—peak records
Least ConcernConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXLeast ConcernRed List categories, explained →
Diet & preyGrasshoppers, Caterpillars, Anole lizards
Predators
- Raptors
- Snakes
- Feral cats
ThreatsPesticide application, severe storms, and habitat alteration
HabitatsPastures, brushy scrub, forest edges, savannas, and agricultural clearings
Life span5–10 years
Classification
- OrderCuculiformes
- FamilyCuculidae
- GenusCrotophaga
- SpeciesCrotophaga ani
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Safe to observe at a normal distance.
Responsible observation
- Listening: Locate groups by their whiny, rising 'que-lick' contact whistles in dense brush.
- Watching: Look near grazing livestock where flocks forage for flushed grasshoppers.
- Perching Habits: Watch low fence lines and brush piles where groups huddle together to sunbathe.
Close Relative (c) Ricard Busquets Reverte, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by
Close Relative (c) Christoph Moning, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Christoph Moning · cc-by
Same Family Andreas Trepte / CC BY-SA 4.0 · cc-by-sa
Same Family No machine-readable author provided. Factumquintus assumed (based on copyright claims). / CC BY-SA 3.0 · cc-by-sa
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