Lucky observation of a pair of Yellow-billed Cuckoos

Tiny Life Journal - Well, file this under a stroke of good luck and the benefits of paying attention. I stepped outside to take Cosmo on a little walk and I heard a Yellow-billed Cuckoo not too far off. It was answered by another just above me. I looked up just as the closer bird flew onto a branch 60 feet above. The second arrived moments later and I believe I observed mating as the second landed on top of the first and from my vantage point below their two bodies seemed to mostly merge with the exception of their two tails which were cris-crossed. I’m 55 years old and only just today have I seen two birds mate in a tree.

Then it occurred to me that it might be a bit late in the season for that. They’ll soon be migrating thousands of miles from North America to South America. But according to All About Birds Yellow-billed Cuckoos have one of the shortest nesting cycles of any bird species.

From the start of incubation to fledging can take as little as 17 days. Although born naked, the young birds develop quickly; within a week of hatching the chicks are fully feathered and ready to leave the nest.

Imagine, they hatch and grow and then within a few weeks embark on such a long journey!