[3] The results of a molecular phylogenetic study of the cuckoo family by Michael Sorenson and Robert Payne that was published in 2005 lead to a reorganization of some of the genera.

[4][5] The genus contains 13 species:[6] These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs.

Coccyzus cuckoos, unlike many Old World species, build their own nests in trees and lay two or more eggs.

Northern species such as yellow-billed and black-billed cuckoos are strong migrants, wintering in Central or South America, and occasionally wander to western Europe as rare vagrants, but the tropical Coccyzus cuckoos are mainly sedentary.

They feed on large insects such as cicadas, wasps and caterpillars (including those with stinging hairs or spines which are distasteful to many birds).