Squirrel cuckoo

For example, P. c. mehleri, one of the South American subspecies, has mainly brown (not black) outer tail feathers.

[5] Its non-flying prey is typically taken off the foliage with a quick lunge, but wasps may be caught on the wing.

Squirrel cuckoos are often observed to forage peacefully alongside small mammals such as common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) during the dry season for cocoa beans.

[6][7][8] The nest is a cup of leaves on a twig foundation, hidden in dense vegetation 1–12 m (3.3–39.4 ft) high in a tree.

The squirrel cuckoo is plentiful in most of its range and appears to be quite tolerant of human disturbance, as long as woodland remains.

The contrasting undertail plumage. Note the red eye-ring, typical of squirrel cuckoos in most of South America
Squirrel cuckoo in Costa Rica
Squirrel cuckoo with a large caterpillar. Note the yellow eye-ring (the eye itself is reddish), typical of the subspecies from Mexico, Central America, and northern and western South America