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DESCRIPTION: 11-12 inches. Head and back grayish brown. Darker gray
lores and auricular region. Rufous across primaries. Throat and chest white with
some gray wash. Tail grayish upper, black below, outer retrices tipped with
white.
SONG:
consists of a dry speedy rattle slowing to a hollow cluck. ka ka-ka-ka-kaka ....k'lop
k'lop k'lop also a dry ka'ow ka'ow .... slows to cow cow cow...
Found deep within the riparian forests of the Kern River
Preserve and South Fork Wildlife Area. Stop by the
preserve and watch hummingbirds in July... many sightings and hearings of the
cuckoo occur without much effort just patience.
Late to arrive and early to leave Yellow-billed Cuckoos arrive as early
as the last week of May and as late as the third week of June. The usual arrival
date is between June 10th and 12th. To be safe come
look for them at the very end of June through the middle of July. They will
depart from early to mid-August. Check the Birders’ Board at the Kern River
Preserve for dates and locations of each year’s sightings.
The Kern River Valley is home to 3 to 24 breeding pairs of Yellow-billed Cuckoos
yearly (average range of 8-15 pairs).
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