Groove-billed Ani

Groove-billed Ani

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Sound
4. Range
5. Habitat
6. Food
7. Conservation Status
8. Other Names

An odd-looking black bird with a long tail and a large, curved beak, the Groove-billed Ani is a tropical species that reaches the United States only in pasturelands and open country of southern Texas. Its membership in the cuckoo family is revealed by its two-toes-foreward, two-toes-back foot arrangement.

Cool Facts

• Like other anis, the Groove-billed Ani lives in small groups of one to five breeding pairs. They defend a single territory and lay their eggs in one communal nest. All group members incubate the eggs and care for the young.

Description

• Size: 34 cm (13 in)
• Weight: 70-90 g (2.47-3.18 ounces)

• Slender, long-tailed black bird.
• Short thick, rounded beak.
• Beak with parallel grooves running its length.

• Back feathers scalloped with bronzy green edges.
• Tail loose and longest in center (graduated).
• Eyes black.
• Feet black.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Immature

Immature like adult, but plumage duller and bill grooves indistinct.

Sound

Call a sharp, high two-noted whistle.

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

About the map

Summer Range

Mostly resident from southern Texas and northern Mexico southward to southern South America.

Winter Range

May withdraw from very northern parts of range in winter.

Habitat

Open and partly open country, such as pastures, savanna, and orchards.

Food

Insects and other arthropods.

Conservation Status

Common and widespread in the tropics. Less common in Texas, but population appears stable.

Other Names

Ani à bec cannelé (French)
Garrapatero pijuy, Pico de cera, Pijúy, Piquiestriado, Tijo, Zopilotillo (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Bowen, B. S. 2002. Groove-billed Ani (Crotophaga sulcirostris ).In The Birds of North America, No. 612 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.