The Black-billed Cuckoo is the shyer, more northern counterpart of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and if anything it is even harder to see, slipping silently through dense thickets and the leafy interior of woodlands. Slim and long-tailed, brown above and white below, it is told from its relative by an all-dark bill, a narrow red ring around the eye (on adults), and small, indistinct grayish spots on the underside of the tail rather than bold white ones. Its call is a soft, rhythmic, cooing "cu-cu-cu, cu-cu-cu," often given at night.
Like the Yellow-billed, this cuckoo feasts on hairy caterpillars, including tent caterpillars and other outbreak species, and its local abundance can track caterpillar booms. It breeds in deciduous woods, thickets, and brushy second growth across much of Michigan, favoring somewhat cooler, more northern and shrubby settings than the Yellow-billed. Both cuckoos occasionally lay eggs in each other's nests or in the nests of other birds, a faint echo of the parasitic habits of their Old World cousins.
Feeds heavily on caterpillars, including hairy tent caterpillars and other species most birds avoid, along with cicadas and other large insects and some fruit. Like the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, its numbers can climb where caterpillars are abundant, and it forages quietly through dense foliage.
The Black-billed Cuckoo has an all-dark bill, a red eye-ring (in adults), and only small, faint grayish tail spots, and it lacks the rusty wing flash. The Yellow-billed has a yellow lower bill, rusty wings, and large bold white tail spots.
Black-billed Cuckoos are quiet and secretive, moving slowly through dense thickets and the leafy interior of woods. They often call at night and stay hidden by day, so they are heard far more than seen.
Mainly caterpillars, including hairy species like tent caterpillars, plus cicadas and other large insects. Its local numbers can rise during caterpillar outbreaks, much like the Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
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