The Crotophaginae are a small

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

, within the cuckoo family

Cuculidae Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...

, of four gregarious

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

species occurring in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. They were previously classified as a family Crotophagidae. The subfamily is notable for the development of

cooperative breeding Cooperative breeding is a social system characterized by alloparental care: offspring receive care not only from their parents, but also from additional group members, often called helpers. Cooperative breeding encompasses a wide variety of group ...

where several females lay eggs in a communal nest. It contains the three anis and the

guira cuckoo The guira cuckoo (''Guira guira'') is a Sociality, gregarious bird found widely in open and semi-open habitats of northeastern, eastern and southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and northeastern Argentina. It is the only species placed in ...

. Among the anis, there is considerable variation in nesting habits. One species, The greater ani (''Crotophaga major'') lays 2 or 3 eggs, while the groove-billed ani (''C. sulcirostris'') lays seven. However the smooth-billed ani (''C. ani'') will share one nest between several females, with up to 29 eggs in one nest. Incubation takes 15 days for this species.

Systematics

Four species make up the subfamily, namely the

(''Guira guira'') and the three members of the genus ''Crotophaga'' known as anis. Study of the

cranial Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...

osteology Osteology () is the scientific study of bones, practised by osteologists. A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone morphology, funct ...

and

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

yield the same

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...

, namely that the Smooth-billed and groove-billed ani are each other's closest relatives, with the greater ani related and the guira cuckoo an earlier offshoot of the group.

Distribution and habitat

The members of the family range from Florida in the north, through Central America and the West Indies and through South America south to Rio Negro in Argentina, in open habitats.

References

Bird subfamilies * Higher-level bird taxa restricted to the Neotropics {{Cuculiformes-stub