The Jamaican lizard cuckoo (''Coccyzus vetula'') is a species of bird in the tribe Phaenicophaeini, subfamily Cuculinae of the cuckoo family Cuculidae. It is endemic to Jamaica.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip retrieved August 7, 2022

Taxonomy and systematics

The Jamaican lizard cuckoo and three other lizard cuckoos were for a time considered a single species. Individually they were previously placed in genus ''Saurothera'' that was later merged into the current ''Coccyzus'', and they are considered a superspecies. The Jamaican lizard cuckoo is monotypic.

Description

The Jamaican lizard cuckoo is long, about half of which is the tail, and weighs . It has a long, straight, rectangular bill with a black maxilla and a paler mandible. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a brown forehead, crown to below the eye, and nape. Their upperparts are grayish with rufous primaries. Their throat is whitish and the rest of the underparts are rufous that is lighter on the undertail

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are sm ...

. Their tail feathers are gray with wide white tips; the central pair have a black band above the tip. Their eye is surrounded by bare red skin. Juveniles have narrower tail feathers than adults and buffy tips on the secondaries.Payne, R. B. (2020). Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo (''Coccyzus vetula''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.jamlic1.01 retrieved September 26, 2022

Distribution and habitat

The Jamaican lizard cuckoo is found throughout the island from sea level to of elevation. It primarily inhabits lowland tropical evergreen forest and is also found in tropical deciduous forest, more open woodlands, and semi-arid landscapes of trees and shrubs.

Behavior

Movement

The Jamaican lizard cuckoo is not migratory.

Feeding

The Jamaican lizard cuckoo forages mostly from the forest mid-story to the canopy, running along branches and gliding from tree to tree. Its diet is cosmopolitan and includes ''

Anolis ''Anolis'' is a genus of anoles (), iguanian lizards in the family Dactyloidae, native to the Americas. With more than 425 species, it represents the world's most species-rich amniote tetrapod genus, although many of these have been proposed to ...

'' lizards, adult and larval insects, mice, nestling birds, and sometimes tree frogs. Young are fed mainly with lizards.

Breeding

The Jamaican lizard cuckoo's breeding season generally spans from March to August, though courtship has been observed in October. It makes a flat platform nest of twigs lined with leaves, placed well hidden in a tangle of branches or

bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

s. Both adults incubate the eggs and care for nestlings.

Vocalization

The Jamaican lizard cuckoo's principal vocalization is a " pid, low 'cak-cak-cak-ka-ka-ka-k-k'."

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the Jamaican lizard cuckoo as being of Least Concern, though it has a rather small range and an unknown population size that is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. It is widespread on the island but uncommon, and "further research is required to determine various aspects of its breeding."