The striped cuckoo (''Tapera naevia'') is a near-passerine bird, the only member of the genus ''Tapera''. This resident cuckoo is found from Mexico and Trinidad south to

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and Argentina. The striped cuckoo is found in open country with trees or shrubs, and the edges of mangrove forests. It is among the very few brood parasitic cuckoos of 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 ...

(only other are '' Dromococcyx''), and typical hosts are

spinetails Spinetail can refer to birds of several genera: * Family Apodidae (swifts): ** '' Mearnsia'' ** ''Zoonavena'' ** ''Telacanthura'' ** ''Rhaphidura'' ** ''Neafrapus'' * Family Furnariidae (ovenbirds): ** '' Schoeniophylax'' ** ''Synallaxis ''Sy ...

, but often also

wren Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonly ...

s, and other species with domed nests. The female cuckoo lays one, sometimes two, white or bluish eggs in the host's large stick nest. The eggs hatch in 15 days, with a further 18 days until the cuckoo fledges. The young spinetails disappear. This species is about long and weighs . The adult is mainly grey-brown above, streaked with black and buff. It has a pale supercilium and a chestnut and black crest which is raised as part of its display. The underparts are off-white and the tail is long and graduated. Immature birds are spotted with buff and are more rufous on the back and wings. The striped cuckoo eats large insects (primarily

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

s and

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

s), often taken off the ground. This is a solitary and fairly shy species which tends to keep to the cover of bushes, although it will sing from more open perches. It has a whistled call usually of two or three notes, ''wu-weee'' or ''wu-wu-wee'', and can be attracted by imitations of this.

Brazilian folklore

This bird is very important in Brazilian folklore, being related to the legend of the

saci ''Sac''I is a restriction enzyme isolated from the bacterium Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorgani ...

, or matita-perê. Other than saci, the bird is also known as matinta-pereira, pitica ( Pará), crispim, fenfém, martim-pererê, matimpererê, matintapereira, matintaperera, matitaperê, peitica, peito-ferido, roceiro-planta, seco-fico, sede-sede, saci-do-campo, sem-fim, fém-fém, tempo-quente, bulhões, bolinhas, feijão, feijoada, jotalhão, gansolino, peixe-frito ( Bahia), e peixe-frito-seu-veríssimo. Matita-pereira is famously mentioned in Tom Jobim's song '' Águas de Março''.

References

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External links

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Stamps
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Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

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bird-stamps.org
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Striped cuckoo Photo
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* * {{Taxonbar, from1=Q1262847, from2=Q15390810

striped cuckoo The striped cuckoo (''Tapera naevia'') is a near-passerine bird, the only member of the genus ''Tapera''. This resident cuckoo is found from Mexico and Trinidad south to Bolivia and Argentina. The striped cuckoo is found in open country with tr ...

Birds of Central America Birds of South America Birds of Trinidad and Tobago Brood parasites

Birds of the Amazon Basin Birds of Brazil