September 18, 2005

Weather: 63-73F Clear, Calm

Obs: T Dabbs, R Hester, P Howard, B&D Zaremba, S Barlow

A Black-billed Cuckoo was observed and photographed at the Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Park on 18 September 2005. The bird was found at around 9:30AM and remained to be seen by multiple observers for approximately 15 minutes. The bird was photographed by Pierre Howard as it foraged in a tree about 15 feet high. The “Birds of Kennesaw Mountain, An Annotated Checklist” by Giff Beaton states that this species is an “accidental fall migrant” and that there were previously only eight records for the fall at Kennesaw Mountain. This bird was actually the second seen this fall at the mountain. The first bird was seen briefly by Bob Zaremba on 11 September 2005 in the same general area. It is difficult to see this species in the state, so we thought it would be worthwhile to share these pictures of this bird with the birding community. Cuckoos, in general, have a habit of not moving around very much. This makes finding either species somewhat difficult. This specific bird, flew in to a tree as we were looking at some warblers and posed in the open for about 15 minutes! It always easier to be lucky than good!

Field Marks to notice in the accompanying images are;

• The overall drab brown color of the bird with little to no rufous in the wings

• The dark bill, the lower mandible almost appears gray in a couple of the images

• There is a red orbital ring around the eye, but not as bright red as an adult bird

• There is a buffy wash to the throat and the belly

This is likely an immature Black-billed Cuckoo based on the aforementioned field marks.

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