Behavior

Banded Ground-Cuckoo is active during daylight hours (Martínez-Gómez et al. 2013).

This ground-cuckoo can fly, but it is primarily terrestrial: running and walking swiftly on its long legs and robust feet. It may hop occasionally to capture prey on the forest floor, and frequently jumps up to low perches. When pausing, it sometimes raises its slightly spread tail above the horizontal (Haffer 1977). See Foraging Behavior.

Behavioral displays of Banded Ground-Cuckoo are poorly known. It has been observed expanding and contracting the bare blue skin around the eye, and raising and lowering its bluish-black head crest but the precise functions of these displays require further study (López-Lanús et al. 1999).

Banded Ground-Cuckoos favor undisturbed primary forest habitat for their breeding territories; secondary forest comprises only about 25% of their home range. Estimates based on radio tracking data suggest that home ranges are likely about 50 ha in size (range 42.2-49.9 ha; n = 2), with a core area of about 3 ha. This is a much larger home range size than that of many other terrestrial rain forest species (Karubian and Carrasco 2008).

No information on territory defense behavior.

Little information; probably monogamous mating system (Karubian et al. 2007).

Little information; typically seen individually or in pairs and family groups.

No information.