Behavior

Squirrel Cuckoos typically forage in the midstory and canopy, where, despite their large size, they easily can be overlooked. They often hop along tree branches; their movements and coloration resemble those of squirrels, giving rise to the English name. Often moves from one tree to another with a long glide, sometimes punctuated with a few quick wing beats.

Squirrel Cuckoos occasionally forage over army ants (Willis and Eisenmann 1979, Willis 1983). At Barro Colorado Island, Panama, foraging over army ants was seasonal, with the greatest number of observations in the late wet season (November-December; Willis 1983). Most observations are of Squirrel Cuckoos with ants in liana tangles or in the canopy of second-growth, and not with ants on the ground or in the understory.

Little information. At one site in southeastern Peru, the density was estimated at 4 pairs/100 ha (Terborgh et al. 1990).

In Venezuela, may be interspecifically territorial with its congener, Black-bellied Cuckoo (Piaya melanogaster) (Hilty 2003).

Copulation is preceded by courtship feeding, but with no additional display or vocalization (Skutch 1966).

Squirrel Cuckoos almost always are solitary or in pairs. May follow mixed-species flocks, but often forages apart from flocks.