Species names in all available languages
Language | Common name |
---|---|
Czech | kukačka veverčí |
Dutch | Eekhoornkoekoek |
English | Squirrel Cuckoo |
English (United States) | Squirrel Cuckoo |
French | Piaye écureuil |
French (France) | Piaye écureuil |
German | Eichhornkuckuck |
Icelandic | Tófugaukur |
Japanese | リスカッコウ |
Norwegian | ekorngjøk |
Polish | rudzianka wielka |
Portuguese (Brazil) | alma-de-gato |
Portuguese (Portugal) | Alma-de-gato |
Russian | Беличья пиайя |
Serbian | Veveričja kukavica |
Slovak | kukavka krovinová |
Spanish | Cuco Ardilla Común |
Spanish (Argentina) | Tingazú |
Spanish (Costa Rica) | Cuco Ardilla |
Spanish (Ecuador) | Cuco Ardilla |
Spanish (Honduras) | Pájaro León |
Spanish (Mexico) | Cuclillo Canelo |
Spanish (Panama) | Cuco Ardilla |
Spanish (Paraguay) | Tingazú |
Spanish (Peru) | Cuco Ardilla |
Spanish (Spain) | Cuco ardilla común |
Spanish (Uruguay) | Pirincho de Monte |
Spanish (Venezuela) | Piscua |
Swedish | ekorrgök |
Turkish | Sincap Guguğu |
Ukrainian | Піая велика |
Squirrel Cuckoo Piaya cayana
Version: 1.0 — Published March 28, 2011
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Systematics
Geographic Variation
Many subspecies of Piaya cayana have been described; fourteen subspecies currently are recognized (Payne 2005). Subspecies designations are based on differences in size and in plumage color; the extent to which they correspond with differences in eyering color (see Bare Parts) sometimes is not clear. A modern, comprehensive review of geographic variation in Piaya cayana across multiple characters, including a genetic perspective, is overdue. The following outline of subspecies distributions and characters is based on Peters (1940) and Payne (2005):
thermophila Sclater 1859; type locality Jalapa, Veracruz, Mexico Occurs on the Gulf and Atlantic slopes from Mexico south to Panama and northwestern Colombia Relatively dark rufous-chestnut above; belly and undertail coverts dark gray to black; underside of rectrices black, white tips to rectrices relatively narrow.
mexicana (Swainson 1827); type locality Temescaltepec, Mexico Occurs on the Pacific slope of Mexico, south to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Paler rufous-chestnut above; underside of rectrices rufous, with black subterminal bars and broad white tips.
nigricrissa (Cabanis 1862); type locality Babahoyo or Esmeraldas, Ecuador Occurs in western Colombia (east to the slopes of the central Andes), south of northwestern Peru Similar to thermophila, but plumage darker; belly and undertail coverts blackish.
mehleri Bonaparte 1850; type locality Santa Fé de Bogota (the same type locality as mesura?!) Occurs in northeastern Colombia, from the Gulf of Urabá to the Magdalena valley and the west slope of the eastern Andes, east along the coast of northern Venezuela to the Paria Peninsula More rufous than mexicana, with a lighter throat and breast that grade to light gray on the belly; underside of rectrices rufous.
mesura (Cabanis and Heine 1863); type locality Bogotá, Colombia Occurs in eastern Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru Similar in plumage to nigricrissa; smaller, but with overlap in size.
circe Bonaparte 1850; type locality Caracas, Venezuela Occurs in Venezuela, south of Lake Maracaibo Upperparts slightly more rufous than mehleri, but paler than nominate cayana.
cayana (Linné 1766); type locality Cayenne Widespread, from eastern and southern Venezuela east through the Guyanas, south to Brazil to the north bank of the lower Amazon Belly ashy gray; undertail coverts darker gray; colors otherwise similar to thermophila except that the belly and undertail coverts are not as dark; underside of rectrices black with white tips.
insulana Hellmayr 1906; type locality Chaguaranas, Trinidad Trinidad Similar to cayana, but undertail coverts black.
obscura Snethlage 1908; type locality Bom Lugar and Monte Verde, upper Rio Purús, Brazil Occurs from central Peru south to northern Bolivia, and east to central Brazil south of the Amazon, from the Rio Juruá east to the Rio Tapajóz Darker (less rufous) above; undertail coverts black.
hellmayri Pinto 1937; type locality Tury-assú, Maranhão Occurs from the lower Rio Tapajoz east to the mouth of the Amazon and the coast of Maranhão Upperparts more tan (less rufous) in color.
pallescens (Cabanis and Heine 1863); type locality Bahia Occurs in eastern Brazil Upperparts paler, more tan.
cabanisi Allen 1893; type locality Chapada, Mato Grosso Occurs in south central Brazil, from Mato Grosso east to Goiás and south to São Paulo More rufous; throat rusty; belly and undertail coverts pale
macroura Gambel 1849; type locality Paraguay Occurs in eastern Brazil (Bahia) south to Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, and Uruguay Upperparts dark; belly and undertail coverts blackish.
mogenseni Peters 1926; type locality Concepción, Tucumán, Argentina Occurs from southern Bolivia (Santa Cruz) to northwestern Argentina Upperparts lighter rufous; throat rusty; underparts dark gray (not blackish).
Most subspecies presumably intergrade where ranges abut. In southern Mexico, however, Binford (1989: 128) reported a few specimens intermediate between thermophila and mexicana, but noted that the "abruptness and apparent rarity of intergradation suggest that these two forms might be separate species.
Subspecies
Piaya cayana mexicana
Piaya cayana thermophila
Piaya cayana nigricrissa
Piaya cayana [cayana Group]
Related Species
Sorenson and Payne (2005) divide the cuckoos into five subfamilies, based on a phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequence data. Piaya falls in the subfamily Cuculinae, which is global in distribution. The sister genus to Piaya is the Neotropical genus Coccyzus. Traditionally Piaya contained three species, but Sorenson and Payne (2005) demonstrated that the Little Cuckoo forms a clade with two species formerly included in Coccyzus; these three species now constitute the genus Coccycua. Consequently, Piaya contains only two species, cayana and the Black-bellied Cuckoo Piaya melanogaster.