Cuckoo squirrel

© claudio.marcio2

Squirrel cuckoo (Piaya cayana) is a large magnificent bird found in wooded habitats from northwestern Mexico to northern Argentina and Uruguay, and on Trinidad.


Alma de gato in Spanish, this species’ English name derives from its habit of running along branches and leaping from branch to branch like a squirrel. Squirrel cuckoo makes explosive kip! and kip! weeuu calls and the song is a whistled wheep wheep wheep wheep.

 © Fabio Rage

 © Flavio Cruvinel Brandao

© Howard Platt

© Jeluba

© Jonathan Sequeira

© Peggy Collins

© Sam Maas

© Sean Graesser

Why those beautiful squirrel cuckoo photos appear on my blog today? you may ask yourself. Because: I have a computer folder called bird painting. With thousands of artworks grabbed on the web. I'm fascinated by bird illustration so I often look at them. A few days ago I came across this one, from great artist Walter Alois Weber (1906–1979). Wow.

Just wanted to share the way I share.