Coccycua

Coccycua
Ash-colored cuckoo (Coccycua cinerea)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Cuculiformes
Family: Cuculidae
Genus: Coccycua
Lesson, 1830
Type species
Cuculus monachus[1]
Lesson, 1830
Species

3, see text

Synonyms

Numerous, see text

Coccycua is a small genus of birds in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. Its three species are found in the tropical Americas.

Formerly, they were divided among in Coccyzus (two species) and Piaya (one species), or the former were assigned to Micrococcyx and only the latter to Coccycua. Following the discovery that they form a monophyletic lineage equidistant to both related genera, Coccycua has been revalidated.

Species[edit]

The species are:

Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
Coccycua minuta Little cuckoo Panama, Trinidad & Tobago, Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena, Amazon Basin, Guianas and western Cerrado
Coccycua pumila Dwarf cuckoo Colombia and Venezuela
Coccycua cinerea Ash-colored cuckoo northern and central Argentina to Uruguay and São Paulo (state) ; winters north towards Amazonas

Synonyms[edit]

The genus name Coccycua has often been believed to be a misspelling, and various emendations have been proposed. However, the name as originally written is valid. The junior synonyms are:

  • Coccicua Lesson, 1837 (unjustified emendation)
  • Coccygua Fitzinger, 1856 (unjustified emendation)
  • Coccyzaea Hartlaub, 1842 (unjustified emendation)
  • Coccyzusa Cabanis & Heine, [1863] (unjustified emendation)
  • Micrococcyx Ridgway, 1912

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Cuculidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-08-05.