Rufous-vented ground cuckoo


The rufous-vented ground cuckoo is a large terrestrial species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in humid primary forests from southern Nicaragua, through Costa Rica and Panama, into north-western Colombia. Another population occurs in the western and southern Amazon Basin of south-eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, northern Bolivia and Brazil, while a final population occurs in the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil. Much confusion exists over the exact limits of its distribution in the south-central Amazon, where the very similar scaled ground cuckoo occurs. Consequently, the scaled ground cuckoo has often been considered a subspecies of the rufous-vented ground cuckoo.

Description

The rufous-vented ground cuckoo is a large ground-dwelling bird with sturdy legs and a long tail. It has a brown head, greenish-brown crest and curved beak. The upper parts and tail are dark with a greenish, bluish or purplish iridescence, and the underparts are whitish to pale tan. The subspecies vary primarily in the details of the chest—and crown—pattern, and the colour of the tail and wings. There is extensive variation in the dark chest band, which hinders easy separation from the scaled ground cuckoo. Consequently, the latter is commonly regarded as a subspecies of the former.

Status

As other species in the genus Neomorphus, the rufous-vented ground cuckoo is generally highly inconspicuous and infrequently seen. While overall unlikely to be threatened due to its large range, one subspecies, the nominate, may be extinct, and another, dulcis, is very rare and likely to be threatened. The remaining subspecies are salvini of Central America and northwestern Colombia, aequatorialis of the northwestern Amazon Basin, australis of the southwestern Amazon Basin, and amazonicus of the southeastern Amazon Basin.
Overall, the rufous-vented ground cuckoo is listed by the IUCN as being of "vulnerable". Apart from habitat degradation, no particular threats have been identified and the bird has a wide range and presumed large population. The population trend is likely to be downward but not at such a rate as to justify putting this bird in a more threatened category.