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Yellow-billed cuckoos are a rare and declining species in California, mainly because of habitat loss.
Their preferred breeding habitat is riverine forests of willows, cottonwoods, and other riparian species, a habitat that has been hard-hit by canalization and urbanization. Besides the distinctive yellow-and-black bill, these cuckoos have loud calls, white bellies, brown backs, and long tails with white spots on the underside (left). These birds were photographed in a cottonwood tree at Big Morongo Reserve in the California desert on a warm July 4, and in forests near Manhattan, Kansas.
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