CLASS AVES

Groove-billed Ani

Animals Kingdom (Animalia)

• Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

• Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

• Birds (Class Aves)

Anis are coal-black cuckoos with long floppy tails and tall, flattened bills. It has a huge bill with lengthwise grooves running the length of the upper mandible. Eats mainly insects taken from ground or from shrubs, also small fruits and occasionally lizards. Groove-billed Anis gather in loose groups. They nest communally. As many as four or five pairs of birds may use one nest, a bulky cup of twigs lined with fresh leaves. When the dominant female ani begins to lay her own eggs, the other females lay simultaneously.