CLASS AVES

• Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

• Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

• Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

• Birds (Class Aves)

Lesser Ground-Cuckoo

The lesser ground cuckoo is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest. Furtive and rarely seen, but with a loud and distinctive song. It inhabits brushy dry woodland in tropical lowlands, where most of the time it walks stealthily on the ground, often freezing in place when alarmed. Boldly colored turquoise and yellow skin around the eye and the warm buffy or cinnamon-colored underparts make this bird easy to identify.