Coccycua

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

Coccycua
Ash-colored cuckoo (Coccycua cinerea)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Cuculiformes
Family: Cuculidae
Genus: Coccycua
Lesson, 1830
Species

3, see text

Synonyms

Numerous, see text

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

The species are:

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Coccycua minutaLittle cuckooPanama, Trinidad & Tobago, Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena, Amazon Basin, Guianas and western Cerrado
Coccycua pumilaDwarf cuckooColombia and Venezuela
Coccycua cinereaAsh-colored cuckoonorthern and central Argentina to Uruguay and São Paulo (state) ; winters north towards Amazonas

Synonyms

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
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