Rare yellow-billed cuckoo bird seen in Petrified Forest National Park

An endangered songbird called the yellow-billed cuckoo has been spotted in Arizona recently.

According to biologist Dylan Schneider with the Petrified Forest National Park, until recently the bird hadn’t been seen in Arizona since the 1970s.

He also said that due to declining numbers, they were put on the endangered species list in 2014.

“Most of that is due to loss of habitat,” he said. “They are riparian kind of forest dwellers, so they like the canopy of cottonwood trees and the willows in undergrowth.”

The cuckoo itself has a white belly, a brown back, black-and-white tail and, of course, a signature yellow bill. Schneider said the species migrates south from its breeding grounds in North America to Argentina in the winter.

He also said this rare sighting is made even rarer by Arizona’s biome.

“Everyone didn’t expect them to be here. Our habitat is pretty mediocre at best,” he said, “So we were pretty excited.”

In spite of Arizona’s less-than-ideal environment for the yellow-billed cuckoo, Schneider said he’s excited the birds found a place here to stop and roost before continuing down to Argentina.

Schneider said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will determine whether further study is needed on the birds’ Arizona stops.