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Birds · Cuculiformes · Cuculidae

Smooth-billed Ani

Crotophaga ani

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.

Spotted something wrong?

The smooth-billed ani is a species of cuculiform bird of the family Cuculidae native to the Americas, where it is distributed from Florida and the Yucatán Peninsula, through the Antilles to Trinidad and Tobago, and from Costa Rica to northern Argentina, by way of Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Paraguay under the name anó, and Peru. It has recently reached southern Chile. No subspecies are known.

Weight

80 g – 130 g

Size

33 cm – 36 cm

Life expectancy

12 years

Diet

Insectivore

Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

SavannaRainforestGrassland
15countries61parks4same family

Fun facts

  • Several females lay in the same communal nest and the whole group incubates and rears together, but before incubation begins each female throws out of the nest the eggs the others have already laid: an internal competition settled when the last to lay stops evicting.
  • It follows cattle to catch the insects they flush, and it also eats ticks straight off the animals' backs, which is where its Spanish name comes from.
  • Its bulging, laterally flattened bill gives it an unmistakable profile and has inspired local names referring to a parrot or a knife in several countries of the Americas.

Life cycle and biology

Skeleton type
Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat and environment
Grassland, scrub, farmland, forest edges and urban areas of tropical America
Sexual maturity
12 months
Gestation / incubation
13 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size
5 eggs

Sources consulted: Wikipedia (es): Crotophaga ani

Where to find it

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Where to see it

Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented — showing 10 of 61.

Related species

Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Smooth-billed Ani — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.

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Keep exploring

Based on what we already know about smooth-billed ani.

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This page in other languages: Español · Deutsch · Français · Português · Italiano

The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.

See its range on the interactive map→
EvergladesUnited States
CorcovadoCosta Rica
TortugueroCosta Rica
Manuel AntonioCosta Rica
MonteverdeCosta Rica
Arenal VolcanoCosta Rica
CoibaPanama
DariénPanama
Ciénaga de ZapataCuba
Tobago Main RidgeTrinidad and Tobago
See all 61 parks
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Red-winged Tinamou

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American Golden Plover

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Scarlet IbisLeast Concern

Scarlet Ibis

Eudocimus ruber

CountriesArgentina
ParksEvergladesUnited States
TagsInsectivore
Insectivore
Diurnal
Colonial
Bird
Savannah
Rainforest
Grassland

South America8

North America7

Argentina
Costa Rica
Panama
Peru
Bolivia
Brazil
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Colombia
Ecuador
Guyana
Peru
Venezuela
Costa Rica
Cuba
Mexico
Panama
Puerto Rico
Trinidad and Tobago
United States