The Story
This Dwarf Cuckoo (Coccycua pumila) perched calmly on a leafy branch, high in a sunlit field near Hacienda Guadalajara in La Buitrera, Palmira, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. It shows a soft gray head, warm cinnamon-rufous throat and breast, clean white underparts and a red eye, with its dark bill slightly open. The species lives in Brazil, Colombia, Panama and Venezuela, in dry forest, humid lowland forest and heavily degraded former forest. It was once placed in Coccyzus, and the genus Coccycua was revived for it and its close relatives. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame from about 24 meters with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11, at 1/350 sec, f/11, ISO 800, −0.5 EV. Hacienda Guadalajara lies on the western flank of the Cordillera Central.
©2026 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Dwarf Cuckoo (Coccycua pumila) belongs to the family Cuculidae (Cuckoos) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List