Guira guira (Guira Cuckoo) is a South American cuckoo (family Cuculidae), distributed throughout Paraguay and Uruguay and parts of Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia. They are found mainly in dry mixed scrub savannas and woodlands as well as pampas, pasturelands, and coastal dunes. These birds are highly social creatures which breed and feed in groups of 6 to 18. Their most unique attribute is their communal breeding behavior where groups containing as many as 10 females lay their eggs within a single nest. Female birds promote the success of their own offspring by tossing eggs and/or chicks of others out of the communal nest.
Rights Holder: University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
