{"id":149074,"date":"2025-06-20T04:16:17","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T09:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=149074"},"modified":"2025-06-20T04:16:17","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T09:16:17","slug":"yellow-billed-cuckoo-on-the-wing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/06\/20\/yellow-billed-cuckoo-on-the-wing\/","title":{"rendered":"Yellow-billed Cuckoo On The Wing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last month I had a Yellow-billed Cuckoo in my viewfinder for a few frames at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge on a sunny day in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

\"Yellow-billedYellow-billed Cuckoo at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma<\/span><\/p>\n

So far, Yellow-billed Cuckoos have been elusive for me. I hear them often, catch glimpses of them nearly hidden in the foliage, and don\u2019t get photos when I wish I could.<\/p>\n

I used to have them in my yard and garden in Utah. I\u2019d spot them in Florida. I even heard one once in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah.<\/p>\n

Yellow-billed Cuckoos hide well. They seem to melt right into the leaves and branches, even when they\u2019re calling from just a few feet away.<\/p>\n

One of these days I\u2019ll get the Yellow-billed Cuckoo photos I dream of. Until then, I do like this photo of this one flying to their next perch.<\/p>\n

This cuckoo image shows the yellow and black bill, the reddish-brown wings, and the distinctive tail feathers that are black with large white spots.<\/p>\n

Happy Summer Solstice!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Someday I hope to have a gallery filled with Yellow-billed Cuckoo photos here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last month I had a Yellow-billed Cuckoo in my viewfinder for a few frames at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge on a sunny day in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":149071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,13973,13974,15224],"tags":[4004,14190,13984,15226,15227,15228,4052,6384,165,15225],"class_list":["post-149074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-oklahoma","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","category-yellow-billed-cuckoos","tag-adult","tag-bottomland-hardwood-forest","tag-bottomlands","tag-coccyzus-americanus","tag-cuckoo","tag-cuckoos","tag-flight","tag-on-the-wing","tag-spring","tag-yellow-billed-cuckoo"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/yellow-billed-cuckoo-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-6955.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-CMq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":129511,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/06\/16\/yellow-billed-cuckoo-aka-rain-crow\/","url_meta":{"origin":149074,"position":0},"title":"Yellow-billed Cuckoo aka Rain Crow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In addition to getting Mississippi Kite images I liked on my last visit to Tishomingo NWR, I finally took some Yellow-billed Cuckoo photos that I enjoy too.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Yellow-billed Cuckoo aka Rain Crow in Oklahoma, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Johnston County","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/yellow-billed-cuckoo-adult-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-4490.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/yellow-billed-cuckoo-adult-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-4490.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/yellow-billed-cuckoo-adult-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-4490.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/yellow-billed-cuckoo-adult-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-4490.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":128229,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/04\/indigo-bunting-male-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":149074,"position":1},"title":"Indigo Bunting Male At Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This image shows a male Indigo Bunting singing on a wild grapevine in the morning. It was taken taken earlier this week at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Indigo Bunting singing on a wild grapevine, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/indigo-bunting-male-sequoyah-grapevine-mia-mcpherson-3892.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/indigo-bunting-male-sequoyah-grapevine-mia-mcpherson-3892.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/indigo-bunting-male-sequoyah-grapevine-mia-mcpherson-3892.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/indigo-bunting-male-sequoyah-grapevine-mia-mcpherson-3892.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":173109,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/03\/26\/pied-billed-grebe-eating-a-feather-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":149074,"position":2},"title":"Pied-billed Grebe Eating A Feather At Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 26, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"On one of my recent trips to Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge this week, I had fun photographing a Pied-billed Grebe eating a feather at Miner's Cove.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pied-billed Grebe eating a feather, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pied-billed-grebe-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-1310.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pied-billed-grebe-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-1310.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pied-billed-grebe-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-1310.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pied-billed-grebe-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-1310.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":132973,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/08\/23\/oklahoma-yellow-garden-spider-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":149074,"position":3},"title":"Oklahoma Yellow Garden Spider Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, I was happy to photograph a few Yellow Garden Spiders while taking a walk on a side road at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. You might wonder why.","rel":"","context":"In "Oklahoma"","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Yellow Garden Spider side view with a grasshopper, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/yellow-garden-spider-sequoyah-grasshopper-mia-mcpherson-5009.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/yellow-garden-spider-sequoyah-grasshopper-mia-mcpherson-5009.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/yellow-garden-spider-sequoyah-grasshopper-mia-mcpherson-5009.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/yellow-garden-spider-sequoyah-grasshopper-mia-mcpherson-5009.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":137622,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/11\/30\/male-pileated-woodpecker-up-a-tree\/","url_meta":{"origin":149074,"position":4},"title":"Male Pileated Woodpecker Up A Tree","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this week, I was happy when I took my first acceptable images of a male Pileated Woodpecker in a tree at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Oklahoma"","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Pileated Woodpecker in a tree at Sequoyah NWR, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/pileated-woodpecker-male-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-2762.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/pileated-woodpecker-male-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-2762.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/pileated-woodpecker-male-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-2762.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/pileated-woodpecker-male-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-2762.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":114019,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/06\/28\/yellow-crowned-night-heron-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":149074,"position":5},"title":"Yellow-crowned Night Heron At Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Until a few days ago, I hadn't photographed a single Yellow-crowned Night Heron in almost fourteen years. I photographed this one at Sequoyah NWR in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Yellow-crowned Night Heron perched in a tree, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/yellow-crowned-night-heron-adult-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-3463.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/yellow-crowned-night-heron-adult-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-3463.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/yellow-crowned-night-heron-adult-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-3463.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/yellow-crowned-night-heron-adult-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-3463.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}