The yellow-billed cuckoo is a bird that goes out of its way not to be seen. It's not the most flamboyantly feathered of birds and it prefers woodlands and thickets as its habitat of choice. It tends to perch perfectly still rather than fly about. It will even hunch its shoulders at times to hide its white underbelly.

Yellow-billed cuckoos spend winter in South America, flying north come spring to nest, then head south again in August. They're found throughout most of the eastern United States and parts of the west, where their numbers have dwindled severely. They can be found throughout Florida.

Keys to identifying: The yellow-billed cuckoo is medium sized, gray above, white underneath, with a long, curved bill that is dark above and yellow-orange below. The outer wings flash red when in flight. The tail is long, black underneath with a series of six distinctive white spots. Fun fact: cuckoos are members of the same family as roadrunners.