Mexican Squirrel Cuckoo

The Mexican squirrel cuckoo (Piaya mexicana) is a large species of cuckoo found in wooded habitats in western Mexico. The species was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the common squirrel cuckoo (Piaya mexicana). == Taxonomy == The Mexican squirrel cuckoo was formally described in 1827 by the English zoologist William Swainson based on a specimen that had been collected by William Bullock in the Temascaltepec district of Mexico. Swainson placed the new species in the genus Cuculus and coined the binomial name Cuculus mexicanus. The species is now placed with the common squirrel cuckoo and the black-bellied cuckoo in the genus Piaya that was introduced in 1830 by the French naturalist René Lesson. The Mexican squirrel cuckoo was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the widely distributed common squirrel cuckoo. It is now treated as a separate species based on the morphological and color differences, as well as on an analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. This species' English name derives from its habit of running along branches and leaping from branch to branch like a squirrel. It normally flies only short distances, mainly gliding with an occasional flap. ==…