Ani Bird

The anis are the near passerine birds in the genus Crotophaga of the cuckoo family and have three species. They are big-billed and glossy black birds. The anis are insect eaters and they feed on the ground in close and noisy flocks, often in fields with cattle. Their bill (beak) is high-arched, hook-tipped and bladelike. Their tail is long and broad, the wings are short and the plumage is floppy making them look disheveled. They are poor fliers and utter whining cries. Unlike the other cuckoos, they are not brood parasites. They build a communal tree nest of twigs, from 2–6 m high in a tree. The females lay 10 - 15 chalky-blue eggs and share incubation and feeding.

Image will be Uploaded Soon

An image of Ani Bird has been given above.

Ani bird - Scientific Classification

The Merriam-Webster dictionary online states that the word ani is derived from New Latin possibly incorrect rendering of the native name of the bird in Brazilian Classical Tupi language.

Types of Ani Bird Species

Greater Ani (Crotophaga major)

Biometrics: The length of the bird is 18 - 19 inches (46 - 48 cm) and the weight of the bird is 145 gm - 165 gm.

Description: They are a very gregarious species, seen most often in noisy groups. They are larger than other species of the ani bird. An adult male greater ani have glossy dark blue-black plumage overall, with conspicuous green feather edges on neck, upper back and shoulders as seen in the following ani images.

Image will be Uploaded Soon

Image will be Uploaded Soon

An image of Greater Ani (Crotophaga major)

The upper wing of the greater ani shows greenish iridescence, mainly on the flight feathers. The long, rounded tail has a purplish gloss. Their head is bluish-black and the massive black bill shows an arched ridge at the base of the upper mandible. They have yellowish-white eyes and their legs and feet are black. The Greater Ani species has a bad odour, mainly when they are pressed against each other at roost. 

Sound: Greater Anis are very noisy birds. They utter a variety of croaks, grating calls, hisses and whirring sounds. They also give guttural gobbling of “kro-koro” rapidly repeated and melodious. Alarm call is a harsh rasping note which is repeated several times. 

Habitat: The Greater Ani or the Crotophaga major are found in mangrove swamps, semi-open woodland near water, and the edges of forests. They are also found in moist forests, flooded tropical forests and gallery-forest. It is also found in lake margins, marshes and usually in vegetation above water. They may move into clearings but not too much into the forest and can be seen in villages. Generally, it occurs from the lowlands up to 500 to 800 metres of elevation, but in Colombia and Bolivia, it occurs up to 2500 metres.

Range: The great ani is common in the swamplands of South America, chiefly east of the Andes. They live from Panama and Trinidad, throughout tropical South America to northern Argentina. 

Behaviour: The Great Ani are very gregarious species that are always found in noisy groups. They are often hidden into vegetation. If they are disturbed, they fly out one after one to another thick vegetation patch. The Crotophaga major feeds mainly on insects, and other varied items such as lizards, fruits, berries and seeds. They usually feed in flocks, as on the ground or in the canopy, near water. They stay in contact by squeaky calls. The Greater Ani defend their territory against other groups with harsh calls. They roost together, often pressed against each other. Since they feed in wet vegetation, they need to dry their plumage by spreading wings and tails and fluffing up the feathers in the sun. They are also able to lower their body temperature at night, in order to adapt to cool weather conditions. For foraging, the Greater Ani prefers the wet forest edges. They use their large bill as a wedge when they move among large wet leaves. They perform jerky movements while progressing in trees. They are clumsy while they flutter through the bushes and trees. Their wings and the waving tails flush insects in the thick vegetation. The Greater Ani are resident in their range, only performing some local movements. 

Reproduction: The breeding season of the greater ani varies according to the location. However, it peaks in April - May to September - December. Their nest is built and lived communally by two to five pairs, is a deep cup lined with leaves and placed usually 2–5 m (6.6–16.4 ft) high in a tree. A female bird lays 5 - 7 eggs and several females lay in the same nest. The eggs are greenish-blue in colour covered by a thin, white layer of calcareous material. The incubation is shared by both the sexes of the bird and the young of the first brood may feed the chicks of the second clutch. After fledging, the young birds leave the group and the territory. Only a few remain back in the group. 

Image will be Uploaded Soon

Diet: The Greater Ani feeds mainly on insects such as grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, and spiders. They also take small lizards and consume fruits and berries, and the seeds of Euphorbia.

Smooth-billed Ani (Crotophaga ani)

Biometrics

Length of the bird: 12 - 14 inches (33 - 36 cm)

Weight of the bird: 95 gm - 119 gm

Wingspan of the bird: 43 - 45 cm

Description

Smooth-billed ani is a black coloured bird. They have black plumage all over with some bronze iridescence, and pale scaled effect on chest and back due to silver feathers’ edges. Their long tail is often dipped and wagged and the wings are pointed. Smooth-billed Ani’s bill, bare facial skin, legs and feet are black and their eyes are dark brown to black. They have a bulky parrot-like bill, with a hump on the upper mandible, near the base and their bill is down-curved, and laterally flattened.

Image will be Uploaded Soon

An image of Smooth-billed Ani (Crotophaga ani) is shown above.

The other species of the ani, the Groove-billed ani has many similarities with the Smooth-billed ani but it has a smaller bill with grooves and different calls. The smooth-billed ani lives in southern Texas, and their ranges don’t overlap. Though the Smooth-billed anis are a member of the Cuckoo family, they are not brood parasites. The juvenile bird is dull as compared to the adults. Both the sexes of the bird are similar.  

Sound: The Smooth-billed anis are noisy birds when in a group. They utter a whining “quee-lick” prolonged. A slurred “ree-o-rink” usually repeated one to four times; a mewing “reeeahh” and a slurred mewing “reeh-yuh” or a “roohr-ehw” can also be heard.

Habitat: The Smooth-billed ani is found in the open and semi-open country and areas under cultivation, savannahs and scrublands. They are found in wet second growth, brushy fields and roadsides, and near livestock. 

Range: The smooth-billedSmooth-billed ani is a resident breeding species from southern Florida, the Caribbean, parts of Central America, south to western Ecuador, Brazil, northern Argentina and southern Chile. They benefit from deforestation for enlarging its range where they are resident. They may perform some local movements during the dry season.

Behaviour

The Smooth-billed ani is most often found in pairs or small groups. The bird climbs and flutters in bushes, and hop on the ground with a loosely cocked tail. This species of ani is very gregarious. They perform mutual preening during long moments when they roost together during cold nights. They are often seen walking, jumping or running for grasshoppers, and removing ticks from cows’ backs with cattles.  They catch prey disturbed by cows. They feed on the ground, foraging in scrublands and fields, but also in trees and shrubs. They pick berries from bushes and forage on prey disturbed by Army Ants. When threatened by the predators, the birds retreat silently into dense foliage in trees. When perched, they use their long tail for balance, and chicks use bills and feet to climb through branches in trees. These birds like to sunbathe with outstretched wings, perched on tree tops. Courtship display includes courtship feeding during copulation, male offering a large insect to female while mounting her. The male bird follows the female birds through trees, as she jumps from branch to branch. 

Flight

The Smooth-billed ani has a slow weak flight with rapid shallow stiff wing beats, interspersed with short glides. But unlike cuckoos, they fly in a straight line, and several birds may fly one behind the other while calling.

Image will be Uploaded Soon

Reproduction

The female Smooth-billed is capable of laying up to seven eggs, and nests have been found containing up to 29 eggs. But it is very rare to see that more than ten eggs are hatching. The incubation period is 13–15 days, with another 10 days to fledging. In a season, up to three broods may be raised, with the young of earlier broods helping to feed more recent chicks.

Image will be Uploaded Soon

Diet

The Smooth-billed ani feeds mainly on insects - grasshoppers, caterpillars and moths, but it also consumes lizards, cattle parasites, snails, seeds, fruits and berries.

Smooth-billed Ani Fun Facts

• They look rather like large songbirds, but they are in a different taxonomic order. A distinguishing feature of these birds is their feet, which are “zygodactyl”, with two toes pointing forward and two pointing backward.

• They most often forage in vine tangles, thorn trees, bamboo, and reeds, using their outsized upper mandible to knock leaves out of the way as they keep their eyes trained on their prey.

• When the group of the birds forages, one member often sits on a high perch as a lookout, watching for danger.

• When they lay eggs in the same nest, they often bury older eggs with twigs and leaves, creating layers of eggs of up to 36 in one nest. Only the top layer eventually hatches.

• The juvenile birds that hatch early in the summer often stay with their family group as the birds begin a new nest; the newly fledged birds then help feed youngsters from the second nest. 

Image will be Uploaded Soon

Groove - billed Ani (Crotophaga sulcirostris)

The groove-billed or the Crotophaga sulcirostris is a bird with a long tail and a large, curved beak. They are about 34 cm (13 in) long and weigh about 70–90 g. Their wingspan ranges from 41- 46 cm (16-18 in). They are completely black, with a very long tail almost as long as its body. They have a huge bill with lengthwise grooves running the length of the upper mandible. They are very similar to the smooth-billed ani, some specimens of which have bills as small as the groove-billed and with grooves on the basal half. The two species of the ani bird are best distinguished by their voice and range. During a flight, the ani alternates between quick, choppy flaps and short glides. They are a resident species throughout most of its range, from southern Texas, central Mexico and The Bahamas, through Central America, to northern Colombia and Venezuela, and coastal Ecuador and Peru. They only retreat from the northern limits of its range in Texas and northern Mexico during the winter.

Image will be Uploaded Soon

Groove - billed Ani (Crotophaga sulcirostris)

They forage mostly by hopping and running on the ground, but also forage in bushes, especially to eat berries. They are often associated closely with cattle in open pastures, catching the insects flushed by the larger animals. Unlike the other two species, the groove-billed anis are also found in open and partly open country, such as pastures, savanna, and orchards. They feed largely on a mixed diet of insects, seeds, and fruits. 

The female birds lay 3 - 4 pale blue eggs. The females attempt to throw out each other’s eggs. The incubation is apparently by all adults in the group and the incubation period is of 13 - 14 days. The Groove-billed anis are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.