SAVING THE YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO

The yellow-billed cuckoo is sometimes called the raincrow because its song is often heard just before thunderstorms or summer showers. But this rare bird raises its voice less and less often in eastern North America and has been entirely eradicated from most of its riparian habitat west of the Continental Divide. Currently, 95 percent of western yellow-billed cuckoos have been extirpated due to logging, water diversion, and suburban sprawl. As few as 40 breeding pairs may be all that remain in California.

In 1998, the Center stepped in and petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to grant endangered species protection to the cuckoo. Though that petition didn’t materially change much for the cuckoo, it did help fund research into the genetic characteristics of the species, which ultimately led to a Fish and Wildlife Service determination that western cuckoos should be treated as a “distinct population segment.” In 2000, the Center and allies filed a suit to force a listing decision, and the next year the Service determined the cuckoo’s listing was “warranted but precluded” — meaning the bird’s federal protection would be put off in favor of “higher priority” listings.
But things are now poised to move forward. In 2011, the Center reached a landmark agreement with the Fish and Wildlife Service compelling the agency to make progress in protection decisions for 757 species, including the western yellow-billed cuckoo. Our settlement gives the Service until 2013 to propose listing for the bird.