Guira
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Order: Cuculiformes
Family: Cuculidae

[Photo] Guira Cuckoo (Guira guira). Photo by author (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Asiir), taken at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Date: 12 March 2007

The guira (Guira guira) is a cuckoo related to anis. It is one of the most common birds of Brazil, absent only from the continuous forest of Amazonia.

It has a hirsute orangey crest and measures 40 cm. Like its cousins anis, the guira give off a strong, pungent odour.

Nutrition
The guira feeds on big arthropods, frogs, small birds and small mammals like mice.

Behaviour
The guira goes around on the ground, usually in bands of 6 to 18 individuals, with other birds like the Chalk-browed mockingbird (Mimus saturninus) and the Smooth-billed Ani (Crotophaga ani) whose behaviour is very similar.

They live in groups but have the tendency to form couples.

Nidification
The nest is built on a tree fork 5 meters from the ground. The eggs (from 5 to 7) are dark green and covered in a layer of limestone. They are incubated either in individual or community nests, in the latter one can find up to 20 eggs. Under community nests there are many broken eggs. The competition between young being great, mortality is important.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guira

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