to escape a predator or hop to low branches. It mostly walks or runs on the forest floor and makes leaps to catch prey. Feeding The red-billed ground cuckoo's diet has not been extensively studied but is mostly insects. It also includes other arthropods; small vertebrates like lizards, amphibians, and small birds; and sometimes fruits. It follows army ant swarms and peccaries to catch prey fleeing from them, and monkey troops to feed on fallen fruits. Breeding Almost nothing is known about the red-billed ground cuckoo's breeding phenology and its nest has not been described. In 1855 an observer noted a nest with two eggs being incubated by both adults. Vocal and non-vocal sounds The red-billed ground cuckoo's song is "a short (1 sec), deep, rising hoot in a series of about 1 note/2 sec". Red-billed ground cuckoos have been observed to mimic peccaries acoustically, perhaps for two reasons. Peccaries are able to defend their herd from predators, so mimicking peccaries would trick predators into believing that peccaries are near. Doing so may also benefit both species by warning the other of nearby predators. Status The IUCN has assessed the red-billed ground cuckoo as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range, and though its population size is not known it is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. "However, the reliance of Red-billed Ground-Cuckoo on tropical evergreen forest suggests that it could be susceptible to loss of habitat through deforestation and forest fragmentation." References red-billed ground cuckoo Birds of the Amazon Basin Birds of the Colombian Amazon Birds of the Peruvian Amazon red-billed ground cuckoo red-billed ground cuckoo Taxonomy articles created by Polbot