Smooth-billed Ani
© Sunny Phillips
This large member of the cuckoo family apparently arrived in Florida from the Caribbean in the late 1800s, without assistance from humans. Its population reached more than 1,000 individuals by the mid 20th century, but began declining in the 1970s and has never recovered. Christmas Bird Counts in the mid 1990s revealed only 24 individuals, and although a few individuals are occasionally spotted in south Florida and the Keys, this bird will probably become extirpated from Florida soon (at least as a breeding species). A few individuals may still persist near the Fort Lauderdale airport and around southern Lake Okeechobee; no GFBT sites are reliable for this species, although Everglades National Park is still worth checking.
For more information, including a range map and sound recording, visit The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds website.
Recommended GFBWT site:
Bird's habitat
Smooth-billed Anis prefer open, often disturbed, habitats such as fields and forest clearings, and also live in suburban areas.
