Smooth-billed Ani juvenile guarded by female adults

Smooth-billed Ani juvenile guarded by female adults

A young smooth-billed Ani is guarded by two female adults as other members of the group search for food. The Smooth-billed Ani build a communal nest where females lay eggs on top of each other in one large nest. Obviously only a few eggs at the top of the nest hatch into young birds. Nesting duties and parental duties are undertaken by all members of the group which usually number around 12 birds. Smooth-billed Anis are members of the Cuckoo family (Cuculidae), and are restricted to the tropical Americas.

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All photos by +Robert Brent