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 With all the beautiful birds in the world, one of the coolest is a smaller-than-a-crow black bird called an Ani. There are two types, the Groove-bill Ani (Crotophaga sulcirostris) and Smooth-bill Ani (Crotophaga ani). The Groove-bill Ani shows up in south Louisiana on occasion, being found rarely almost anywhere in America's WETLAND. A swamp tour captain saw a group near the boat docks in Westwego one winter. These birds are in the Cuculidae, the cuckoos. They are very abundant in the American tropics, and it is fun to see them here.
Anis like scrub thickets and brushy areas, frequently being seen moving clumsily in groups of a few to 10 or so birds. Their thick bills give them a puffin-like profile, and they have a characteristic flight pattern - they flap and glide, flap and glide. When they land, they move their tails up and down and seem to have trouble balancing on the limbs. If the tail isn’t moving, it is drooping down. They make funny little sounds, and sound like a group of kids messing around with one another. They are so goofy that they are fun to watch, even though they are just your average black birds.
When you’re traveling around America's WETLAND in winter, keep your eyes pealed for a traveling band of clumsy birds moving about among and between bushes.
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