These songbirds have slender, curved bills for specialized insect probing, they are very vocal and are secretively stealth in their movement.

All three types of the below listed birds do not flock, most are secretive and seldom stray far from cover. Even the most common wrens and thrashers demand adequate cover. Do to this secretive nature, most are frequently identified by voice. All are dedicated singers, some singing year round. Often, mimicking their call or even squeaking noises will coax them into the open for viewing.

(1) Cuckoos are of the Order Cuculiformes

(2) Thrashers and Wrens are of the Order Passeriformes

The curved-billed birds of the Cuckoo family are elongated birds with a long spotted tail and these birds just love eating hairy caterpillars and thus can been seen in the woodlands at the first sign of caterpillar outbreakes.

104bl Black-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus erythropthalmus, L 12 inches

104ma Mangrove Cuckoo, Coccyzus minor, L 12 inches

104ye Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus, L 12 inches (sw FL)

The Thrasher family is a New World family of passerine birds, and as their family name, Mimidae (Latin for mimic) suggests, some species are notable for their vocalization and remarkable ability to mimic a wide variety of birds and other sounds heard outdoors.

Notably, the family Mimidae also includes mockingbirds (111mo), Bahama mockingbirds (111ba) catbirds (122ca) and the grey (111gt) and brown (111bt) tremblers in the Caribbean islands, however, these other Mimidae family birds are listed in the straight bill song bird index.

106sa Sage Thrasher, Oreoscopes montanus, L 8 1/2 inches

105be Bendire′s Thrasher, Toxostoma bendirei, L 10 inches

106br Brown Thrasher, Toxostoma rufum, L 12 inches

105ca California Thrasher, Toxostoma redivivum, L 12 inches

105cr Crissal Thrasher, Toxostoma crissale, L 12 inches

105cu Curved-billed Thrasher, Toxostoma curvirostre, L 11 inches

105le Le Conte′s Thrasser, Toxostoma lecontei, L 11 inches

106lo Long-billed Thrasher, Toxostoma longirostre, L 12 inches

Like most all the curved-billed birds, the wrens have no significant sexual or seasonal variations in their plumage and young birds closely resemble adults.

Wrens use their curved bill to probe in bark, low branches, rock crevices and weedy tangles in their effort to find insects and spiders. Wrens have big energetic voices for their small size and females sing sometimes as well. Often, a wren will scold intruders furiously from their cover.

106cc Cactus Wren, Campylorhyncus brunnecapillus, L 8 1/2 inches

106cn Canyon Wren, Catherpes mexicanus, L 5 3/4 inches

107se Sedge Wren, Cistothorus platensis, L 4 1/2 inches

107ma Marsh Wren, Cistothorus palustris, L 5 inches

106ro Rock Wren, Salpinctes obsoletus, L 6 inches

107be Bewick′s Wren, Thryomanes bewickii, L 5 1/4 inches

107ca Carolina Wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus, L 5 1/2 inches

107ho House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, L 4 3/4 inches

107wi Winter Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes, L 4 inches