WhenToBird

Coccyzus erythropthalmus · Cuculidae

When Do Black-billed Cuckoos Arrive in Pennsylvania?

Adult Black-billed Cuckoo
Photo: Bill Keim, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Black-billed Cuckoos arrive in Pennsylvania in early May, peak in mid May (1.8% of checklists), and most are gone by early August.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 1-7early May
Common byMay 1-7early May
PeakMay 15-21mid May
Most gone byAug 1-7early August

Best: mid May. First arrivals early May; most are gone by early August. Peak: on about 1.8% of Pennsylvania checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octrare
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0% of 47145 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 35840 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 35423 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 49126 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 36366 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 42248 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 55888 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 42050 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 42709 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 43985 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 44547 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 66940 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 51147 checklistsApr 8-14: 0% of 54868 checklistsApr 15-21: 0% of 57252 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 81727 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.0% of 76472 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.6% of 79341 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.2% of 61724 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.7% of 70722 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.1% of 45652 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.8% of 41810 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.7% of 38973 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.6% of 44255 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.6% of 34822 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.6% of 31104 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.5% of 29262 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.5% of 41436 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.4% of 29189 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.4% of 28840 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.4% of 29948 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.3% of 48235 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.3% of 37175 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.3% of 36527 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.2% of 37261 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 43583 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 35352 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 35560 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 33119 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 44654 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 32965 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 31305 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 29471 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 38642 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 28779 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 29486 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 37465 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 50651 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in Pennsylvania that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in Pennsylvania

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Snyder CountyBest the second week of May · 335 checklists that week, 5,676 in all7.4%
  2. Montour CountyBest mid May · 225 checklists that week, 6,082 in all6.2%
  3. Tioga CountyBest late May · 1331 checklists that week, 36,293 in all5.9%
  4. Lycoming CountyBest mid May · 778 checklists that week, 29,685 in all5.7%
  5. Centre CountyBest mid May · 3300 checklists that week, 110,531 in all5.6%
  6. Sullivan CountyBest late July · 106 checklists that week, 4,362 in all5.3%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hall PondLycoming County, best mid May · 37 checklists that week, 1,740 in all33%
  2. State Game Land 176Centre County, best late May · 219 checklists that week, 2,675 in all24%
  3. State Game Land 176 (south)Centre County, best the second week of June · 27 checklists that week, 790 in all23%
  4. Delaware State ForestMonroe County, best late May · 37 checklists that week, 211 in all19%
  5. Faylor LakeSnyder County, best late May · 26 checklists that week, 752 in all19%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In Pennsylvania, the Black-billed Cuckoo is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.7% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (1558) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1136) to judge2 am: too few checklists (839) to judge3 am: too few checklists (842) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2550) to judge5 am: too few checklists (18294) to judge6 am: 1.1% of 92903 checklists7 am: 0.6% of 241233 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 271994 checklists9 am: 0.4% of 236842 checklists10 am: 0.3% of 199508 checklists11 am: 0.2% of 161893 checklists12 pm: 0.2% of 143945 checklists1 pm: 0.2% of 134352 checklists2 pm: 0.2% of 129692 checklists3 pm: 0.2% of 126132 checklists4 pm: 0.2% of 115055 checklists5 pm: 0.2% of 90719 checklists6 pm: 0.3% of 67534 checklists7 pm: 0.3% of 43004 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (13966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (3913) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1989) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1146) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January0%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0%0%
April0%0%0%0.1%
May1.0%1.6%2.2%1.7%
June1.1%0.8%0.7%0.6%
July0.6%0.6%0.5%0.5%
August0.4%0.4%0.4%0.3%
September0.3%0.3%0.2%0.1%
October0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • New Jersey: arrives late April, 1 week earlier than Pennsylvania
  • New York: arrives the second week of May, 1 week later than Pennsylvania
  • West Virginia: arrives late April, 1 week earlier than Pennsylvania
  • Connecticut: arrives the second week of May, 1 week later than Pennsylvania

Common questions

When do Black-billed Cuckoos arrive in Pennsylvania?
Black-billed Cuckoos arrive in Pennsylvania in early May, peak in mid May (1.8% of checklists), and most are gone by early August.
When do Black-billed Cuckoos leave Pennsylvania?
Most Black-billed Cuckoos have left Pennsylvania by early August, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Black-billed Cuckoo in Pennsylvania?
The Black-billed Cuckoo is reported most often in mid May, on about 1.8% of Pennsylvania checklists.
Where in Pennsylvania are Black-billed Cuckoos seen most often?
By county, Snyder County, Montour County, and Tioga County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black-billed Cuckoo (counties with at least 200 checklists).