WhenToBird

Coccyzus americanus · Cuculidae

When Do Yellow-billed Cuckoos Arrive in Texas?

Adult Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Photo: kirk gardner, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Yellow-billed Cuckoos reach Texas in the second week of April, are common by late April, peak in late May (18% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 8-14the second week of April
Common byApr 22-30late April
PeakMay 22-31late May
Most gone byAug 8-14the second week of August

Best: late May. First arrivals the second week of April; most are gone by the second week of August. Peak: on about 18% of Texas checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octrare
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 0% of 66038 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 52445 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 52985 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 71020 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 52306 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 55887 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 69016 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 52998 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 50836 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 51749 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 53731 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 82049 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.3% of 65854 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.7% of 78434 checklistsApr 15-21: 5.2% of 92302 checklistsApr 22-30: 7.4% of 122878 checklistsMay 1-7: 12% of 74592 checklistsMay 8-14: 15% of 61008 checklistsMay 15-21: 18% of 43365 checklistsMay 22-31: 18% of 52736 checklistsJun 1-7: 17% of 31643 checklistsJun 8-14: 16% of 30131 checklistsJun 15-21: 15% of 26802 checklistsJun 22-30: 14% of 32822 checklistsJul 1-7: 13% of 27213 checklistsJul 8-14: 11% of 24555 checklistsJul 15-21: 11% of 24146 checklistsJul 22-31: 10% of 34536 checklistsAug 1-7: 8.9% of 25764 checklistsAug 8-14: 6.5% of 26347 checklistsAug 15-21: 5.6% of 28431 checklistsAug 22-31: 4.3% of 42838 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.3% of 35070 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.7% of 33893 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.9% of 32572 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.1% of 43771 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.7% of 34143 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.5% of 37563 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.5% of 36263 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.4% of 49170 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.2% of 43301 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.2% of 48744 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 42213 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 54455 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 40166 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 41035 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 46983 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 73015 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 Texas 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Texas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Burleson CountyBest the second week of July · 78 checklists that week, 6,966 in all68%
  2. DeWitt CountyBest the second week of July · 72 checklists that week, 4,050 in all65%
  3. Leon CountyBest the second week of June · 27 checklists that week, 2,456 in all61%
  4. Karnes CountyBest the second week of June · 27 checklists that week, 1,746 in all60%
  5. Lee CountyBest early June · 81 checklists that week, 2,078 in all59%
  6. Rusk CountyBest the second week of June · 32 checklists that week, 2,213 in all57%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. East LakeHidalgo County, best the second week of July · 20 checklists that week, 7,801 in all89%
  2. Lake Somerville Trailway State ParkLee County, best late May · 20 checklists that week, 125 in all87%
  3. Colorado River SanctuaryBastrop County, best the second week of May · 20 checklists that week, 351 in all82%
  4. Sabine WoodsJefferson County, best the second week of August · 25 checklists that week, 6,088 in all79%
  5. Ray Roberts Lake State ParkDenton County, best late May · 27 checklists that week, 918 in all78%
  6. Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge (west 2)Cameron County, best late May · 31 checklists that week, 402 in all78%

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

Best time of day

In Texas, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (7.2% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (898) to judge1 am: too few checklists (756) to judge2 am: too few checklists (663) to judge3 am: too few checklists (741) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1537) to judge5 am: too few checklists (6113) to judge6 am: 11% of 74687 checklists7 am: 6.3% of 285131 checklists8 am: 4.9% of 329960 checklists9 am: 4.0% of 267889 checklists10 am: 3.2% of 218205 checklists11 am: 2.8% of 178879 checklists12 pm: 2.6% of 153722 checklists1 pm: 2.6% of 144662 checklists2 pm: 2.6% of 138578 checklists3 pm: 2.6% of 136878 checklists4 pm: 2.8% of 137550 checklists5 pm: 3.1% of 113599 checklists6 pm: 3.9% of 81743 checklists7 pm: 4.3% of 53396 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (17221) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4048) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1965) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (990) 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%0.1%0.1%
April0.3%1.7%5.2%7.4%
May12%15%18%18%
June17%16%15%14%
July13%11%11%10%
August8.9%6.5%5.6%4.3%
September3.3%2.7%1.9%1.1%
October0.7%0.5%0.5%0.4%
November0.2%0.2%0.1%0.1%
December0%0.1%0.1%0%

Neighboring states

  • Louisiana: arrives early April, 1 week earlier than Texas
  • Oklahoma: arrives late April, 2 weeks later than Texas
  • Arkansas: arrives late April, 2 weeks later than Texas
  • Mississippi: arrives the second week of April, in the same week than Texas

Common questions

When do Yellow-billed Cuckoos arrive in Texas?
Yellow-billed Cuckoos reach Texas in the second week of April, are common by late April, peak in late May (18% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.
When do Yellow-billed Cuckoos leave Texas?
Most Yellow-billed Cuckoos have left Texas by the second week of August, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late September.
When is the best time to see a Yellow-billed Cuckoo in Texas?
The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is reported most often in late May, on about 18% of Texas checklists.
Where in Texas are Yellow-billed Cuckoos seen most often?
By county, Burleson County, DeWitt County, and Leon County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Yellow-billed Cuckoo (counties with at least 200 checklists).