Groove-billed Ani (Crotophaga sulcirostris), Whitewater Draw, Cochise County

This Groove-billed Ani was discovered by Gordon Lewis and photographed by Andrew Core on 05 November 2010.

A rare vagrant to Arizona, mainly in the fall.  The last accepted record was in 2006 but this is the third one reported this year. 

The bill makes this bird unmistakably an ani.  This is probably a first year bird and the photos demonstrate how hard the grooves can be to see.  Although Smooth-billed Ani is probably impossible in Arizona, separating Smooth-billed from Groove-billed is very tricky, especially because small billed, Smooth-billed Anis can have faint grooves on the bill.  The combination of a straight lower mandible without a pronounced gonydal angle and the extensive bare skin around the eye are probably the best marks for Groove-billed.

05 November 2010, photos by Andrew Core

All photos are copyrighted© by photographer