Groove-billed Ani (Crotophaga sulcirostris), Sierra Vista off of SR92 across from Miller Canyon, Cochise County

This Groove-billed Ani was photographed by Virginia Fairchild on 03 November 2011

A rare vagrant to Arizona, mainly in the fall. With fewer than 20 accepted records for the state.

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.

03 November 2011, photo by Virginia Fairchild

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