One of a two-piece set of prints, this yellow-billed cuckoo perches atop a Fremont cottonwood. It is an editioned 4x6" woodcut print in the moku hanga style on mulberry paper, with hand-painted elements. Each print comes signed and numbered.

I spent a couple summers in the American Southwest, surveying for and staring at the federally threatened western population of yellow-billed cuckoos, where they are declining due to the loss of the riparian habitats they need for reproduction. Thanks to their reclusivity, I'd not much noticed them before (other than as "that weird-sounding bird that likes rain"), but I quickly learned how bizarre and strangely charming this species is. They're fond of staring back at you, wide-eyed with their yellow eye ring, and slouching in a sometimes humanoid pose. They know just how to make their percussive calls echo through a forest, and will sing in the middle of the night just to keep you on your toes. I've since learned that you can find these sneaky devils from lush eastern forests to scrubby oak woodlands, and that you should never doubt the ability of a cuckoo to show up where you least expect.