Here's the Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo flying over some sagebrush with a tasty treat. That "tasty treat" will be part of my next Nature's Wonders 3D model set. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo was the primary reason for creating the Songbird ReMix Cuckoos set. The "Western" subspecies of this is endangered and championed (along with the Tri-colored Blackbird) in my annual Audubon B-day Charity sale in April. In California, this cuckoo once numbered more than 15,000 pairs, but the population has been reduced to about 40 pairs in less than 100 years, owing primarily to the destruction and degradation of preferred riparian habitat. Until recently, the critically imperiled western population received no federal protection due largely to controversy surrounding the validity of its subspecies status. After almost 30 years of petitioning, however, the western subspecies of Yellow-billed Cuckoo was successfully deemed a distinct population segment and was granted protection as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in October 2014. A proposed rule to designate critical riparian habitat under the Act was approved 2021 by the current Administration. Cuckoos are known worldwide for their bizarre haunts and habits, and the Yellow-billed Cuckoo is no exception. Furtive, retiring, and watchful by nature, this species' presence may be first revealed by its hollow, wooden call: ka-ka-ka-ka- kow-kow-kow-kow-kowlp-kowlp-kowlp. It has been dubbed the “Raincrow” because of its apparent tendency to call more frequently on cloudy days, although its proficiency as predictor of weather has never been demonstrated.