together with two further types (Riefenschnabel-Ani, Crotophaga sulcirostris and Groß-Ani, Crotophaga major) lives in the tropical America of Mexico and west-India the actual Ani (Crotophaga ani) as far as after Argentina.
There, also the Guirakuckuck (Guira guira) lives in the open grass-surfaces of the pampas. This approximately 40 cm long one, brown colored bird possesses a thin beak and a mop of hair-good Kopfbefiederung in contrast to the anise. it forms the subfamily of the maggot-hacker-cuckoos together with the 3 types the anise.
The Ani possesses an at the side leveled off beak with a keel on the upper side like its near relatives. Beak, plumages and the long tail are black, its weight amounts to 150 g with a length of 35 cm.
Way of life Open landscapes, preferably with isolated tree-groups, prefer anise, in which it in smaller troops, Z. T. also in colonies, nests. Only the Groß-Ani lives in interrelated woodlands. All types can down-run Z at trees, what otherwise only few other birds, head-downward. B. the Kleiber, possibly is. Anise lives from insects and smaller vertebrates preferably, only rarely, they pick up vegetable food.
Reproduction An actual incubation doesn't know anise, they lay at all times the year its loosely from branches and leaves of manufactured nests highly above in trees at. Only rarely, pairs nest individually. Usually, several animals build a nest together, in which also several females put in each case approximately 5 white eggs. The outer peel-layer is very soft so that the blue peel-reasons predominate with older eggs soon. Males and females of several pairs erbrüten and also defends them on average from 10-15 eggs of existing nests together. After approximately two weeks of brood-duration, the boys slip. they are pulled open by all alto-birds and climb around already after 5 days.
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