The Squirrel Cuckoo is primarily found in a vast geographic range from northwestern Mexico to northern Argentina and Uruguay. This bird is notable for its size and distinctive appearance, measuring between 15.9 and 19.7 inches in length and weighing between 3.4 and 4.2 ounces. Its adult plumage primarily features chestnut upperparts and head, with a paler throat, grey lower breast, and a blackish belly. The central tail feathers are rufous, while the outer ones are black with white tips. The bill is yellow, and the iris is red, although immature birds display a grey bill and eyering, and a brown iris, with less white in the tail​​. The Squirrel Cuckoo exhibits some subspecies variation in plumage, such as P. c. mehleri in South America, which has primarily brown outer tail feathers, and differences in the color of the eye-ring between regions​​​​. Its habitat spans woodland canopy and edges, second growth, hedges, and semi-open areas.