The West Indies cucuio (cocoa) is a fabulous animal. It's an insect-like bird with the size of a thumb. The cucuio has four wings and eyes that shine like lamps. When these eyes are used frequently, they become flatter and the animal must be released. Also, the bird would have eyes under its wings, but these only give light when flying.
People would catch the cucuio to serve as a light source. An advantage of this is that they will not go out by rain or wind. A few of these animals can replace candles or torches. In India one would carry them in the dark to alleviate the road. The luminescence from dead cucuios can be used as a luminous paint.
The cucuio would be related to the ercinee and the alicanto, as well as fabulous animals.
The cucuio is probably derived from the firefly.
wiki
