Asian Koel

Asian Koel
: Animalia : Chordata : Aves : Cuculiformes Family Cuculidae : Eudynamis : scolopacea
Binomial name
Eudynamis scolopacea Linnaeus, 1758

The Asian Koel, or Common Koel, Eudynamis scolopacea, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, and the Hoatzin.

It is a mainly resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka to south China and Australasia, but birds at the fringes of the range and on high ground are summer visitors, migrating to warmer areas in winter.

Asian Koel is a bird of light woodland and cultivation. It is a brood parasite, and lays its single egg in the nests of a variety of birds, including House Crows and honeyeaters. The young Koel does not always evict its host's chicks, and initially calls like a crow.

Asian Koel is a large, long-tailed, cuckoo at 45 cm. The male is greenish-black, with a pale green bill and red eyes. The female is brownish above and whitish below, but is heavily striped and spotted brown on the underparts and white on the upperparts. She has an olive or green beak and red eyes.

Asian Koel takes a variety of insects, caterpillars, eggs and small vertebrates. It occasionally eats fruit.

This is a noisy species, with a persistent and loud ko-el ko-el call as well as other gurgles and screams.

Reference

• Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6