Alternative names: Eastern Koel; "Australian Koel"
- Eudynamys orientalis
Identification
Male:
- Glossy black plumage, tinged with blue and green
- Red eye
Female:
- Glossy brown upperparts, heavily spotted with white
- Black crown
- Buff-cream underparts with fine black bars
Juvenile: resembles the adult female, but is more buff and has a dark eye.
Distribution
Southern Moluccas, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands and north-west Australia along the north coast and down to New South Wales. Australian Birds winter in the Moluccan Islands.
Taxonomy
Often treated conspecific with one or both of Asian Koel and Black-billed Koel.
Subspecies
Eight subspecies in two groups[1]:
- Oriental Koel
- E. o. orientalis: in southern Molucccas (Buru, Manipa, Kelang, Seram, Ambon, Watubela)
- E. o. picatus: on Kai Islands, Sumba to Timor and Roma
- E. o. rufiventer: on New Guinea
- E. o. hybrida: Long Islands (Crown, Long, and Tolokiwa), between New Guinea and New Britain
- E. o. salvadorii: on the Bismarck Archipelago
- E. o. alberti: on the Solomon Islands
- Australian Koel
- E. o. subcyanocephalus: North-western Australia to north-western Queensland; winters to southern Moluccas
- E. o. cyanocephalus: Northern Queensland to southern New South Wales; winters to Moluccas
Habitat
Photo © by fthsm
Fairyland, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, December 2008
Can be found in mature primary and secondary forests, plantations, woodlands, gardens and on golf courses.
Behaviour
Diet
Adults; the diet includes fruit, particularly figs.
Breeding
It is a brood parasite, laying 1 egg. Australian birds use mainly Noisy Friarbirds, or Red Wattlebirds to host their offspring. The young bird does not attempt to replace chicks in the host species nest.
Vocalisation
Duetting may suggest short term pair bonds forming, as well as the normal polygynous mating behaviour.
Probable territorial call
Recording by AmateurBirdMan
Victoria, Australia, 1 December 2023
In Culture
It is also colloquially known as the Rainbird or Stormbird in eastern Australia, as its call is supposed to foreshadow rain.
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Birds in Backyards, https://www.birdsinbackyards.net/
- https://animalia.bio/pacific-koel
- BirdForum Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Pacific Koel. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 12 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Pacific_Koel
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
