Alternative name: Western Koel
- Eudynamys scolopaceus
Identification
39–46 cm (15¼-18 in)
Male:
- Bluish-black
- Pale green bill
- Red eyes
- Grey legs and feet
Female:
- Brownish upperparts with white spots
- Whitish underparts heavily striped and spotted brown
- Olive or green beak
- Red eyes
Distribution
Found from southern Asia, China, Indochina to the northern Moluccas (Indonesia).
Taxonomy
Photo by Alok Tewari
Delhi, India, Aug- 2010
Formerly considered conspecific with Black-billed Koel and Pacific Koel.
Subspecies
There are 5 subspecies[1]:
- E. s. scolopaceus: Nepal to Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Laccadives and Maldives
- E. s. chinensis: Southern China and Indochina; winters to Borneo
- E. s. harterti: Hainan (southern China)
- E. s. malayanus (dolosa): North-eastern India to Thailand, Malaya, Sumatra, Borneo and Lesser Sundas
- E. s. mindanensis: Philippines, Palawan, Sulu Archaepelago, Sangihe Island and Talaud Islands and northern Moluccas (Morotai, Halmahera, Ternate, Tidore and Bacan)
Habitat
Light woodland and on the fringes of urban areas, mangrove, scrub, plantations, orchards, gardens, parks, rare in forests
Behaviour
Breeding
These birds are what you call brood-parasitic, meaning it lays its eggs in nest of Large-billed Crow, and House Crow.
Diet
Whilst the adults feed mainly on fruit, their diet also includes insects, caterpillars, eggs and small vertebrates.
Vocalisation
Call: This is most unique. It consists of a series of 'tuhoo's wherein the 'hoo' is slightly drawn out. The repetitions are very quick, one after the other.
<flashmp3>asian_koel_sound.mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Recording by Alok Tewari
Delhi, India, April-2012
Call given by a male, recorded in the neighborhood garden.
In Culture
Since the bird is most active just before the onset of monsoon, Indians believe that its arrival heralds the oncoming rains.
In Sri Lanka, this bird has a strong association with the traditional new year celebrations of Sri Lanka. In the literature around the festival, the song of the bird is regarded as heralding new year. This bird is known as the koha in Sri Lanka by the Sinhala speaking community.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Wikipedia
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Asian Koel. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 February 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Asian_Koel
Gallery
Click images to see larger version
Nominate subspecies female
By Alok Tewari
Delhi, India, May-2012
External Links
