- Eudynamys cyanocephala
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
Breeding from north-west Australia along the north coast and down to New South Wales. This species is mostly migratory, wintering to the Moluccan Islands.
Taxonomy
Australian Koel with two subspecies were split from Asian Koel and Black-billed Koel by some authorities, however, others still think that the best treatment is to consider all three as one species which would then be named Common Koel, Eudynamys scolopacea.
Subspecies[1]
- E. c. subcyanocephalus:
- North-western Australia to north-western Queensland; winters to southern Moluccas
- E. c. cyanocephalus:
- Northern Queensland to southern New South Wales; winters to Moluccas
Habitat
Tall forests and suburbs and golf courses.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes fruit, particularly figs.
Breeding
It is a brood parasite, laying 1 egg.
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, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Birds in Backyards
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Pacific Koel. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 10 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Pacific_Koel