Mrs Koel...

[khiemtran]

As I came home from work the other day, I spotted this female koel fighting off some wattlebirds near our driveway. By the time I had parked the car and got my camera from the house, it was sitting on a neighbour's roof.



Koels are very common around here at this time of year, but they are far more often heard than seen - their "kooooh-el!" cry is quite piercing and can be heard from great distances. As you can see, they are quite extraordinary looking birds when you see them up close. And quite large too.



It makes sense that they need to look tough and menacing as they need to be able to parasitize other birds' nests. You may remember that last year, the pair of red wattlebirds by our driveway ended up raising an (enormous) baby koel. Actually, I wonder if this is actually the same one, now returned from a northern migration. Or maybe it was the original mother, looking for another nest to use...

Comments

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Interesting questions, about whether it is the same bird or the same mother...

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

It looks like the wattlebirds have made their nest somewhere else this year, but it will be interesting to see if there's a new baby koel by summer...

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

For the wattlebirds' sake, I hope not!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

"For some reason childrearing last year was extra hard... maybe a change in location will help" --wattlebird discussion, prior to nestbuilding this year.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

It was probably extra exhausting last year because they also chose a tree right next to the communal driveway. Hopefully, they've found somewhere a bit more peaceful this year.

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

How beautiful!

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's funny because you hear them all the time in the warmer months (in fact, I can hear one calling outside right now), but you hardly ever get to see them. For such a common bird, they look quite extraordinary.

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

I think of magpies, starlings, chickadees, many pigeons, and so many other very common birds here....

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

She really is a beauty.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

She is! I guess the spots and barring make it easier for her to hide in trees. The males are almost black, but they still have that shining red eye.