|Eastern Koel Eudynamys orientalis
(aka Common Koel, Asian Koel, Indian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus)
|Mareeba, Queensland, Australia
The Eastern Koel is a parasitic cuckoo distributed in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea with some populations migrating to northern and eastern Australia to breed. They arrive in August and leave in May. It is found near fruiting trees on the edges of forest, in woodland and in farmland.
They feed on fruit and berries, mainly figs, and on insects though the immature in photo 1 seems unsure about the grasshoppers.
Both these photos are of immature birds. The male is glossy blue-black with a whitish bill and a red eye while the female is similar to the immature but with a black crown, nape, face and moustachial stripe.
|The most commonly parasitised birds in Australia are
Magpie-larks, friarbirds and orioles. The female lays one egg in the nest of the host often while
the male is distracting them. The Koel chick usually ejects host eggs or chicks within the first
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