Asian Koel is a large and long tailed cuckoo about 39 to 46 cm and weighs 190 to 327g. The male of the nominate race is glossy bluish -black with a pale greenish grey bill. Its iris is crimson and it has grey legs and feet. The female Koel is brownish on the crown and has rufous streaks on the head. The male sings koo-Ooo and the female makes a shrill kik-kik-kik… call. This bird is found in the Indian subcontinent, China and southeast Asia. It forms a superspecies with its closely related to black billed Koels and Pacific Koels. Asian Koels like many of their relatives lay their eggs in nests of hosts such as crows who raise their young. They are the first known bird exhibiting brood parasitism
They feed on…
The Asian koel is omnivorous which means it consumes a variety of insects, eggs, caterpillars and even small vertebrates such as mice. But grown Koels eat mainly fruits. They sometimes even defend fruiting trees that they forage in and chase away other frugivores. These birds are important in the dispersal of the sandalwood tree scientifically known as Santalum album in India. Koels are capable of swallowing large fruits such as Arenga and Livistona from palm trees. They are mainly known to occasionally take eggs from small birds. They even feed on a fruit that is known to be toxic to mammals (cascabela thevetia). Though not a native species, the cherry tree in the campus is the favourite spot for these singing birds.
