I had never seen this bird before until the other day. For some reason I had really taken to this bird. Just standing there watching and listening to it's call really fascinated me, even it's beautiful feathers are so different. I'm guessing this is a Common Koel?? Sadly this species, if it is a Common Koel, it's not in my state and the only place I can see this bird is in the walk-in aviary at the zoo. Is this A Juvenile bird??
Hi Kimbolina. This bird looks similar to a koel but I think it is actually a Pheasant Coucal, which are bigger than koels and live more on the ground than koels.
Cheers, Owen.
Hey Kimbo....yeah that is definitely a pheaseant coucal. I get them through my garden and surrounds...quite a different looking bird aren't they? If you hear a whooping sounding like a pack of monkeys calling through the area then that is what it is! Love your shots...very nice! So were you in a zoo at the time?
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Oh is he? I had never seen this bird before so I only assumed it was a common Koel. It looks similar to the juvenile Koel. I went and looked up Pheasant Coucal and sadly it's still not in my state :(
Birdie, yes I was at the zoo when I took this. We have a large walk-in aviary with many different birds. Some even sit next to you but this bird really appealed to me. I absolutely love its sweet face and the colour of it's feathers.
Thanks Owen and Birdie for correcting me. Too bad I'll probably never see another.
We get heaps of them here, they call all the time in the wet season Kimbolina. Which state are you in ??
I'm in South Australia Tassie, and according to this website these birds don't come here. What a shame, I think they're beautiful.
Sth Oz hey ??? There are a few klms between where you and I live then.
The Coucal is a nice bird alright, its his habits that I don't like, in particular the habit of eating the eggs and nestlings of other birds.....I liked them to until I saw one do that.
Oh dear... Tassie, I didn't know that they did that! Is that more common among coucals than among other birds?
They're not a typical cuckoo species - they make their own nest and rear their own young, so we should give them some credit on that point :-)
Gidday Andy, yes you are right they do build their own nest and raise their own young. Their diet consists of house mice,lizards,frogs,birds eggs,nestlings and young water rats and young bandicoots....they even take small crabs at low tide in estuaries....the estuaries one I have just read, thats a new one to me.
Tassie, we can't really hold that against them! :) Most of my favourite birds will do that! even my beloved Catbirds do it at times, so I have read LOL
In fact in my neighburhood, I think most of the birds are guilty of it.
I get Butcherbirds, Kookas, Catbirds, Pied Currawongs, Pheasant Coucals,Heaps of Spangled Drongos ( I suspect they do it but don't know), ravens. You get the picture anyway.... I live in a very nice neighbourhood don't I? :')
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Yeah I know Birdie....I still like them just not as much as I used to after seeing one consume the eggs of a Peaceful dove that was nesting in our yard.
Spangled Drongo's that you have mentioned are shockers, I have seen them grab Double bar finches.
As for Butcherbirds, when I was breeding Native and African finches I used to come home from work and see my Painted finches laying on the floor of the aviary minus their heads.
I was completely stumped until one morning when I was home I saw three Butcherbirds working together to chase my birds to the wire on one side and thats where the 3rd Butcherbird was waiting to grab them through the wire......can't say I was excited by that I will tell you.
It's a shame nature is so cruel, it happens in a lot of species of birds but never seeing one of these birds before I was really taken by it's beautiful feathers and it's call. Maybe it's a good thing this species of bird isn't in my area, I have enough with the Ravens/Crows and Magpies attacking the smaller birds, even the Red Wattle-bird can be a little aggressive at times towards other birds, especially when the Wattle-bird has young and they're only honey-eaters.
Well Kimbo, if I was adding aggressive species I would have to add the Noisy miners and the Blue Faced Honey eaters. It is always a fight between the two to dominate the garden .. in fact the whole street! And I had forgotten the Magpies which are ever present. I have a soft spot for them all in spite of their bad habits. I think it is only in our suburban reduced areas that it becomes a problem...... the area where I find the small birds is also the same forest that is home to many butcher birds, catbirds, kookaburras, magpies and noisy miners but they all seem to co exist in their own "altitude" of vegetation. I cant think of the right term for that but you know what I mean?
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Kimbolina, the Coucals are good to have around really. Their deep "Whoop whoop whoop" call in summer sort of reminds that summer and the start of the wet season are here.
The male in the species is beautifully coloured.
Sorry Tassie, I missed your post . I can understand that would be really distressing. I totally agree with you about the Whoop whoop sound ... it is really cool at the beginning of summer and it echoes up and down our valley here at dawn :)
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Hi all, pretty sure there is no difference between male and female plumage in the Coucal, the bird pictured (nice shots Kimbolina)in moulting between breeding and non-breeding plumage.Lots here in Townsville and I also love that call.
Tassie, intrested to hear you have seen Drongos take DBF, I saw a Drongo attack and take a Red Backed Wren in a very 'Falcon' like move...flying in low and very fast and only lifting up out of the long grass at the last possible moment to suprise a bush full of RBWs and Golden headed Cisticolas. A fantastic thing to watch even if a little upsetting.
Ed Townsville NQ
Ed, I agree regarding the plumage. My understanding is that breeding birds have a black head and chest, and non-breeding birds have a brown and white streaked head and chest.
Wow - would be fascinating to see drongos go after little birds. I'm accustomed to seeing them go after grasshoppers!
My mistake Andy and Ed, I stand corrected, I always thought the Male was Darker in the head and and a more golden brown in the wings.....I never realized they were the same....thx.
I was amazed one morning to see this flight exhibition from my local Coucal
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/forum/messages.cfm?threadid=4B0661FC-EDD5-A34D-6E18A48C3AD8E296
Sunshine Coast Queensland
I love your beautiful close up shots Kimbo, but I thought it would be good to add a full body shot here for others to see if you don't mind, this was taken on my pool fence last year
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Lucky you Birdie to have them in your yard. Sounds like you get a huge range up in queensland.
Cheers, Owen.
Thanks for sharing Birdie. I still find this bird memorising for some reason, even after all that has been said. I think it's the plumage that fascinates me so much because I have really never seen anything like it before. You are lucky to have such a variety of birds on your property. Even though I don't have the more elaborate looking birds around me, the birds I do have here I thoroughly enjoy. :)