Asian koel

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Asian koel
Male (nominate race)
Female (nominate race)
Calls (recorded in Singapore)

Song of male, Maldives

Asian Koel (recorded in Kochi, India)

Male Asian Koel (recorded in Chon Buri, Thailand)

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order:
Cuculiformes
Family: Cuculidae
Genus: Eudynamys
Species:
E. scolopaceus
Binomial name
Eudynamys scolopaceus
The distribution of Asian koel in black[2]
Synonyms
  • Cuculus scolopaceus Linnaeus, 1758
  • Cuculus honoratus Linnaeus, 1766

The Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus)

crows and other hosts, who raise its young. They are unusual among the cuckoos in being largely frugivorous as adults.[5] The name koel is echoic in origin with several language variants. The bird is a widely used symbol in Indian and Nepali poetry.[6][additional citation(s) needed
]

Taxonomy

In 1747, the English naturalist

Eudynamys that was introduced in 1827 by the English naturalists Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield.[9][10] The genus name Eudynamys combines the Ancient Greek eu meaning "fine" with dunamis meaning "power" or "strength". The specific epithet scolopaceus is Modern Latin meaning "snipe-like" from Latin scolopax meaning "snipe" or "woodcock".[11]

The species has variations within its wide range with several island populations and a number of taxonomic variations have been suggested. The

Australian koel (E. cyanocephalus).[14][15]

The Asian koel has several geographic forms that have well marked plumage differences or have been geographically isolated with little gene flow. The following is a list of named subspecies with their distributions and synonyms as given by Payne:[16]

Description

A female of the nominate subspecies

The Asian koel is a large and long-tailed cuckoo measuring 39–46 cm (15–18 in) and weighing 190–327 g (6.7–11.5 oz).[18][19] The male of the nominate race is glossy bluish-black, with a pale greenish grey bill, the iris is crimson, and it has grey legs and feet. The female of the nominate race is brownish on the crown and has rufous streaks on the head. The back, rump and wing coverts are dark brown with white and buff spots. The underparts are whitish, but is heavily striped. The other subspecies differ in colouration and size.[16] The upper plumage of young birds is more like that of the male and they have a black beak.[20] They are very vocal during the breeding season (March to August in the Indian Subcontinent), with a range of different calls. The familiar song of the male is a repeated koo-Ooo. The female makes a shrill kik-kik-kik... call. Calls vary across populations.[16]

They show a pattern of

moult that differs from those of other parasitic cuckoos. The outer primaries show a transilient (alternating) ascending moult (P9-7-5-10-8-6) while the inner primaries are moulted in stepwise descending order (1-2-3-4).(Payne citing Stresemann and Stresemann 1961[16]
)

Distribution and habitat

Adult male of nominate race (West Bengal, India) showing the crimson iris. Young birds have dark irides.[21]

The Asian koel is a bird of light woodland and cultivation. It is a mainly resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to southern China and the Greater Sundas. They have great potential in colonizing new areas, and were among the pioneer birds to colonize the volcanic island of

Krakatau.[22] They first arrived in Singapore in the 1980s and became very common birds.[16]

Some populations may make long-distance movements being found in places like Australia.[16]

Behaviour

Immature female (nominate race) begging for food.

The Asian koel is a

Corvus macrorhynchos nests parasitized.[25]

An Asian koel being fed by a black-collared starling.
MHNT

In Bangladesh, they parasitise

European magpie[29] and possibly the black-headed oriole.[30][31] In the Philippines, Asian Koels have been found to parasitize the cavity nest of Coletos (Sarcops calvus).[32] Males may distract the hosts so that the female gets a chance to lay an egg in the nest.[33][34] More often however, the female visits the nest of the host alone.[16] The koel is not known to lay eggs in an empty host nest and a study in Pakistan found that the first koel eggs were laid, on average, within one and half days of the laying of the host's first egg.[35] The chicks of the koel hatched about 3 days ahead of the host chicks.[36] Koels usually lay only an egg or two in a single nest but as many as seven to eleven eggs have been reported from some host nests.[37][38][39] A female may remove a host egg before laying. Eggs hatch in 12 to 14 days. The young koel does not always push out eggs or evict the host chicks, and initially calls like a crow. The young fledge in 20 to 28 days.[16] Unlike some other cuckoos, the young do not attempt to kill the host chicks, a trait that is shared with the channel-billed cuckoos which are also largely frugivorous as adults.[40] It has been suggested[by whom?] that koels, like some other brood parasites do not evict the host chicks due presumably due to the higher cost of evicting nestmates. A small parasite may not be able to evict large host eggs or chicks from a deep Corvid nest without risking starvation and possibly accidental self-eviction. An alternative hypothesis that retaining host chicks might benefit the koel chicks did not gain much support.[41] Adult female parents have been known to feed young koels in the nests of the hosts,[42][43] a behaviour seen in some other brood parasitic species as well. Adult males have however not been noted to feed fledglings.[16][44][45]

The Asian koel is omnivorous, consuming a variety of insects, caterpillars, eggs and small vertebrates. Adults feed mainly on fruit. They will sometimes defend fruiting trees that they forage in and chase away other frugivores.[46] They have been noted to be especially important in the dispersal of the sandalwood tree (Santalum album) in India. Large seeded fruits are sometimes quickly regurgitated near the parent tree while small seeded fruits are ingested and are likely to be deposited at greater distances from the parent tree.[47] They have a large gape and are capable of swallowing large fruits including the hard fruit of palms such as Arenga and Livistona.[5] They have been known to occasionally take eggs of small birds.[48][49]

They feed on the fruits of Cascabela thevetia which are known to be toxic to mammals.[50][51]

A number of parasites of the species have been described, including malaria-like protozoa, lice and nematodes.[52][53][54]

Eudynamys scolopaceus scolopaceus,India
Asian koel at Chandigarh.

In culture

The word "koel" is onomatopoeic in origin. The Sanskrit name of "Kokila" and words in several Indian languages are similarly echoic.[6] Being familiar birds with loud calls, references to them are common in folklore, myth and poetry.[55][56] It is traditionally held in high regard for its song[57] and revered in the Manusmriti, with a decree protecting them from harm.[58] The Vedas, Sanskrit literature dated to about 2000 BC referred to it as Anya-Vapa which has been translated as "that which was raised by others" (or "sown for others to reap"[59]).[60] This has been interpreted as the earliest written reference to brood parasitism.[16][61] It has been chosen as the state bird by the Indian union territory of Puducherry.[62][63]

These birds were once very popular in India as cagebirds. Feeding even on boiled rice, these hardy birds lived in captivity for as long as 14 years.[64]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22684049A93012559.en
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  3. ^ David, N & Gosselin, M (2002). "The grammatical gender of avian genera". Bull B.O.C. 122: 257–282.
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  5. ^ a b Corlett, RT & IKW Ping (1995). "Frugivory by Koels in Hong Kong" (PDF). Mem. Hong Kong Nat. Hist. Soc. 20: 221–222. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-12-03. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
  6. ^ a b Yule, Henry (1903). Hobson-Jobson: A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive. John Murray, London. p. 490. Archived from the original on 2012-12-11. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  7. ^ Edwards, George (1747). A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. Vol. Part II. London: Printed for the author at the College of Physicians. p. 59, Plate 59.
  8. ^ Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 111.
  9. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1826.tb00115.x
    . The title page is dated 1826 but the article was not published until 1827.
  10. Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Turacos, bustards, cuckoos, mesites, sandgrouse"
    . IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  11. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4
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  12. ^ Gill, F.; Wright, M. & Donsker, D. (2009). "IOC World Bird Names version 2.0". Retrieved 2009-04-21.
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  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Payne, RB (2005). The Cuckoos. Oxford University Press.
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  19. ^ Asian Koel. oiseaux-birds.com
  20. ^ Ali S & Ripley, SD (1981). Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 3 (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 227–230.
  21. ^ Daniels, RJR (1984). "Eye color in koels". Newsletter for Birdwatchers. 24 (9–10): 13.
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  24. ^ Phillips, WWA (1948). "Cuckoo problems of Ceylon". Spolia Zeylanica. 25: 45–60.
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  28. ^ Smith, TEH (1950). "Black drongos fostering a koel". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 49 (1): 304.
  29. ^ Harington, HH (1904). "The Koels laying in the nest of Pica rustica, the Magpie". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 15 (3): 520.
  30. ^ Sethi VK, Saxena V, Bhatt D (2006). "An instance of the Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopacea destroying the nest of a Black-headed Oriole Oriolus xanthornus". Indian Birds. 2 (6): 173–174.
  31. ^ Lowther, Peter E (2007). "Host list of avian brood parasites −2 – Cuculiformes; Cuculidae" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
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  33. ^ Dewar, D (1907). "An enquiry into the parasitic habits of the Indian koel". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 17 (3): 765–782.
  34. ^ Raju, K.S.R. Krishna (1968). "Intelligence of a pair of Koels Eudynamys scolopacea". Newsletter for Birdwatchers. 8 (10): 12.
  35. ^ Lamba, BS (1966). "The egg-laying of the Koel Eudynamys scolopacea (Linnaeus)". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 63 (3): 750–751.
  36. ^ Ali, H; SA Hassan; SA Rana; MA Beg & M Mehmood-ul-Hassan (2007). "Brood parasitism of Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopacea) on the house crow (Corvus splendens) in Pothwar region of Pakistan". Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 44 (4): 627–634.
  37. ^ Jacob, JR (1915). "Seven Koel's eggs in one nest". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 24 (1): 191–192.
  38. ^ Jones, AE (1916). "Number of Koel's E. honorata eggs found in one nest". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 24 (2): 370.
  39. ^ Abdulali, H (1931). "Eleven Koel eggs in a Crow's nest". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 35 (2): 458.
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  43. ^ Dixit, Dhruv (1968). "Parental instincts in Koel Eudynamys scolopacea (Linnaeus)". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 65 (2): 485–486.
  44. ^ Lorenzana, JC & SG Sealy (1998). "Adult brood parasites feeding nestlings and fledglings of their own species: A review" (PDF). Journal of Field Ornithology. 69 (3): 364–375.
  45. ^ Fulton, R. (1904). "The Kohoperoa or Koekoea, Long-tailed Cuckoo (Urodynamis taitensis): an account of its habits, description of a nest containing its (supposed) egg, and a suggestion as to how the parasitic habit in birds has become established". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 36: 113–148.
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  47. ^ Hegde, S G; R Uma Shaanker & KN Ganeshaiah (1991). "Evolution of seed size in the bird-dispersed tree Santalum album L.: a trade off between seedling establishment and dispersal efficiency". Evol. Trends. Plants. 5: 131–135.
  48. ^ Uttangi, JC (2004). "Robbing of eggs by female Koel, from the nest of Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)". Newsletter for Birdwatchers. 44 (5): 77.
  49. ^ Purefoy, A.E. Bagwell (1947). "The koel as an egg-stealer". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 46 (4): 723.
  50. ^ Kannan, R (1991). "Koels feeding on the yellow oleander". Blackbuck. 7 (2): 48.
  51. ^ Krishnan, M (1952). "Koels (Eudynamis scolopaceus) eating the poisonous fruit of the Yellow Oleander". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 50 (4): 943–945.
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  62. ^ Ramakrishnan, Deepa (April 21, 2007). "Puducherry comes out with list of State symbols". The Hindu. Archived from the original on October 31, 2007.
  63. ^ Anonymous (1998). "Vernacular Names of the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent" (PDF). Buceros. 3 (1): 53–109.
  64. ^ Law, Satya Churn (1923). Pet birds of Bengal. Vol. 1. Thacker and Spink. pp. 315–316.

Further reading

  • Eates, KR (1938) The status of the Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus L.) in Sind. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 40(2):328.
  • Jose, TV (1980) Koels. Newsletter for Birdwatchers . 20(4), 17.
  • Menon, G.K.; Shah, R.V. (1979) Adaptive features in juvenal plumage pattern of the Indian Koel Eudynamys scolopacea: host mimesis and hawk-pattern. Journal of the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology 11(2):87–95
  • Neelakantan, KK (1980) The breeding of the Indian Koel Eudynamys scolopacea. Newsletter for Birdwatchers . 20(1):7.
  • Parasharya, BM (1985) Comments on eye color in the Koel Eudynamys scolopacea. Newsletter for Birdwatchers . 25(1–2), 11–12.
  • Ray-Chaudhuri, R. (1967) Mitotic and meiotic chromosomes of the koel Eudynamys scolopacea scolopacea. Nucleus 10: 179–189. (Study notes that the W chromosome is the 6th largest one and has the centromere in a subterminal position.)
  • Ryall C (2003) Mimicry of a crow chick by an Asian koel Eudynamys scolopacea as a defence against attack by house crows Corvus splendens. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 100(1):136–137
  • Santharam, V (1979) Crows feeding young koel. Newsletter for Birdwatchers . 19(7), 4.
  • Sarkar AK, Maitra SK, Midya T. (1976) Histological, histochemical and biochemical effects of cadmium chloride in female koel (Eudynamys scolopacea). Acta Histochem. 57(2):205-11.
  • Sarkar AK, Maitra SK, Midya T. (1977) Effects of reserpine on female reproductive organs of the Indian koel Eudynamys scolopacea scolopacea (L). Indian Journal of Experimental Biology 15(5):349-51.
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