Koel calling

When we lived in Sydney we often had a rude early morning awakening once the Eastern Koels Eudynanys orientalis arrived for their spring & summer breeding season. The repeated call rising in pitch and getting louder the longer it went on would ensure that there was no sleeping in. Here we have not seen them very often and their place seems to be taken by the Channel-bill Cuckoo whose call is also somewhat annoying but not as incessant as the Koel.

I have been hearing Koels around lately and this morning (fortunately not too early) One was calling nearby and then I could hear the "I want food" call of a young one. I found the youngster quite nearby and a poor Noisy Friar Bird trying to keep up the supply of food. I wasn't able to get the feeding photo but did get a shot of the youngster.

The Koel is resident in Northern Australia and the islands to the north but in their southern range they arrive as migrants around September. Nesting medium sized honeyeaters such as Wattle Birds and Noisy Friar Birds as well as other birds of similar size are sought out as the surrogate parents.

The male Koel is glossy bluish black with a bright red iris whilst the female is similar to the young bird. A male has been raiding our vegetable garden to eat some cherry tomatoes as has a young Satin Bower Bird. This afternoon I saw both at the garden but the Koel was a bit flighty and was not cooperative for photos with only one long distance shot with the light behind so the eye does not show the brilliant colour.

The young Satin Bower Bird was more cooperative staying at the vegetable garden. I noticed that is has a problem with one leg which is either deformed or broken but it manage quite well hopping around on the good leg.

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