Pacific Koel

Male
Photo by IanC
Port Macquarie, New South Wales, December 2006

Eudynamys cyanocephalus

Identification

Male:

• Glossy black plumage, tinged with blue and green
• Red eye

Female:

• Glossy brown upperparts, heavily spotted with white
• Black crown
• Buff-cream underparts with fine black bars
  

Juvenile: resembles the adult female, but is more buff and has a dark eye.

Female
Photo by IanC
Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia, January 2006

Distribution

Breeding from north-west Australia along the north coast and down to New South Wales. This species is mostly migratory, wintering to the Moluccan Islands.

Taxonomy

Australian Koel with two subspecies were split from Asian Koel and Black-billed Koel by some authorities, however, others still think that the best treatment is to consider all three as one species which would then be named Common Koel, Eudynamys scolopacea.

Subspecies^[1]

• E. c. subcyanocephalus:

• North-western Australia to north-western Queensland; winters to southern Moluccas

• E. c. cyanocephalus:

• Northern Queensland to southern New South Wales; winters to Moluccas

Juvenile
Photo by janha
Thuringowa, Queensland, Australia, January 2006

Habitat

Tall forests and suburbs and golf courses.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes fruit, particularly figs.

Breeding

It is a brood parasite, laying 1 egg.

In Culture

It is also colloquially known as the Rainbird or Stormbird in eastern Australia, as its call is supposed to foreshadow rain.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Birds in Backyards
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Pacific Koel. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Pacific_Koel

External Links

Search for photos of Pacific Koel in the gallery