- Eudynamys orientalis
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.
Distribution
Southern Moluccas, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands and north-west Australia along the north coast and down to New South Wales. Australian Birds winter in the Moluccan Islands.
Taxonomy
Formerly treated conspecific with Asian Koel and Black-billed Koel.
Subspecies[1]
Seven subspecies in two groups:
- Oriental Koel
- E. o. orientalis: in southern Molucccas (Buru, Manipa, Kelang, Seram, Ambon, Watubela)
- E. o. picatus: on Kai Islands, Sumba to Timor and Roma
- E. o. rufiventer: on New Guinea
- E. o. salvadorii: on the Bismarck Archipelago
- E. o. alberti: on the Solomon Islands
- Australian Koel
- E. o. subcyanocephalus: North-western Australia to north-western Queensland; winters to southern Moluccas
- E. o. cyanocephalus: Northern Queensland to southern New South Wales; winters to Moluccas
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
- 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.
- Birds in Backyards
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Pacific Koel. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Pacific_Koel