Asian koel

Asian koel
Female (nominate race)
Male (nominate race)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Cuculiformes
Family: Cuculidae
Genus: Eudynamys
Species: E. scolopaceus
Binomial name
Eudynamys scolopaceus
(Linnaeus, 1758)
The distribution of Asian koel in black[2]
Synonyms

Cuculus scolopaceus
Eudynamis honorata
Eudynamys scolopacea

The Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus)[3][4] is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. It is found in South Asia, China, and Southeast Asia. It forms a superspecies with the closely related black-billed and Pacific koels which are sometimes treated as subspecies. The Asian koel is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of 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 poetry.[6]

Description

The Asian koel is a large, long-tailed, cuckoo measuring 39–46 cm (15–18 in) and weighing 190–327 g (6.7–11.5 oz).[7][8] 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.[9] The upper plumage of young birds is more like that of the male and they have a black beak.[10] They are very vocal during the breeding season (March to August in South Asia), 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.[9]

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[9])

Taxonomy

The Asian koel was originally described by Linnaeus as Cuculus scolopaceus based on a specimen he received from the Malabar region.[9] The species has variations within its wide range with several island populations and a number of taxonomic variations have been suggested. The black-billed koel (E. melanorhynchus) of the Sulawesi region and the Pacific koel (E. orientalis) of Australasia are sometimes considered conspecific with the Asian koel in which case the "combined" species is known as the common koel (E. scolopaceus). Due to differences in plumage, colour of bill and voice, the three are increasingly treated as separate species.[11][12] Alternatively, only the black-billed koel has been considered as a separate species, or the Asian koel has included all subspecies otherwise included in the Pacific koel, except for the subspecies breeding in Australia, which then has the name Australian koel (E. cyanocephalus).[13][14]

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:[9]

Distribution and habitat

Adult male of nominate race (West Bengal, India) showing the crimson iris. Young birds have dark irides.[16]

The Asian koel is a bird of light woodland and cultivation. It is a mainly resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to south 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.[17] They first arrived in Singapore in the 1980s and became very common birds.[9]

Some populations may make long distance movements.[9]

Behaviour

Calls (recorded in Singapore)
Song of male, India
Immature female (nominate race) begging for food.
Male Asian koel in Tirunelveli, India.

The Asian koel is a brood parasite, and lays its single egg in the nests of a variety of birds, including the jungle crow,[18] and house crow. In Sri Lanka before 1880 it was only known to parasitize the jungle crow, later shifting to the house crow.[19] A study in India found 5% of Corvus splendens and 0.5% of Corvus macrorhynchos nests parasitized.[20]

In Bangladesh, they parasitise long-tailed shrike (Lanius schach), common myna (Acridotheres tristis) and house crows (Corvus splendens) at about 35.7, 31.2 and 10.8% rates respectively.[21] Host nests at low heights and nearer to fruit trees tended to preferred by koels.[22] In Southern Thailand and the Malay Peninsula, koels have shifted host from crows to mynas (Acridotheres sp.) as the latter became more common in the late 1900s.[9] In South Asia they have sometimes been found to parasitize the black drongo,[23] the European magpie[24] and possibly the black-headed oriole.[25][26] Males may distract the hosts so that the female gets a chance to lay an egg in the nest.[27][28] More often however, the female visits the nest of the host alone.[9] 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.[29] The chicks of the koel hatched about 3 days ahead of the host chicks.[30] 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.[31][32][33] 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.[9] Unlike as in 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.[34] It has been suggested 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 alternate hypothesis that retaining host chicks might benefit the koel chicks did not gain much support.[35] Adult female parents have been known to feed young koels in the nests of the hosts,[36][37] a behaviour seen in some other brood parasitic species as well. Adult males have however not been noted to feed fledglings.[9][38][39]

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.[40] 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.[41] 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.[42][43]

They feed on the fruits of Cascabela thevetia which are known to be toxic to mammals.[44][45]

A number of parasites of the species have been described, including malaria-like protozoa, lice and nematodes.[46][47][48]

In culture

The word "koel" is onomatopoeic in origin. The Sanskrit root is "Kokila" and the words in various Indian languages are similar.[6] Being familiar birds with loud calls, references to them are common in folklore, myth and poetry.[49][50] It is traditionally held in high regard for its song[51] and revered in the Manusmriti, an ancient decree protecting them from harm.[52] 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"[53]). This has been interpreted as the earliest knowledge of brood parasitism.[9][54] It has been chosen as the state bird by the Indian union territory of Puducherry.[55][56]

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.[57]

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Eudynamys scolopaceus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Johnsgard, PA (1997). The avian brood parasites: deception at the nest. Oxford University Press. p. 259. ISBN 0-19-511042-0.
  3. ↑ David, N & Gosselin, M (2002). "The grammatical gender of avian genera". Bull B.O.C. 122: 257–282.
  4. ↑ Penard, TE (1919). "The name of the black cuckoo" (PDF). Auk 36 (4): 569–570. doi:10.2307/4073368.
  5. 1 2 Corlett, RT & IKW Ping (1995). "Frugivory by Koels in Hong Kong" (PDF). Mem. Hong Kong Nat. Hist. Soc. 20: 221–222.
  6. 1 2 Yule, Henry, Sir (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.
  7. ↑ CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses by John B. Dunning Jr. (ed.). CRC Press (1992), ISBN 978-0-8493-4258-5.
  8. ↑ Asian Koel. oiseaux-birds.com
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Payne, RB (2005). The Cuckoos. Oxford University Press.
  10. ↑ Ali S & Ripley, SD (1981). Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 3 (2 ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 227–230.
  11. ↑ Gill, F., Wright, M. & Donsker, D. (2009). "IOC World Bird Names version 2.0". Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  12. ↑ Christidis, L. & Boles, W E (2008). Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Collingwood, Vic.: CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 978-0-643-06511-6.
  13. ↑ Clements, JF (2007). The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World. (7 ed.). Christopher Helm. ISBN 978-0-7136-8695-1.
  14. ↑ Penart TE (1919). "The name of the Black Cuckoo" (PDF). Auk 36 (4): 569–570. doi:10.2307/4073368.
  15. ↑ Ripley, SD (1946). The Koels of the Bay of Bengal. (PDF). The Auk 63. pp. 240–241. doi:10.2307/4080015.
  16. ↑ Daniels, RJR (1984). "Eye color in koels". Newsletter for Birdwatchers 24 (9–10): 13.
  17. ↑ Rawlinson PA; RA Zann; S Balen & IWB Thornton (1992). "Colonization of the Krakatau islands by vertebrates". GeoJournal 28 (2): 225–231. doi:10.1007/BF00177236.
  18. ↑ Goodwin D. (1983). Crows of the World. Queensland University Press, St Lucia, Qld. ISBN 0-7022-1015-3.
  19. ↑ Phillips, WWA (1948). "Cuckoo problems of Ceylon". Spolia Zeylanica 25: 45–60.
  20. ↑ Lamba, BS (1976). "The Indian crows: a contribution to their breeding biology, with notes on brood parasitism on them by the Indian Koel". Records of the Zoological Survey of India 71: 183–300.
  21. ↑ Begum, Sajeda; Moksnes, Arne; Røskaft, Eivin; Stokke, Bård G. (2011). "Interactions between the Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopacea) and its hosts". Behaviour 148 (3): 325–340. doi:10.1163/000579511X558400.
  22. ↑ Begum S; Moksnes A; Røskaft E; Stokke BG (2011). "Factors influencing host nest use by the brood parasitic Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea)". Journal of Ornithology 152 (3): 793–800. doi:10.1007/s10336-011-0652-y.
  23. ↑ Smith, TEH (1950). "Black drongos fostering a koel". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc 49 (1): 304.
  24. ↑ Harington, HH (1904). "The Koels laying in the nest of Pica rustica, the Magpie". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 15 (3): 520.
  25. ↑ 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.
  26. ↑ Lowther, Peter E (2007). "Host list of avian brood parasites −2 – Cuculiformes; Cuculidae". Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  27. ↑ Dewar, D (1907). "An enquiry into the parasitic habits of the Indian koel". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 17 (3): 765–782.
  28. ↑ Raju, K.S.R. Krishna (1968). "Intelligence of a pair of Koels Eudynamys scolopacea". Newsletter for Birdwatchers 8 (10): 12.
  29. ↑ Lamba,BS (1966). "The egg-laying of the Koel Eudynamys scolopacea (Linnaeus)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 63 (3): 750–751.
  30. ↑ Ali, H, SA Hassan, SA Rana, MA Beg and M Mehmood-ul-Hassan (2007). "Brood parasitism of Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopacea) on the house crow (Corvus splendens) in Pothwar region of Pakistan". Pak. J. Agric. Soc. Sci. 44 (4): 627–634.
  31. ↑ Jacob, JR (1915). "Seven Koel's eggs in one nest". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 24 (1): 191–192.
  32. ↑ Jones, AE (1916). "Number of Koel's E. honorata eggs found in one nest". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 24 (2): 370.
  33. ↑ Abdulali, H (1931). "Eleven Koel eggs in a Crow's nest". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 35 (2): 458.
  34. ↑ Broom, M, G D Ruxton and Rebecca M. Kilner (2007). "Host life-history strategies and the evolution of chick-killing by brood parasitic offspring". Behavioral Ecology 19: 22. doi:10.1093/beheco/arm096.
  35. ↑ Grim, T (2006). "Low virulence of brood parasitic chicks: adaptation or constraint" (PDF). Ornithol. Sci. 5: 237–242. doi:10.2326/osj.5.237.
  36. ↑ Lydekker, R (1895). The Royal Natural History. Volume 4. p. 8.
  37. ↑ Dixit, Dhruv (1968). "Parental instincts in Koel Eudynamys scolopacea (Linnaeus)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 65 (2): 485–486.
  38. ↑ Lorenzana, JC & SG Sealy (1998). "Adult brood parasites feeding nestlings and fledglings of their own species: A review" (PDF). J. Field Ornithol. 69 (3): 364–375.
  39. ↑ 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". Trans. N. Z. Inst. 36: 113–148.
  40. ↑ Pratt, Thane K., T. K. (1 May 1984). "Examples of tropical frugivores defending fruit-bearing plants" (PDF). The Condor 86 (2): 123–129. doi:10.2307/1367024. ISSN 0010-5422. JSTOR 1367024.
  41. ↑ 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.
  42. ↑ Uttangi, JC (2004). "Robbing of eggs by female Koel, from the nest of Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)". Newsletter for Birdwatchers 44 (5): 77.
  43. ↑ Purefoy, AE Bagwell (1947). "The Koel as an egg-stealer". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 46 (4): 723.
  44. ↑ Kannan, R (1991). "Koels feeding on the yellow oleander". Blackbuck 7 (2): 48.
  45. ↑ Krishnan, M (1952). "Koels (Eudynamis scolopaceus) eating the poisonous fruit of the Yellow Oleander". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 50 (4): 943–945.
  46. ↑ Laird, Marshall & Faiyaz A. Lari (1958). "Observations on Plasmodium circumflexum Kikuth and P. vaughani Novy and Macneal from East Pakistan". The Journal of Parasitology 44 (2): 136–152. doi:10.2307/3274690. JSTOR 3274690. PMID 13539706.
  47. ↑ Peirce, M. A. and R. D. Adlard (2005). "The haemoproteids of the Cuculidae". Journal of Natural History 39 (25): 2281–2287. doi:10.1080/00222930500060942.
  48. ↑ Sharma RK (1971). "On a new nematode Spirocaudata bispiculatum gen.nov. sp.nov. (Ancyracanthidae) from the koel, Eudynamys scolopacea". Parasitology 62: 49–52. doi:10.1017/S0031182000071286.
  49. ↑ Archer, William George (1972). The blue grove: the poetry of the Uraons. Ayer Publishing. ISBN 0-8369-6920-0.
  50. ↑ Fuchs, Stephen (2000). Thirty Korku Dancing Songs. Asian Folklore Studies 59. pp. 109–140. doi:10.2307/1179030.
  51. ↑ Beveridge, Annette (1922). The Babur-nama in English. Luzac, London. ISBN 0-7189-0139-8.
  52. ↑ Padhy S, SK Dash & R Mohapatra (2006). "Environmental Laws of Manu: A Concise Review". J. Hum. Ecol. 19 (1): 1–12.
  53. ↑ Macdonell, AA & A B Keith (1912). Vedic index of names and subjects. Volume 1. London: John Murray. p. 24.
  54. ↑ Friedmann, Herbert (1965). "The History of our Knowledge of Avian Brood Parasitism". Centaurus 10 (4): 282–304. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0498.1965.tb00628.x. PMID 5336649.
  55. ↑ Ramakrishnan, Deepa (April 21, 2007). "Puducherry comes out with list of State symbols". The Hindu.
  56. ↑ Anonymous (1998). "Vernacular Names of the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent" (PDF). Buceros 3 (1): 53–109.
  57. ↑ Law, Satya Churn (1923). "Pet birds of Bengal. Vol. 1". Thacker and Spink: 315–316.

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