“This is a distress call made by the male when it is chased by the crow. There is no tuft of hair atop the bill. Up until the late 1980s, it was a non-breeding visitor, sometimes considered as a winter visitor. Their eggs are hatched by the crow." After laying the eggs, the female koel flies away to the dense forests as it likes to live on big trees full of leaves to hide it. At midday I hear them at their loudest. Size asked Sujith. The Koel became widespread in Singapore thanks to the house crow. There is a tuft of hair atop the bill. It’s he who sings beautifully. The Koel is widely seen throughout Singapore, but it has not always been the case. "A mother koel lays her eggs in the nest of a crow. Asian Koel is a resident bird and it lives near cultivation area and semi-forests. The koel manipulates a host (crow) to raise its young as if it were its own, and lays its egg/s in the crow's nest. She added. Bigger, more powerful and curved. Crow What Do Crows Eat? Crows are omnivorous and they primarily feed on small insects, nuts, fruits, mollusks, seeds, weeds, frogs, eggs, mice, earthworms, and carrion. In Sri Lanka it was known to parasitize only the Jungle Crow until the 1880 and later shifted to the House Crow. Aunty, when is their breeding season?" The main diet of Koel includes fruits, insects, eggs of other birds, caterpillar, The main Koel has sanskrit root and it has come of Sanskrit name of Kokila. In agricultural areas like grain fields these species eat several tiny insects that are harmful to the fields, indeed helping farmers; however, they also eat grains that certainly do not assist agricultural men. For this recording, I have induced the call by knocking hard on the tree trunk in which Koel was sighted. The baby cuckoos are artists in the art of cajoling their step parents! The Koel makes a variety of calls, including the distinctively loud, repetitive, high- pitched ‘ku-oo’ mating calls from dawn, and can sometimes be heard till night. I saw this sight of House Crows (Corvus splendens) feeding koel chicks in their nest opposite our home in Mylapore, Chennai, on the 5th of August, 2018. As a member of the cuckoo family, the Koel is … On the other hand there have also been cases of the koel nestling growing up together with those of the host. The Asian Koel is a brood parasite, and lays its single egg in the nests of a variety of birds, including the Jungle Crow, and House Crow. 7) Duet of male and female HERE (attached Duet Male Female Koel.mp3 recorded on 2 May 2009 at about 6 pm) “The calls of a male and a female in the same tree. Indian Koel Cuckoo – early days with a Crow family. The male koel is jet black in colour that’s a keen observer of the crows. "Very interesting! Crow versus Raven comparison chart; Crow Raven; Feathers: Less shiny, may have lighter markings: Shiny and wet sheen: Wings in Sun: Purple with green-tinted wings: Shiny with a blue or purple tint: Bill: Smaller and flat. The Asian Koel is more often heard than seen, especially during its breeding season (roughly every 3 months throughout the year, following the house crow’s breeding cycle). Apparently the koel’s shorter incubation of 13-14 days compared to the crow’s 16-20 days allows the former to hatch first and thus eject the eggs or nestling of the host. The baby cuckoos are artists in the art of cajoling their step parents!