For the past 3 days there has been a juvenile Koel in or nearby our backyard. It spends most of its time unseen but calling from deep inside a fruiting Lilli Pilli next door. On one occasion it was sitting in plain view on a Cocos Palm branch/frond but not feeding on the ripe fruit. On two occasions it has been heard, then observed, sitting inside our lime tree.
My attention was drawn by its call, a single note “chrpp” repeated at approximately 5 second intervals for long periods, 10 or 15 minutes. Does anyone know the purpose of this call? At no time have I seen any sign of interaction with another bird, either a host parent or another Koel.
Regards
Roger.
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Hi Roger and all,
Yes, this has also been a familiar sound around most of the Blue Mountains townships lately.
I imagine it acts as a stimulus for the host parents to feed it. Interestingly, juvenile Red Wattlebirds also have a short call which is repeated every few seconds for long periods. Of course, wattlebirds are common hosts for the Koel.
Cheers,
Carol
At 10:17 AM +1100 7/3/12, Roger Giller wrote:
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