This is a female Asian Koel in my backyard. I took this video during the time the sunbirds built the nest on one my Gooseberry tree. They are a large and long tailed cuckoo measuring up to 46cm and weighing 330g. The female Asian Koel has a brownish crown with rufous streaks and a dark brown back with white and buff spots. They are whitish with heavy striping and spotted brown on the underparts. Females feature an olive or green beak and red eyes.
They are known for their variety of calls, which can be very vocal. As omnivores, they consume insects, caterpillars, eggs, small vertebrates, and mainly fruit as adults. Asian Koels are shy and arboreal, spending time hiding in dense canopies and are generally solitary. 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. They inhabit light woodlands, gardens, plantations, and urban areas across southern Asia.
Being familiar birds with loud calls, references to them are common in folklore, myth and poetry. It is traditionally held in high regard for its song and revered in the Manusmriti, with a decree protecting them from harm. 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"). This has been interpreted as the earliest written reference to brood parasitism.
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