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Project Noah Nature School
Eudynamys scolopaceus
The male is jet black with ruby eyes. The female is speckled and a light brown. She is also more wary than the male. Slender shape.
I sometimes put out over-ripe bananas for the birds and always provide fresh water. I get lots of birds of different kinds. Yesterday the male Koel came alone. It was a first. Today Madam Koel came along. My roof top terrace.It was a joy to see the male feed the female. Actually the female was hiding behind one of the water bowls. The male took a large bit of banana and flew away. For a split second I thought..."for the chicks..." and then I remembered these birds are brood parasites and build no nests. I was sitting on the stairs to the terrace and craned my neck to see who it was feeding and Lo and behold it was the female. It took her a while to summon up courage to actually come and feed on the bananas...but she did.These used to be very shy birds when I was a child, now I even see them sitting on electric wires in the open.
If I put out the bananas at night civet cats get them..peels and all but I never get any moths.
Spotted on Mar 4, 2020
Submitted on Mar 4, 2020
13 Comments
Thank you, Maria and Leuba...my desktop was restored and my wifi is working...and I am here. So happy to read your comments. Thank you, Mark.
Wonderful notes and spotting!
Miss these bird calls. They used to annoy me in Chennai starting their songs at 4 am on my only day off....now it's a different story. Very nostalgic.
Love your notes and photos Sukanya.
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!
Thank you, Chief.
Sukanya, this is a rare capture! Congratulations!
Thank you Zlatan. It was very sweet to see their interaction
Glad you liked the spotting.
Beautiful series, Sukanya and love the story. Thanks for sharing indeed.
Thanks Mark and Neil. Those over ripe bananas proved to be the best investment ever.
You must get woken by these often Neil? My brother's place in Wynnum was an impossible place to sleep in in the mornings.
I had no idea the females were speckled. A wonderful experience to watch these birds from the comfort of your own terrace. Beautiful photos and well-documented. Thanks for sharing, Sukanya.
Nice you still have civets there too.
Fabulous series Sukanya. I love the call they make early morning (sometimes maybe too early) but so reminiscent of south India (family). Best of all we have heard them somewhere near here, our home in Melbourne, in the last two summers. Haven't been able to spot it but of course the call is so distinctive.