Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Koel-ing Out Loud!

Female Asian Koel Photo from Answers.com
Found it! I have found what my Mystery Guest Couple is now.

From my previous post Squawking A Mystery! these are Asian Koels or Eudynamys scolopacea from a website I googled called Answers.com.

As suspected, the incandescent blue-back plumage is a male, while the chestnut brown with distinctive white and light brown stripes is a female. Both have blood-red eyes and a not-so-nice way of procreation method, termed as a brood parasite.

True to the cries of the crows, the males would call onto its female companion to lay a single egg in empty nests. They prefer crows nests, while the crows are not home.

These will trick the crows into rearing their young alongside the crows own chicks, since the size between these Asian Koels and Crows are about the same. The hatchling is not known to compete with its adopted siblings to survive and will sound just like a crow for a while until its instinctive personality kicks in.

This bird species is not in any immediate danger of extinction. This is a good thing, considering the parents' lack of responsibility on their young.

To view more stunning photos, I came across an impressive photo gallery from a local pro photographer and an avid bird watcher called NatureStops owned by Paul Huang.

Another interesting local site with personal narrative is called Easy Bird-Watching Guide by John Lynn.

This combination of talent and a love for nature has resulted in a website that makes me happy that Singapore is still alive with beautiful and colourful birds surviving free in the wild, amid the small land mass shrouded with concrete jungle.

Yes. I am at peace now that this mystery is solved... until something else comes along, flying by or whatever, I am enjoying myself as much either cuddled on the sofa watching our movies or listening to the rain drops as I blog. All made possible by the monsoon season.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

8 comments:

  1. I share your excitment- I am not knowledgable about birds, but I was greatly excited when i spotted a scarlet taneger in my back yard one time (about a year and a half ago)- he was gorgeous!
    Happy new year- a new year of being passionate about life!

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  2. I saw a show on Animal Planet about those birds. It was about an hour long. It actually showed the birds hatch among their foster brothers and sisters. The show was very interesting. You are lucky to actually see one. I see the same animals where I live, not very much Variety.

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  3. Glad you solved the mystery. It would have driven me crazy to see them everyday & not know what they were! There are about seventy species of birds endemic to Hawaii. I'm always thrilled when one that is new to me crosses my path and I'm able to identify it with my little bird book.

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  4. Hey, I was raised that very same way!

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  5. How peaceful. :)
    I love to learn about birds in other parts of the world --- the red eyes amaze me!

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  6. i always love coming to your blog as you share such an excitement of everything from a new IKEA to birds.

    i used to be into birds...i had the little field books and i had a tape of bird calls. you have renewed my interest.

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  7. Yay , you solved the mystery. They are so cool. I say anything God created is awesome. We don't have birds like that here in Canada. Well we do have the crow and the raven. They are not so nice as your bird pictured on your blog.

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  8. Everyone is picking on me cause I won't do meme's...

    I think you're my only friend now.

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Hello Everyone,

Thank you for stopping by and leaving me your messages. I will also try to answer any questions you may have for me.

Thanks again and have a good day.

Regards,
Muhd Imran
PAL Blogger