Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Asian Koel

I have just returned from a two-week trip to southeast Asia, but I had only about 20 minutes available for chasing a bird just before I left Singapore. This very vocal Asian Koel, a member of the Cuckoo family, was calling from near the top of a 40-ft. palm tree in front of the famous Raffles Hotel. It was so loud that even casually-strolling tourists were turning around to look for it. A recording (not mine) can be heard at this YouTube link:


Once you hear it calling, it's easy to understand how it got its name.