Cry of the Koel

["Geoffrey Dabb" <>]

Interesting that the name should come from faraway India, being the Hindi 
name for the species, and originally from Sanskrit, so perhaps very old. 
However, the most usual call of our male bird is sometimes also given as 
'koel' (the power of suggestion?), although most authorities cited by HANZAB 
prefer 'coo-ee' (what a real Australian!) or 'wurroo'.  I note that the 
authorities on aboriginal languages consulted by HANZAB give names for the 
bird significantly removed from 'koel', viz. A-duric, Duwaw, Guwak, 
Minh-pult, Warlkuli, and Zow.
Without venturing too deeply into comparative phonemics, one is led to 
suspect that no serious attempt was being made there to reproduce the call, 
and 'Minh-pult', for example, might well have meant something like 'No point 
trying to sleep.  Let's hunt possums'.