birding-aus
Birding-aus
Gerry Hopkins asked how juvenile Koel Cuckoos learn to eat fruit and
whether anyone has seen Koels collect their young.
Last Christmas 1997/98 my local pair of Red Wattlebirds reared a
juvenile Koel Cuckoo mostly in and around my garden. They were busy
feeding the Juvenile Koel little cicadas, moths, caterpillars etc. Near
the nest tree my next door neighbour was growing cherry tomatoes. A pair
of adult Koels came daily to the garden and from my upstairs kitchen
window I watched both male and female raid the the ripe cherry tomatoes.
The juvenile Koel was in the adjacent Swamp Oak and one day the male
Koel flew to the juvenile and fed it a cherry tomatoes. Within a number
of days the juvenile Koel was coming down and taking its own cherry
tomatoes. The Red Wattlebird hosts never atea tomatoe.This summer, my
garden pair of Red Wattlebirds reared two Koels in succession, the last
left the nest on 26/2/99, and was still around the garden until
yesterday, on 1/3/99 there was a male koel in the garden, presumably
checking on its progeny, however I did not see it feeding the juvenile
on this occasion. Koels and Channel-billed Cuckoos are known to meet up
with their offspring before departing.
Alan Morris
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