Fwd: [BIRDING-AUS] Some thoughts on the Melbourne Koel

["Peter Ewin" <>]

I had a quick look at HANZAB this morning, and though it is does not seem 
conclusive, it matches what I always thought the Koel calls were about. The 
"koel" call seems to be commonest when the males are first advertising, 
though it does go throughout the summer. However the "wirra" call seems to 
start once the females are about and the males are starting to get really 
excited. This call seems to take place in flight quiet regularly, whereas I 
think the "koel" call is usually called from a perch. My uninformed opinion 
then is, the "koel" is a territory call whereas the "wirra" is more 
associated with interactiuons with the female, which has a different 
response call.
In regard to the Hamilton bird, it may have continued the "koel" call 
because it was getting no response from a female.
Cheers,
Peter


> From: 
> To: 
> Subject: [BIRDING-AUS] Some thoughts on the Melbourne Koel
> Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 11:57:09 +1000
>
>
>
> G'day all
>
> East coast folk are no doubt bemused by our southern excitement at a visit 
> from
> a Koel.  It seems like such an exotic bird to us.
>
> I suppose the very wet weather in NSW and QLD recently could be an 
> explanation
> but I don't think that explains the two birds in Victoria in the summer of
> 1998-1999.  If you remember, there was one which visited Mildura briefly in
> early November, 1998 and then another which turned up in Hamilton on 14th
> November 1998.  The Hamilton bird stayed until at least 15th January 1999.  
> It
> occasionally moved around a several km wide range but tended to mostly stay 
> in
> the one fairly small area.
>
> The dates of the last Mildura sighting and the first Hamilton sighting mean 
> that
> if there was only one bird it would have had to have flown the 400km in 
> (from
> memory) 2 days.  Possible but I think unlikely given the un-Koel-like 
> habitat in
> between.
>
> So, there may be more than one bird in Melbourne but the distance between 
> the
> sightings could probably be covered by one bird.  Whatever, I hope they 
> stay
> until Christmas when I will be down.
>
> A question for Koel experts - I only heard the "koel" call from the bird in
> Hamilton, never the ''wirra wirra" call.  What are these two calls used for 
> by
> the bird?
>
> Cheers
>
> Steve
>
> *********************************************************
> Steve Clark
> 45 Carmichael Street, Hamilton, Victoria, 3300
> www.ansonic.com.au/clarks/sw_birds.htm
> *********************************************************
>
>
>
> Birding-Aus is on the Web at
> www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message
> "unsubscribe birding-aus" (no quotes, no Subject line)
> to 
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Get more from the Web.  FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com


Birding-Aus is on the Web at
www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message
"unsubscribe birding-aus" (no quotes, no Subject line)
to