I was always under the impression that the Brain-fever bird referred to the
Pallid Cuckoo in Australia - that is certainly what my old beaten copy of the
Reader's Digest book has.
Cheers,
Peter
> From:
> To:
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] koels
> Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:29:29 +1000
> CC:
>
> Hi Greg,
>
> The name 'brain-fever bird seems to have been used for the Koel, by
> English speakers right through Asia as well. Interesting how the
> interpretation of the BFB's call changes with language. In Bengali
> they are supposed be saying "my eyes are gone", in Hindi, "where's my
> love?" and in Marathi, "the rains are coming! You could probably make
> some interesting Haiku, using a rendition of the CHC's call from one
> language per line of Haiku.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Carl clifford
> On 15/09/2009, at 10:28 AM, Greg & Val Clancy wrote:
>
> Hi Carl,
>
> It is interesting that you mention the name 'brain-fever bird' as
> appropriate for the Eastern Koel. As a child I spent most school
> holidays camping with my family at Little Beach, Nelson Bay, NSW. The
> call of the 'brain-fever bird', as it was known to the locals and
> campers, was a constant feature of the camping ground. I very rarely
> saw it as it used to sit high in thick foliage and would call
> constantly, much to the chagrin of the people camped nearby.
>
> Regards
>
> Greg Clancy
>
>
>
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