In the breeding season males near one another, especially near females, can behave in a way that seems odd to us. This not unusual behaviour is what I call the 'frozen confrontation'. It can last for several minutes, ending in an inept lunge.
-----Original Message-----
From: Birding-Aus <> On Behalf Of Stephen Ambrose
Sent: Wednesday, November 8, 2023 10:31 AM
To: 'Laurie Knight' <>;
Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] An Odd Koel Situation
Perhaps the male had sought urgent refuge close to the ground after being chased by a host canopy-dwelling species. Maybe not an ideal choice of refuge, but it could be a case of the Koel thinking it was a good idea at the time.
Kind regards,
Stephen
Stephen Ambrose
Ryde NSW
-----Original Message-----
From: Birding-Aus <m("birding-aus.org","birding-aus-bounces");">> On Behalf Of Laurie Knight
Sent: 7 November 2023 11:08 PM
To: m("birding-aus.org","birding-aus");">
Subject: [Birding-Aus] An Odd Koel Situation
In my experience, koels almost invariably call from cover. You can hear them but they lurk in such thick foliage that you can rarely see them calling.
I was riding my bike up a hill in the southern suburbs of Brisbane around 6 am this morning when I heard some classic koel grunting. I saw a male koel perched less than a metre above the ground in an open shrub on the footpath. It remained in the shrub until I was within 2 metres of it and then flew off. I had a good look at its red eye. Shortly after a female koel broke cover from a low position about 10 metres away, calling as it flew.
I was wondering what they were up to. You don’t normally get that close to koels. I thought they might have been nest raiding. If that was the case, the host species would be one comfortable nesting at a fairly low level ...
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