The Asian koel (តាវ៉ៅ) goes by great reputation for being smart, some even say that they are smarter than crows. This bird species is a member of the cuckoo family, so it actually has quite a few fascinating things. In Cambodia, people use Asian koel as an example of corruption amongst corrupted people in the society. How so? Find out more below and you will know why.
Appearance
The Asian koel (pronounced kohl) is a large cuckoo species with a long tail, with males having a more interesting appearance than females. A male Asian koel is glossy bluish-black, with a pale greenish gray bill legs, and feet. Meanwhile, the female has a brownish crown accompanied by dark brown with white and buff spots on the back, rump, and wing coverts. Both males and females have crimson irises, making it very easy to recognize their species.
Behavior
Here is the part where we discuss the comparison between the Asian koel and the corrupted people in Cambodia’s society. This bird species is a brood parasite because it does not build its own nest. The female lays her egg in the nest of other birds such as the common myna, house crow, jungle crow, shrike, etc. Some lays just one egg or two in a single nest but some may lay up to 11 eggs. Sometimes, the male may help distract the host or keep watch as the female removes the host’s egg and lays hers. Being able to fool other birds, Asian koels are intelligent in a not-so-good way; to be honest.
Koel chicks hatch around 3 days ahead of the host chicks, and they can pretend to be a crow by imitating its call. When the egg hatches, the hosts of the nest will raise the chick because they thought it was theirs. We have an adage that goes “took from the crows to give to the Asian koel”. The hosts (mostly crows in Cambodia) always try to find food to feed the chicks of other birds. In real life, it is like the people who take advantage of innocent people to bribe high-ranking people.
Feeding & Habitats
This cuckoo bird species is omnivorous so that feed on a wide variety of meals. Adults feed mainly on fruit as well as caterpillars, eggs, insects, and small vertebrates. A flock of them can consume any fruit growing around them, and that can make them pests. The thing is that they are very important because they regurgitate seeds after fruit consumption, allowing fruit trees to flourish.
Asian koel inhabits bamboo thickets, light woodland, and mangroves in China, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia. There are also some populations of Asian koels that travel long distances that can be found in Australia. It is also common to see them in cultivation areas, light woodland areas, and areas with shrubs and tall trees. These birds are shy and they like to hide in trees during the daytime so seeing them is quite rare. The only common thing about them is their “ooo-ooo” call, without seeing the birds make the call.
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