Eudynamys scolopaceus

All over the Indian Subcontinent & Southeast Asia

State Bird of Jharkhand & Puducherry

Continuing this week too in the vicinity of the Ameenpur Lake and some more water bodies across South East Asia I have here today a very distinctive bird, often heard and rarely seen - the Asian Koel. 

The Asian Koel is a large shy bird, distinctive in all plumages, usually secretive, keeping to the interior of dense trees in many habitats belonging to the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. It is found in the Indian Subcontinent, China & Southeast Asia. It forms a superspecies with the closely related black-billed koels, and Pacific koels which are sometimes treated as subspecies. This is a bird without borders, frequently heard but rarely seen.

Lakes and water bodies in Telangana are locally known as cheruvu, kunta & tanks. Quite a few of these lakes, like Tigal Kunta, Somajiguda Tank, Mir Jumla tank, Pahar Tigal Kunta, Kunta Bhawani Das, Nawab Saheb Kunta, Afzalsagar, Nallakunta, Masab Tank etc, have completely disappeared and the surface area of most of the surviving lakes have shrunken and turned into tiny ponds and cesspools. Lakes like the Hussain Sagar Lake, Kunta Mallaiyapalli have shrunk drastically. Of the thousands of water bodies existing in 1970s in various sizes in and around Hyderabad, today only about 70 to 500 of them have survived. Most of them have disappeared due to encroachment or have been illegally drained for real estate projects by private or government agencies. The existing lakes have been used to dump garbage and sewage water.

Most of these lakes and tanks were built during the regime of the Qutb Shahis in 16th and 17th century and later by the Nizams as sources of drinking water for the residents of Hyderabad. The area of Hussain Sagar, which is the largest lake in Hyderabad shrunk by more than 40% i.e. from 550 ha to 349 ha in just 30 years. This lake was built in 1575 AD and since 1930 is not being used as a source for drinking water. Another such lake is the Ameenpur Lake on the western fringe of Hyderabad, surrounded by fantastic primordial rock formations, modern apartments, factories and a village. Ameenpur Lake is an ancient sprawling man-made lake dating back to the time of Ibrahim Qutb Shah, who ruled the kingdom of Golconda between 1550 and 1580. According to one account, the tank was excavated to irrigate a large public garden. The lake is now divided into two parts called Pedda Ameenpur and Chinna Cheruvu.

Chincholi Wildlife Sanctuary

The Chincholi Wildlife Sanctuary is the first dry land Wildlife Sanctuary in South India and was declared a sanctuary in 2011 extending over 134.88 km². This is the only area in the Hyderabad Karnataka Region with rich floral biodiversity. Apart from medicinal herbs and trees, species like the Red Sanders and Sandalwood are found abundantly. The Sanctuary has good dry deciduous and moist deciduous forest in the core with Acacia and Teak plantations on the fringes. Apart from the Chandrampally dam, four small dams exist at its Centre. The forest is also home to fauna like the Black Buck, Common Fox, Four-horned Antelope, Fruit bat, Hyena, Indian Wolf etc. Over 35 species of birds, including Black Drongo, Black-winged Kite, Blossom-headed Parakeet, Blue pigeon, Black-headed Oriole and Grey Partridge are also found. Chincholi is also home to the Lambani Tandas, a protected tribal community that lives locally in the forests in harmony with nature.

I had the opportunity to work with the Forest Range officer stationed here at the time and was able to document almost 35 species of birds within a few hours.

Bishan Ang Mo Kio Park, Singapore

Despite being an island surrounded by water, it seems there are few places where residents of Singapore can actually interact with water. Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park is one of them. Formerly known as Bishan Park, the 62-hectare Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, first opened in 1988, is located between the two housing estates of Bishan and Ang Mo Kio, in the central area of the island. It is located north of the Central Business District and just east of the Central Water Catchment, next to the Lower Pierce Reservoir. The naturalised Kallang River flows down the middle running from the Lower Pierce Reservoir to the Marina Reservoir (previously the ocean) and serves multiple purposes like flood control, water purification, aesthetic enjoyment, and recreational and educational opportunities. The park was redesigned to utilise the use of natural processes for flood and soil erosion control, with a new floodplain design and soil bioengineering. Natural processes and materials are used for water treatment and filtration with the creation of a cleansing biotope, an artificial wetland that treats and purifies the water of the river through the use of selected plants, and a network of vegetated bioswales. Biodiversity has already increased by 30%. 66 species of wildflower, 59 species of birds and 22 species of dragonfly have been identified here which isn’t bad for a city park.

Ameenpur Lake

Ameenpur Lake is a man-made lake reportedly built more than 300 years ago by a courtier, Abdul Qadir Amin Khan of Patancheru, during the reign of Ibrahim Qutb Shah (1550–1580 AD). It was constructed to water his gardens which haven’t survived the ravages of time but the lake itself has, albeit, much smaller in size. The lake is urrounded by fantastic primordial rock formations, modern apartments, factories and a village. In its heyday the lake used to occupy more than 300 acres (1.2 km²), but encroachment and development has reduced it today to a mere 93 acres (0.38 km²). The lake has been divided into two sections, Pedda Ameenpur and Chinna Cheruvu.

The lake is teeming with wildlife, including Bar-headed Geese, Cormorants, Ruddy Shelducks, and Grey Herons. Various resident and migratory birds, such as flamingos, egrets, herons, cormorants, kingfishers, and river terns are among the many local and migratory species that flock to the lake making it a major spot for birdwatchers in Hyderabad. The lake had 186 species in 2016 the time of the last count, up from 171 in 2015. In 2017 it was reported that the lake was home to 8 species of mammals, 166 birds, 45 herpetofauna (12 amphibians and 34 reptiles like the Checkered Keelback & the Oriental Garden Lizard), 9 species of fish, and 143 invertebrates (26 aquatic beetles, 41 butterflies, 18 odonates, 25 arachnids, and 33 other invertebrates). Flamingos are the most common birds found here along with the Oriental Darter, Pallid Harrier, Black-tailed Godwit, Painted Stork, River Tern, and Black-headed Ibis which are among the six species categorised as Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Sometimes, if luck favours, the Greater Spotted Eagle - classified as Vulnerable, and the Egyptian Vulture - classified as Endangered, can be seen soaring the skies here.

Today, because of the vast number of migrating birds that thrive there Ameenpur Lake has the distinction of being the first water body in the country to be declared a Biodiversity Heritage Site. The biodiversity tag was awarded for the Pedda Ameenpur Lake, which is at a higher elevation than Chinna Cheruvu. The Ministry of Environment designated Ameenpur as a Biodiversity Heritage Site in November 2016 under the Biological Diversity Act 2002. It is the first body of water in India to be designated as a Biodiversity Heritage Site, as well as the first biodiversity site to be approved in an urban area.

What is a Biodiversity Heritage Site? These biodiversity heritage sites are a region with great biodiversity that are unique, environmentally fragile ecosystems - terrestrial, coastal, inland and marine waters. They exhibit Species richness including both wild and domesticated species, as well as intra-specific categories. There is a high degree of endemism, rare, endemic, and imperilled species, keystone species, evolutionarily important species, wild forebears of domestic/cultivated species or land races or their variants. There is also predominance of biological components indicated by fossil beds that had cultural or aesthetic value in the past. These sites are important for the preservation of cultural diversity; an area with significant cultural, ethical, or aesthetic characteristics. The State Government, in cooperation with local bodies, may designate sites of biological importance as Biodiversity Heritage Sites under Section 37 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

But that said, there are still threats to this beautiful lake. First the size, it is currently spread over 93 acres which is less than a third of its original 300 acre. This reduction was due to development projects which are still ongoing and may eat into the remaining acreage of the lake. There is also a new cinder block brick kiln that has cropped up on one side. Satellite imagery shows effluents from a chemical factory complex being discharged on the western shores. These discharges along with other industrial pollutants released into the lake has caused a reduction in the food chain of birds such as fish and insects which in turn has led to a reduction in the number of birds visiting the lake. And of course the water itself is unfit for drinking. The number of bird species appears to have decreased, there are fewer trees now, and the lake has a bad odour. The biodiversity tag has the potential to conserve lakes that are otherwise fast disappearing owing to urbanization's effects. This categorisation has assisted in the prevention of encroachment and waste dumping. If this lake can be saved, it will serve as an example for other lakes throughout the country.

Asian Koel

The Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus) is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. It is found all over the Indian Subcontinent, China, and Southeast Asia. It forms a superspecies with the closely related black-billed koels, and Pacific koels which are sometimes treated as subspecies. The Asian koel like many of its related cuckoo kin is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of crows and other hosts, who raise its young. They are unusual among the cuckoos in being largely frugivorous as adults. The name koel is echoic in origin with several language variants. The bird is a widely used symbol in Indian and Nepali poetry

In 1747 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the Asian koel in the second volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The Brown and Spotted Indian Cuckow". When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the Asian Koel with the other cuckoos in the genus Cuculus. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Cuculus scolopaceus and cited Edwards' work. The Asian Koel is now placed in the genus Eudynamys that was introduced in 1827 by the English naturalists Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield. The genus name Eudynamys combines the Ancient Greek eu meaning "fine" with dunamis meaning "power" or "strength". The specific epithet scolopaceus is Modern Latin meaning "snipe-like" from Latin scolopax meaning "snipe" or "woodcock".

The species has variations within its wide range with several island populations and a number of taxonomic variations have been suggested. The black-billed koel (Eudynamys melanorhynchus) of the Sulawesi region & the Pacific Koel of Australasia are sometimes considered conspecific with the Asian Koel in which case the "combined" species is known as the common Koel. Due to differences in plumage, colour of bill and voice, the three are increasingly treated as separate species. Alternatively, only the Black-billed Koel has been considered as a separate species, or the Asian koel has included all subspecies otherwise included in the Pacific Koel, except for the subspecies breeding in Australia, which then has the name Australian koel(Eudynamys cyanocephalus).

The Asian koel has several geographic forms that have well marked plumage differences or have been geographically isolated with little gene flow. The following is a list of named subspecies with their distributions and synonyms as given by Payne:

• Eudynamys scolopaceus scolopaceus (Linnaeus, 1758) – Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Laccadives and Maldives

• Eudynamys scolopaceus chinensis (Cabanis and Heine, 1863) – Southern China and Indochina, except the Thai-Malay Peninsula

• Eudynamys scolopaceus harterti (Ingram, C 1912) – Hainan

• Eudynamys scolopaceus malayana (Cabanis and Heine, 1863) – Thai-Malay Peninsula, Lesser Sundas and Greater Sundas, except Sulawesi. May include the race dolosa described from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

• Eudynamys scolopaceus mindanensis (Linnaeus, 1766) – (includes Eudynamys scolopaceus paraguena) (Hachisuka, 1934) from Palawan, and Eudynamys scolopaceus corvina (Stresemann, 1931) from Halmahera, the Philippines (including Palawan and the Babuyan Islands), islands between Mindanao and Sulawesi, and North Maluku, except the Sula Islands

The Asian Koel is a large and long-tailed cuckoo measuring 39–46 cm and weighing about 190–327 g. The male of the nominate race is glossy bluish-black, with a pale greenish grey bill, the iris is crimson, and it has grey legs and feet. The female of the nominate race is brownish on the crown and has rufous streaks on the head. The back, rump and wing coverts are dark brown with white and buff spots. The underparts are whitish, but is heavily striped. The other subspecies differ in colouration and size. The upper plumage of young birds is more like that of the male and they have a black beak. They are very vocal during the breeding season (March to August in the Indian Subcontinent), with a range of different calls. The familiar song of the male is a repeated koo-Ooo. The female makes a shrill kik-kik-kik... call. Calls vary across populations. The male also utters other calls such as “kuhu, kuhu, kuhu”, and loud, harsh whistles while the female has a rhythmic “wook- wook”, and short, shrill whistles.

The Asian koel is a bird of light woodland and cultivation. It is a mainly resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to southern China and the Greater Sundas. They have great potential in colonising new areas, and were among the pioneer birds to colonise the volcanic island of Krakatau. They first arrived in Singapore in the 1980s and became very common birds. Some populations may make long-distance movements being found in places like Australia.

The Asian Koel is a brood parasite, and lays its single egg in the nests of a variety of birds, including the jungle crow and house crow. A study in India found 5% of Corvus splendens and 0.5% of Corvus macrorhynchos nests parasitised. The strange thing is that even though Crows raise young Koels and continue to feed them after they leave the nest, they seem to know something isn't right. They strongly dislike older Koels and will attack them if given the opportunity. Sometimes male Koels will cause a distraction while the female lays an egg in the host's nest, but usually the female goes to the nest alone.

The koel usually doesn't lay eggs in an empty nest. A study in Pakistan showed that koel eggs are usually laid about one and a half days after the host's first egg. Koel chicks hatch about three days before the host's chicks. Usually, Koels lay one or two eggs in a nest, but some nests have had as many as seven to eleven Koel eggs. A female may remove a host egg before laying. Eggs hatch in 12 to 14 days. The young koel does not always push out eggs or evict the host chicks, and initially calls like a crow. The young fledge in 20 to 28 days. Unlike some other cuckoos, the young do not attempt to kill the host chicks, a trait that is shared with the channel-billed cuckoos which are also largely frugivorous as adults. It has been suggested that koels, like some other brood parasites do not evict the host chicks due presumably due to the higher cost of evicting nestmates.

A small parasite may not be able to evict large host eggs or chicks from a deep Corvid nest without risking starvation and possibly accidental self-eviction. An alternate hypothesis that retaining host chicks might benefit the koel chicks did not gain much support. Adult female parents have been known to feed young koels in the nests of the hosts, a behaviour seen in some other brood parasitic species as well. Adult males have however not been noted to feed fledglings. The average lifespan of Koel is between 12 to 15 years.

The Asian Koel is omnivorous, consuming a variety of insects, caterpillars, eggs and small vertebrates. Adults feed mainly on fruit. They will sometimes defend fruiting trees that they forage in and chase away other frugivores. They have been noted to be especially important in the dispersal of the sandalwood tree (Santalum album) in India. Large seeded fruits are sometimes quickly regurgitated near the parent tree while small seeded fruits are ingested and are likely to be deposited at greater distances from the parent tree. They have a large gape and are capable of swallowing large fruits including the hard fruit of palms such as Arengaand Livistona. They have been known to occasionally take eggs of small birds.

The word "koel" is onomatopoeic in origin. The Sanskrit name of "Kokila" and words in several Indian languages are similarly echoic. Being familiar birds with loud calls, references to them are common in folklore, myth and poetry. It is traditionally held in high regard for its song and revered in the Manusmriti, with a decree protecting them from harm. The Vedas, Sanskrit literature dated to about 2000 BC referred to it as Anya-Vapawhich has been translated as "that which was raised by others" (or "sown for others to reap"). This has been interpreted as the earliest written reference to brood parasitism. It has been chosen as the state bird by the Indian union territory of Puducherry. These birds were once very popular in India as cagebirds. Feeding even on boiled rice, these hardy birds lived in captivity for as long as 14 years.

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