Koel (female) [Eudynamys scolopaceus]

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Flora & Fauna

Salim Ali and S. Dillon Ripley note that the female koel is (above) “dark brown, profusely white-spotted and barred. Tail-feathers and wing-quills barred with white”, and (below) “white; spotted on chin, throat and foreneck, barred on rest of underparts with blackish.” The male Koel is described by Ali and Ripley as “glistening metallic black all over, with yellowish green bill and crimson eyes.” The koel belongs to the cuckoo family (Cuculidae). Many cuckoos have a habit of laying their eggs in the nests of other species and not building any nests themselves.

Collection:

Nature Collection

Album Name:

Sathasivam collection - Birds

Photograph ID:

001/0387/0006

Album ID:

0387

Photographers:

Kumaran and Ramila Sathasivam are keen naturalists and photographers. Their photographs have appeared in a number of publications, including Blackbuck, the journal of the Madras Naturalists' Society. Kumaran Sathasivam is a 1980s' IIT Madras alumnus. His book A Forest in the City is about his natural history experiences during his student days.