Ajay Kumar at 17:40, 29 August 2023

2023-08-29T17:40:05Z

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{{short description|Genus of birds}}
{{About|the bird genus|}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Koel
| image = Asian koel.jpg
| image_caption = Male Asian koel
| image2 = Asian koel (close-up).jpg
| image2_caption = Female Asian koel
| taxon = Eudynamys
| authority = [[Nicholas Aylward Vigors|Vigors]] & [[Thomas Horsfield|Horsfield]], 1827
| type_species = ''Cuculus orientalis'' ([[Pacific koel]])
| type_species_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1766
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''[[Eudynamys melanorhynchus]]<br />
''[[Eudynamys scolopaceus]]''<br />
''[[Eudynamys orientalis]]''
}}
{{Americana Poster|year=1920|Koel}}

The true '''koels''', '''''Eudynamys''''', are a [[genus]] of [[cuckoo]]s from [[Asia]], [[Australia]] and the [[Pacific]]. They are large [[sexual dimorphism|sexually dimorphic]] cuckoos that eat fruits and insects and have loud distinctive calls. They are [[brood parasite]]s, laying their eggs in the nests of other species.

== Taxonomy ==
The genus ''Eudynamys'' was introduced in 1827 by the English naturalists [[Nicholas Aylward Vigors|Nicholas Vigors]] and [[Thomas Horsfield]].<ref>{{ cite journal | last1=Vigors | first1=Nicholas Aylward | author1-link=Nicholas Aylward Vigors | last2=Horsfield | first2=Thomas | author2-link=Thomas Horsfield | year=1827 | title=Australian birds in the collection of the Linnean Society; with an attempt at arranging them according to their natural affinities | journal=Transactions of the Linnean Society of London | volume=15 | issue=1 | language=English, Latin| pages=170–334 [303] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/778552 }} The title page is dated 1826 but the article was not published until 1827.</ref> The name combines the [[Ancient Greek]] ''eu'' meaning "fine" with ''dunamis'' meaning "power" or "strength".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=152 |url=https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n152/mode/1up}}</ref> The [[type species]] was designated as the [[Pacific koel]] by [[George Robert Gray]] in 1840.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Gray | first=George Robert | author-link=George Robert Gray | year=1840 | title=A List of the Genera of Birds : with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus | location=London | publisher=R. and J.E. Taylor | page=57 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13668974 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | editor-last=Peters | editor-first=James Lee | editor-link=James L. Peters | year=1940 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=4 | publisher=Harvard University Press | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=36 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14476488 }}</ref>

A molecular genetic study by Sorenson and Payne (2005) found that the closest relative of ''Eudynamys'' is the [[dwarf koel]] (''Microdynamis parva''), and beyond that the [[thick-billed cuckoo]] (''Pachycoccyx audeberti''). They found that the [[Pacific long-tailed cuckoo|long-tailed cuckoo]] (''Urodynamis taitensis'') of [[New Zealand]] and the Pacific, which had earlier been placed in ''Eudynamys'' as ''E. taitensis'' and sometimes called the long-tailed koel, was more distantly related, along with other members of the tribe [[Cuculini]], including the [[white-crowned cuckoo]] (''Cacomantis leucolophus''), also known as the white-crowned koel. However, not all the evidence for the relationships was very strong and further research was required.<ref>Sorenson, Michael D.; [[Robert B. Payne|Payne, Robert B.]] (2005). "A molecular genetic analysis of cuckoo phylogeny". In Payne, Robert B. ''The Cuckoos''. Oxford University Press. pp. 90, 93. {{ISBN|0-19-850213-3}}.</ref>

===Species===
The [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomy]] of the [[common koel]] [[Species complex|complex]] is difficult and remains a matter of dispute, with some only recognizing a single species (common koel, ''Eudynamys scolopaceus'', with ''melanorhynchus'' and ''orientalis'' as subspecies), two species (common koel, ''Eudynamys scolopaceus'', with ''orientalis'' as a subspecies, and black-billed koel, ''Eudynamys melanorhynchus'') or three species (as done below).

===Sexual Dimorphism===
The female koel's plumage is banded and speckled in shades of brown. The [[Function (biology)|evolutionary function]] is to camouflage her approach to her host's nest and enable her brood parasitism to go undetected. [[Noisy miner]] and [[Anthochaera|wattle birds]] have been observed feeding their fledglings. The male's [[sexual dimorphism|sexually dimorphic]] plumage is black, like a [[Australian raven|raven]]. They are of a similar size to ravens and are known to have territories that overlap with ravens. They have also been observed being mobbed by noisy miners and wattle birds in the same way as ravens (egg predators) are. The male koel may be a raven [[Mimicry|mimic]] enabling the female to approach the host's nest, either deliberately or opportunistically, while the host flock is engaged in (distracted) mobbing the male.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific name !! Subspecies !!Common Name !! Distribution
|-
|[[File:Asian koel.jpg|120px]] || ''Eudynamys scolopaceus''<ref name=genusgender>David, N., & Gosselin, M. (2002). ''The grammatical gender of avian genera.'' Bull B.O.C. 122: 257–282.</ref> || ||[[Asian koel]] || Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to southern China, Singapore, Ryukyu Islands in southern Japan and the Greater Sundas
|-
| || ''Eudynamys melanorhynchus''<ref name=genusgender /> || ||[[Black-billed koel]] || Indonesian islands of Sulawesi, Sula, Banggai, Togian
|-
|[[File:Pacific koel male kob08.JPG|120px]] || ''Eudynamys orientalis'' || *'''Australian koel''', ''Eudynamys (orientalis) cyanocephalus''<ref name=genusgender /> ||[[Pacific koel]] || Wallacea east to the Solomon Islands and south to northern and eastern Australia
|-
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q262536}}

[[Category:Cuculidae]]
[[Category:Eudynamys|*]]
[[Category:Birds of Southeast Asia| ]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Thomas Horsfield]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Nicholas Aylward Vigors]]

Koel - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 17:40, 29 August 2023