Bird guidePacific Koel

The type locality is Ambon Island , one of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia.

⚠️Not listed
🍃Indigenous: A-Duwawh, Duwawmanja, Jawok, Gowak, Stounbed, Duwaw, Wurramurra, Guwag, Birbirg, Bogubogu, Burrala-Burrala

At a glance

FamilyCuckoos
SizeSmall
RarityCommon
HabitatOccurs in a variety of habitats, fairly common in suburban areas.
Best timeMost reliable in New South Wales from October to January.

Sounds

Sound sample
0:000:00
Recorded by Étienne Leroy

Range map

Range map

2773visible hotspots
114810visible records
6states
Low confidenceMediumHigh confidence

Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.

Species notes

Overview

Bright red eye. Males entirely black. Females barred with varying patterns, a black crown and a strong moustache. Occurs in a variety of habitats, fairly common in suburban areas. Strong migrant, spending the middle of the year in eastern Indonesia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, and migrating south into eastern Australia during the austral summer.

Behavior

Calls are very loud, often heard at night or pre-dawn, including a piercing ‘coo-eee’, and a longer ‘wirra-wirra-wirra’ (similar to a car alarm).

Regional timing

Victoria
Peak: November to December3,981 records
New South Wales
Peak: October to January48,923 records
Queensland
Peak: October to January49,115 records
Northern Territory
Peak: October to November3,650 records
Western Australia
Peak: October451 records
South Australia
Peak: September39 records
Australian Capital Territory
Peak: November to January8,586 records
Tasmania
Peak: January6 records

Commonly confused with

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