BirdingNZ.net

Hi all,

Ken George has reported (via the NZ eBird database) hearing an Australian Koel calling in Abel Tasman N.P. yesterday. Details of his encounter can be found by clicking on the following link:

http://ebird.org/ebird/newzealand/view/ ... =S21528230

Cheers,
Nikki

Is Ken familiar with Long-tailed Cuckoo calls? They aren't all that different to Asian Koel (which I assume isn't much different to Aust Koel).

I don't think that a bird should be reported solely because of a call that was heard. I once heard what sounded exactly like a booming Bittern in a forest on the edge of suburbia with no suitable habitat nearby, but I never bothered reporting it.

Check out these recordings of Pacific (Australian) Koels--quite different from Long-tailed Cuckoos so this is worth looking into.

http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Eudynamys-orientalis

SomesBirder wrote:I don't think that a bird should be reported solely because of a call that was heard. I once heard what sounded exactly like a booming Bittern in a forest on the edge of suburbia with no suitable habitat nearby, but I never bothered reporting it.

While I agree that heard-only identifications should be taken with a grain of salt (especially when dealing with rare birds, and/or unknown observers of unknown experience), it's a crucial aspect of bird inventories so will continue to be reported and documented (Context always applies). I for one would have about 99% fewer cuckoo records if I didn't count heard-only birds!

Russ Cannings
Cambridge, BC