Common or Eastern Koel, aka Rainbird, Stormbird and Coo-ee Bird sheltering from the rain in my Banksia.
Shot #2 shows the beautiful blue/green colour in his plumage in direct sunlight and #3 is his girlfriend.
This pair have been camped in my yard for about five weeks so I don't need an alarm clock. :}
Great that you got clear views of both, and that you don't mind them waking you up!
Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera
Great shots! Love that you got both. Thanks for sharing.
Very nice. I here them a lot more than i see them.
Wow great shots. Lucky to get them in the clear like that. Love the green shine in the 2nd photo
Great photos of these striking birds. I take it they are called Rainbirds becuase they sing before rain???
elizabeth
Great shots of the pair ... love that blue/green sheen in the sunlight.
Not really. They are actually migratory birds that travel to Australia to breed, arriving in south-east Queensland in spring and staying until March-April when they head back to Indonesia. When the summer rain comes, so does the distinctive call of the common koel. These large cuckoos call during their breeding season from September to February, which corresponds to the summer rain season in many areas. You can often spot males perched in high positions calling and displaying, but the common koel is usually quite shy and is unlikely to let you approach them although that doesn't seem the case with these two birds. I suspect there is a fruit tree nearby that is attracting these birds.
Great photographs.
Samford Valley Qld.
For years these birds arrived locally, like clockwork, on the 23rd September, although the last couple of years it has been a week or so later.
The attraction in my yard is the Ochna which the male is perched on in the 2nd shot.
He sits up in the nearby Banksia and when the Orioles, Figbirds and Satin Boiwerbirds come for a feed he swoops on them and chases them off.
Cheers
Cage
Hunter Valley NSW