Description:

Mid sized cuckoo with red eyes, heavy hooked bill and rounded tail. Male is glossy black (with green iridescence), with a dull lime-green bill and brilliant red eye. Female is brown above (with faint green gloss), spotted and barred with white and buff, and white below, strongly barred with dark brown.

Distribution:

Summer vagrant to the lower valleys of Gilgit and Diamer districts, with records from Gilgit. Normally prefers open woodlands, orchards and gardens, in towns and near human habitations, especially around figs and other fruiting trees, below 1500m.

Behavior:

Arboreal, feeds and spends most of its time in tree canopy. Flight is usually swift and direct. Feeds mainly on fruit, including figs, berries, papaya and other fruiting trees; also few insects, snails, flower nectar, as well as flowers, and females also eat eggs of other birds.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Asian Koel in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Asian Koel

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.