Mr. & Mrs. Koel

I wish I had another Avian Love Story to share! But unlike parrots, Koels (from the Cuckoo family), are shy and these were very hard to spot! I heard the male calling first – his distinctive ‘Koo Koo’ piercing the stillness of an early morning. I ran around the house peering out the windows trying to get a glimpse, but all I saw were silent Crows 😦 Then, after a while, I spied him perched on the large, leafy Ashoka outside my kitchen window. Praying silently that he would stay I ran to fetch my camera, and had to stop (just my luck!) to change to the zoom. Miraculously, he was still there, his blood-red eye surveying his surroundings for…well I don’t know, worms, fruit, Mrs. Koel?!! I thought I spied a flutter higher up in the branches and caught a fleeting glimpse of what could have been a spotted feathery body, but it was too far away to see clearly and the leafy branches obstructed my view. I got a couple of shots before he flew away and then I resolved to watch the tree for any signs of Mrs. Koel and a courtship in progress 😛 

Two days and no luck, until this morning I spotted Mrs. Koel, on the same tree, on the same branch, reaching for a fruit!! I almost fell over with excitement, but had to rush again to fetch my camera and when I was back, she had retreated into the leaf cover 😦 Those times when I don’t Love birds, I Hate them!! Uuuuuuuuuuuugh!! I hung around for a while leaning out the window, eyes stuck onto the view-finder, but then Junior was up and it was time to get the morning routine started. Mrs. Koel though was never far from my mind 😉

I watched for her intermittently while going about my chores and suddenly there she was again, just as I was frying fish for Junior’s lunch…still hidden but revealed in her brown-grey spotted plumage when the branches swayed in the breeze!! 🙂 It was rather like playing Avian hide & seek 😀 I got some pictures, and although they’re not as good as I wanted, I’m just glad I managed to capture her on film so to speak. She was rather plump, beautiful and reticent, and I can see why Mr. Koel would be interested 😉 It’s a wonder I didn’t burn the fish 😛

When I told my Aunt about how I spent most of morning chasing birds, she thought I was Nuts! You need to get your priorities right she said laughingly – Children before Birds 😀 😉 I know where mine are 😛

I wish Mr. & Mrs. Koel all the best 🙂

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