- The Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus)is a member of the Cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. They are very vocal during the breeding season (March to August in the Indian Subcontinent), with a range of different calls.
Distribution and Habitat
The Asian Koel is a bird of light woodland and cultivation. It is a mainly resident breeder in tropical Southern Asia from Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to Southern China and the Greater Sundas. Some populations may make long-distance movements being found in places like Australia.
Consumption
They are unusual among the Cuckoos in being largely Frugivorous as adults. The Asian Koel is omnivorous, consuming a variety of insects, caterpillars, eggs and small vertebrates. Adults feed mainly on fruit. They will sometimes defend fruiting trees that they forage in and chase away other frugivores. They feed on the fruits of Cascabela Thevetia which are known to be toxic to mammals. They have been known to occasionally take eggs from small birds.
Breeding characteristics
The Asian Koel, like many of its related Cuckoo kin, is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of Crows and other hosts, who raise its young. The first Koel eggs were laid, on average, within one and half days of the laying of the host’s first egg. The chicks of the Koel hatched about 3 days ahead of the host chicks. Koels usually lay only an egg or two in a single nest but as many as seven to eleven eggs have been reported from some host nests. A female may remove a host egg before laying. Eggs hatch in 12 to 14 days.
- Rufous Woodpecker
The Rufous Woodpecker (Micropternus brachyurus) is a medium-sized brown Woodpecker native to South and Southeast Asia. This bird is not considered threatened on the IUCN Red List.
Distribution and Habitat
The species has a wide habitat range and in Malaysia they have been found to persist even in places where swamp forests have been removed and replaced by oil palm plantations. Their habitat is mainly in the plains and lower hills mostly below 3000 m. The Rufous Woodpecker is most well known for building its nest within the nest of acrobat ants (Crematogaster). Both the male and female take part in the excavation of the nest.
Consumption
Rufous Woodpeckers forage in pairs on ant nests on trees, fallen logs, dung heaps, ant, and termite hills. They have been noted to feed on ants. Apart from insects, it has been seen taking nectar from flowers of Bombax and Erythrina and taking sap from the bases of banana fronds.
Breeding season
The breeding season is in the pre-Monsoon dry period from February to June. The incubation period is 12 to 14 days.
- Common Myna
The Common Myna or Indian Myna (Acridotheres tristis), sometimes spelled Mynah, is a bird species native to Asia. The range of the Common Myna is increasing at such a rapid rate that in 2000 the IUCN Species Survival Commission declared it one of the world’s most invasive species and one of only three birds listed among “100 of the World’s Worst Invasive Species” that pose a threat to biodiversity, agriculture and human interests. In particular, the species poses a serious threat to the ecosystems of Australia, where it was named “The Most Important Pest/Problem” in 2008.
Distribution and Habitat
The Common Myna is native to Asia, with its initial home range spanning Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, peninsular Thailand, Indochina, Japan (both mainland Japan and the Ryukyu Islands) and China. The Common Myna has been introduced to many other parts of the world such as Canada, Australia, Israel, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji, the United States (South Florida only), South Africa, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan, the Cayman Islands, islands in the Indian Ocean (the Seychelles, Mauritius, Réunion, Madagascar, the Maldives, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Lakshadweep archipelago) and also in islands of the Atlantic (such as Ascension and Saint Helena, Pacific Ocean and Cyprus. It is an open woodland bird with a strong territorial instinct, the Common Myna has adapted extremely well to urban environments. The range of the Common Myna is increasing to the extent that in 2000 the IUCN Species Survival Commission declared it among 100 of the world’s worst invasive species.
Consumption
They are omnivores. It feeds on insects, arachnids, crustaceans, reptiles, small mammals, seeds, grain and fruits and discarded waste from human habitation. It forages on the ground among grass for insects, and especially for grasshoppers. It, however, feeds on a wide range of insects, mostly picked from the ground. Common Mynas may also appear near roadsides to feed on roadkill.
Breeding characteristics
Common Mynas are believed to pair for life. They breed through much of the year depending on the location, building their nest in a hole in a tree or wall. The normal clutch size is 4–6 eggs. The incubation period is 17 to 18 days and fledging period is 22 to 24 days. The Asian Koel is sometimes brood parasitic on this species. Nesting material used by Common Mynas includes twigs, roots, tow and rubbish. Common Mynas have been known to use tissue paper, tin foil and sloughed off snake-skin. The Common Myna uses the nests of Woodpeckers, parakeets, etc. and easily takes to nest boxes; it has been recorded evicting the chicks of previously nesting pairs by holding them in the beak and later sometimes not even using the emptied nest boxes. This aggressive behaviour contributes to its success as an invasive species.
- Common Iora
The Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia) is a small Passerine bird found across the tropical Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is easily detected from its loud whistles and the bright colours.
Distribution and Habitat
They are found across the tropical Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Several other populations across Southeast Asia are designated as subspecies which are found on Southern China, Northern Thailand/Laos, Myanmar, Southern Myanmar, the Island chain of Sumatra, Cambodia, Palawan, Northern Borneo, Borneo, Java and Bali.
Consumption
They eat mainly insects. Restless, active hunters, Common Ioras search for insects from leaves in the upper storeys of trees, sometimes even hanging upside down from branches.
Breeding characteristics
Two to four Greenish White eggs are laid in a small and compact cup-shaped nest made out of grass and bound with cobwebs and placed in the fork of a tree. Both male and female incubate and eggs hatch after about 14 days.