ddavid

The Avifauna gives a record of 3 juvenile Koels in a B-c Starling nest on June 30 1931. It also mentions that "dependent juveniles, singly or in parties of up to three, have been recorded between 11 April and 4 November."

David

ddavid

N. B. Davies (Cuckoos, Cowbirds and Other Cheats page 72) notes that "Asian Koels parasitize crows, and the young parasite is raised alongside the crow host young." In comparison, the Australian Koel (often regarded as a subspecies of Asian Koel) "parasitizes smaller host species, and the young koel ejects the host eggs and so is raised alone."

The Asian Koel may lay more than one egg in a host nest; the Australian Koel lays a single egg only.

I don't know of any records of Black-collared Starling nests holding both juv starlings & juv Asian Koels, but that may be due to lack of observation during the breeding season. One recent nest in Long Valley held two juv Asian Koels only. It's possible that any chick starlings may quickly starve to death in competition with the chick koels.

David

ddavid

For the record:

Black-collared Starling feeding Asian Koels at nest. Long Valley, August 11th.

David




[ Last edited by ddavid at 17/08/2012 11:40 ]