I’m so happy that you were able to recognize the bird from my attempt at describing its song in words. You made my morning. The koel, ah? Two songs, one bird, is it then? I went to go find a photo of it online and found one here:

http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/birdimages.php?action=birdspecies&Bird_ID=425&Bird_Image_ID=678&PHPSESSID=5c556f94d1

Looking good? The one time I THOUGHT I had spotted the bird singing that song, indeed, it had that spooky-looking bright red eye. I checked with a Malaysian friend of mine at lunch today, and he agrees with you. I asked him if he’d ever heard the name “koel” for a bird, and he said, mmm, maybe, yes, that sounds right. Then, I asked don’t they teach Malaysians in school about their own natural environment? Don’t they have ecology courses or anything on local flora and fauna? No, nothing. He wasn’t much of a student, though, so maybe he wasn’t paying attention in biology class! And, hopefully younger generations of students have been exposed to environmental subjects in school. If students were taught from an early age to appreciate the nature that’s still left, maybe the Malaysian Nature Society would have tons of supporters! (Thanks for the reference to MNS.)

And, thank you, Ms. Larke, for taking the trouble of identifying my favorite bird. Too bad it’s so creepy looking!

P.S. Nah, I can’t believe it’s just the Photoshop! 😉

I think the bird you are talking about is a Koel (Ko-el, Ko-el, hence the name. At times it also gives the repeated whoop call you mention.). It’s a large black bird like a crow, but has a long tail and pale beak; the female has brown and black patterning. They are a species of cuckoo, and lay their eggs in the nest of crows.

I think you often see it, but just assume it is a crow! (look for a “crow” with a long tail).

If you are really interested in birds, try joining MNS – the chairman of Penang branch, Kanda Kumar is a lovely man and a birdwatcher, an old friend of mine.

There are some Malaysian bird books around. Some on sale at the MNS office in KL – not sure about Penang. Go to the link on this post…

Speaking of birds and enjoying one’s natural surroundings, I was wondering, since you seem to be knowledgable about birds here in Malaysia–a bonafide ornithologist in fact–if you can please tell me the name of the bird that has a very distinctive song, a “whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop,” with five to seven whoops in fast succession. I keep looking up at trees to try and identify it, but it’s a secretive bird, difficult to spot. Someone told me that it’s a very plain black bird. It’s also a pretty common bird, I think, in Penang at least! I’m sure most people know it or at least recognize its song.

The other distinctive song I hear is from another bird (or the same bird?) with a mournful “whoo, whoo” coo that sounds two times in succession and then repeats. I have no idea what that one looks like.

I’m sorry to trouble you, Ms. Larke, but I would be so happy to learn the names of these two birds finally! I looked for a Birds of Malaysia book at the bookstore recently and there wasn’t one. If I ever do find such a book, and I at least know the names of the birds, then I can look them up to see what they look like.

Whoop, whoop!