The Koha's plaintive call
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The male Koha(Black in colour) |
This call signifies that the traditional Sinhala and Hindu New Year
is round the corner.
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Female Koha is spotted |
The koha or Koel, the cuckoo, is an early bird and unmistakable - its
call is so strident and plaintive that it is easy to whistle in
imitation. Each time it calls, if you whistle the tune loud and clear
the Koha replies.
He flies closer and closer to sit on a branch and find out who is
making the call , with his red beady eyes to locate what he thinks is a
competing male!
The koha's call is usually associated with the Sinhala and Hindu New
Year. It is also known as the Avurudu Koha- the New Year cuckoo.
Legend has it that the Koha never makes a nest of its own. It takes a
free ride by laying its eggs in its cousin the crow's nest.
And the silly Mrs. Crow unsuspectingly sits on the cuckoo eggs in
addition to her own and not only hatches them all very obligingly, but
tends and feeds the fledglings until they can fly.
- Internet |
