Each spring the Channel-billed Cuckoo and the Common Koel fly from their homes in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia to mate in the sub-tropical region of Australia. The arrival of their distinctive calls marks the passing of another year.
The Channel-billed Cuckoo
The Channel-billed Cuckoo is the world’s largest parasitic bird, its wingspan measuring up to 1 metre. The cuckoo is devious in the way it uses other bird species to rear its chicks – by working in pairs the male cuckoo provokes host-birds into chasing it while the female cuckoo slips into the host-nest to lay its eggs. For several months the east coast region is filled with pterodactyl-like calls as the cuckoos apply this breeding strategy. Once the chick hatches it is unwittingly fed by the host-bird until it is strong enough to fly north to Papua New Guinea.
The Common Koel
In contrast to the raucous call of the Channel-billed Cuckoo the Common Koel adds a mournful tone to the soundscape. Folklore states that the arrival of the Koel signals the beginning of the rainy season. In the recording below small drops of rain fall in the background:
The Koel can be heard calling for hours throughout the day and night. Its breeding strategy is similar to the Channel-billed Cuckoo. Once the chick hatches it kicks out other hatchlings and eggs from the nest and is raised by the host-bird before it flies to its Indonesian homeland.
The annual migration of these extremely vocal birds marks the calendar in a way that other events throughout the year do not. This is yet another example of the way in which sound reflects the passage of time.
SOUNDS LIKE NOISE 
Wonderful natural soundscapes as always! That cuckoo sounds really menacing. Judging by its sounds, I suspect the Koel operates much more by stealth than the cuckoo.
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Yes, the channel-billed cuckoo is as menacing as it can be annoying, sometimes calling like this in the trees by my bedroom at night. Nothing subtle about it! Maybe because the koel is a lot smaller it needs to be a bit more stealthy.
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Yep, we have both now down here in the far south coast of NSW, crikey, thought we we left them in Queensland!!
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I grew up on a cane farm in the Mackay district in North Queensland. In our area the channel-billed cuckoo was “The Storm Bird.” My father looked for years before he actually saw what was making the call. The single call around 1m35s of the recording is what I remember.
Thank you for the recording.
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Hi Paul, I’m happy that the sounds in the recording have brought back some memories from your childhood (I grew up on a cane farm too!). It’s funny the way that these long forgotten sounds trigger other memories from those distant periods.
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Your site provided us with the answer that was bugging us for over two weeks now. What could this bird be, seeing its such a large bird. This noisy bird starts around 4.00 in the arvo and finishes calling around 7.00 in the morning. Its has been very entertaining in the trees around the neighbourhood. I can see now from what you have said about the mating habits of this bird. Thanks for your site of bird calls we now have our answer as to what it is. We live in Maryborough Qld and I have never heard this call before.
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Hi Laurel, happy to know that the sound recording solved your sound conundrum. Horrible to wake up to them in the middle of the night.
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Having been long fascinated with the channel-billed cuckoo, I haven’t been able to find out this…..do the parents “wait” for the host parents to feed their baby until strong enough to fly….and then all go back north together? Or not? We are also witness to families of Coucal pheasants here, who do raise their own young.
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Hi Robyn. You have posed a question that I have wondered about too. The parents seem to hang around for months which makes me think that this would be long enough for their chicks to hatch and be strong enough to fly north. We have the pheasants here too, sounds of summer.
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The second Koel sound was the one I wanted to identify. I’ve been hearing it each morning – the 4 ascending notes – and its clear voice sounded exactly the same as the afternoon 2 note call that seems to drive some people crackers!
Thanks for this site – I’m finding out so much. Wonderful dawn chorus here this morning.
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Hi Cate. Yes, once the Koel gets started it is definitely there for hours!
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Thank you soooo much for posting these recordings. We’ve had a pair of koels living in our mulberry tree for five summers now (Sydney), presumably while baby is raised nearby. Later in the year, we see all three of them (mum, dad and teenager) using the tree as a base while they teach teenager to harass the wattle birds, which probably raised the chick in the first place. But it was only this week that I actually SAW a channel-billed cuckoo fly out of tree, pursued by a family of magpie-larks. I was able to listen to your recording and realise the bird has also been around for at least two summers, but I didn’t realise that was the it’s call – I thought it was another call of the koel, or some other bird.
And I loved what you wrote about sound reflecting the passage of time. No matter how cold or wintry it may be (Sydney’s erratic weather), my heart lifts with anticipation of spring when I am surprised by the koels calling out to the neighbourhood to announce their return. A tiny part of my brain should probably be saying, Damn koels waking me up and tossing eggs out of nests of poor innocent birds, but in fact I just feel so happy that summer is on it’s way, especially if the wisteria is starting to blossom as well. It’s a great thing having the bird calls and the flower scents all rolled into one memorable marking of the seasons!
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Thanks for your comment Sue. I didn’t realise the channel-billed cuckoo could be found so far south. The koels have taken up residence here again for the spring, a mournful cry which I’m not sure I’m ready for this season.
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I have a meanacing koel in Albury this week! Worst night shift bird ever.
I always learnt that they use stars and imprinting in the first few years to navigate home.
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Too bad that navigation system allows them to find their way back to Australia each year, but still, pretty remarkable birds.
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We have the cuckoos here in Newcastle as well, only in the last 4 years, my question is if they are killing off so many currawongs how long till they become an endangered species. The same scenario of the Indian mina getting rid of Aussie small birds. Wish there was some intervention to stop this infiltration
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Even further south, I hear both here in Shellharbour. Blackbutt forest lee
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Hi, thankgod I found this recording, I’ve been searching for weeks to try and identify what this bird was, the channel-billed cuckoo has been residing in our eastern suburbs neighbourhood in Sydney for quite some weeks now, it wakes me up in the middle of th night and the sound is terrifying when you are half asleep and the final squawk lasts for some time..
Do you know how long they stick around?
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It’s a pretty primal sound, good to know I’m not the only one losing sleep as they decide to screech in the middle of the night. The sounds of summer!
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When do these birds leave Australia? We’re in Noosa and they’ve been here since October I think. Looking forward to them leaving as they appear to be the first birds up in the morning at 4.30!
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If my memory serves me well I think the cuckoos remain in Australia till about February. Funny to know that we are all experiencing the same morning wake-ups to its soft melodic call 🙂
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Hi, that koel has been my nemesis for years! On the sunshine coast,Waking me at 4am in the mornings!recently i also heard him invictoria for the first time!
My question is, i have recently moved to the beautiful tropics of far nth qld, and am hearing a beautiful call, its almost like a whale sound, except I’m in the rain forest, so I’m pretty sure it’s not that!
Any ideas what bird it might be?
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Hi Claire. This bird seems to be getting a lot of attention here! Interesting to know it flies as far south as Victoria. I don’t think I can help you with your mystery sound, it must be some type of forest bird endemic to that region. Maybe a local person will know.
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Koel birds visit Helensburgh every year. They come in huge gangs and apart from making lots of noise they kill and take over our native birds. They take over the nests of birds and kill their young I am glad when they go. We have some peace in the area and order is restored to our bird wild life – it’s February now and they have gone -Sue
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Yes it’s distressing seeing any animal under attack but i wonder how many 100s if not 1000s of years the cuckoo has been visiting our shores, part of the great international migration.
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Hi,
I live in Aspley , Brisbane and have heard the Koel ( first recording) for 2 years now and last night for the first time this year – I love the sound its constant and peaceful almost mournful – I lstened for a half hour from about 1 am and then fell asleep…. Im amazed at the navigation and the reasons for the migration – I mean Indo never gets cold and Brisbane is now starting to warm up and today is quite humid already – Im also sorry to hear they chase the natives away similar to the Minas both Indian and Asian… damn pests we used to have such wonderful bird life in the area, strangely enough a group of Currawongs moved in about 18 months ago and took over as well.
Great site thank you and good luck..
Springbok
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Yes the koel can make its call all night, I now associate it with many a sleepless night. Love the currawongs though they mght be chasing off a bit of the birdlife?
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In the blue mountains… Just observed a pair laying in a nest next-door. Unmistakable! I hear them once or twice this time of year but never like that.
I’m sure I’ll be cursing it in a couple of months time once the baby is whining for food all day, but it still feels like something kind of special.
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That’s Channel billed cuckoo
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Yes, well it definitely marks the beginning of the hot season, so there is something special about it!
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Thank you for your posts. I now know it is a Common Koel calling day and night keeping us awake here in Bendigo Vic. This is our second year in this house and though we have lived in Bendigo most our lives. It is only here we have heard it. With such a powerful and distinctive call however I was expecting something of more magnificence than another ‘blackbird’.
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Ha ha, yes another blackbird … but with its own particular movements and idiosyncrasies. I have to admit that its call signals the beginning of a long hot summer so I inwardly groan when its call begins to dominate the valley here.
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There seem to be large numbers of both channel-billed cuckoos and common koels here in Avalon Beach, NSW, judging by the frequency of their calls (at all hours of day and night).. Very useful to hear your recordings; the first recording I understand to be of the channel-billed cuckoo, the second the common koel. Please could you confirm that recording 3 is also the common koel.
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They seem to be taking over Australia (and people’s piece of mind) at the moment!
Yes, the last two recordings are of the koel.
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It breaks my heart seeing these poor currawongs attempting to feed these huge birds
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Yes, they must be exhausted. Now it’s April, and two channel-bills are still here, sounding quite mournful in our trees. I think the currawongs are finished with them. But why haven’t the cuckoos migrated yet?? Do they sometimes stay put do you think?
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I have no idea, maybe things are changing due to all the heat, lack of rain etc? The ones in this region left at around the same time as usual.
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Thanks for providing the answer I’ve been searching for!
I live in Geelong, Victoria & started hearing what I now know is a Common Koel, for the first time last Spring. I have lived in this area for 9 years and never heard it before 2016. It sang day and night then it went away when the weather got cool again. The bird has returned this October.
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Mystery solved! So many birds seem to be moving further south.
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I’m on the Gold Coast and was already familiar with the Koel/stormbird, but this summer for the first time I started hearing the pterodactyl noises and had no idea what it was. It mixes beautifully with the piercing screeching and scrawking of the large flock of cockatoos that show up around my place in summer, which all makes for a hell of a wake up call.
Ahh, the serenity.
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yes, it is indeed a pretty startling way to wake up. i hope you haven’t tired of them yet as they’ll be around for a few more months.
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We’ve lived in the Sunshine Coast hinterland for over 20 years and have heard the Channel-billed Cuckoos before, but never so close to the house as this year. They moved in some weeks ago and have been screeching through the night since then!
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Yes they can sound pretty impressive when blended in with other sounds from a distance but when they are close up ….!!
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We currently have a Channel-billed cuckoo being raised by two crows in the middle of Brisbane @ Kedron Brook…..amazing sight. And yes we hear the pterodactyl-like calls of the parent birds every year in their migration down from New Guinea.
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Louder than the Brisbane traffic? Not long before they fly away again.
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We just saw a pair of the cuckoos for the first time in the northern beaches of Sydney, never seen them here before. Watched a pair of them eating mulberry’s from our tree while every other bird lost their minds around them.
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This post has been up since 2012 … from listeners’ feedback it seems as though the cuckoos are going further south each year.
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I just found this site! Thank you, for the past week or so I’ve been hearing this call which I thought was maybe an owl but it went on during the day aswell, so I figured maybe it was not but now I know it’s The Common Koel!
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Thanks for the post. I have been struggling for the last one month to identify the bird song. It turned out to be Koel. Thanks to you. It has been calling the whole day every day. I am from south India. You feel this bird will migrate to Australia after say a month or two?
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Hi. We usually start hearing the birds in Spring, so possibly they’ll start to migrate in a couple of months. 🙂
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Channel billed cuckoos currently making a racket at Little Cabbage Tree Creek in Aspley, Brisbane.
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Am feeling extremely sorry for a pair of Wattle birds who have been given the unenviable task of raising a channelbill cuckoo in my garden in Coffs Harbour. The repetitive sound as it waits for them is rather annoying but I do wonder considering what they normally eat what it is being fed.
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I do love all sorts of birds, but the mournful call of the Koel and the Cuckoo nearly drives me mad. Just before I’m tipped over the edge of insanity the birds leave my home next to Ku-ring-gai to fly north home. Phew.😁
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We just had one fly over our house, screeching (like a pterodactyl is a good analogy!). We live in the north eastern suburbs of Melbourne. I have only ever seen them in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.
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From memory, I recall the koels first turning up in western Sydney around five or six years ago. They are now a regular feature of our late Springs and Summers.
The channel billed cuckoo seems to have been here for around the past three Summers.
The koels seem to show up in the first week of October each year and generally stay until late February or early March.
We have a large mulberry tree in our suburban backyard that drips with mulberries each year.
Virtually the same week that the mulberries grow to maturity, the koels show up in Sydney. This occurs just a few days after the October long weekend.
The male koels are jet black in colour with red eyes, whilst the females are a tortoiseshell beige/brown.
My question is ….do the koels fly here as a huge flock all at once, or in dribs and drabs over a few weeks.
It’s very intriguing how they drop their eggs in other birds nests, rather than doing the work themselves, yet they, apparently, hang around waiting for their baby/babies to grow large enough to fly back with them to Indonesia/PNG.
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This is excellent. We have both Channel billed cuckoos and Koels visit out home, at Greenbank Qld, every year in October and we love them. Noisy yes, but what interesting birds. Just to think they fly all the way from New Guinea and Indonesia every year to feast on the fruit from our Morton Bay fig tree.I am just amazed that after laying their eggs, they have no input, then when the chicks are strong enough about February Mum and Dad just turn up and off they go. Nature is wonderful.
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I live on Moreton Island off Brisbane and 4 weeks ago noticed this hugh bird seemingly chasing two crows away, but it was actually following them to be fed. Nobody here has seen a Channel billed cuckoo here before and there doesn’t seem to be any parent cuckoos around. Do you think they will come back for it? There is a pair of Whistling Kites here who have just started to chase the threesome from a tree the kites previously had a nest in 2 years ago. How long do the foster parents feed the baby for? It’s so interesting.
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Thanks for your message. It’s interesting how so many people have written with similar accounts of the cuckoos entering specific regions for the first time. I wonder if this is due to habitat loss elsewhere? Maybe someone who knows more about these birds can attempt to answer your questions …
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Our Cuckoo vanished on the 29th March gone north we guess, it’s so quiet now.
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Blessed relief haha
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