November, 1943 
The Queensland Naturalist 
67 
couple of months early this year, possibly owing to the 
warmness of the winter. Every other year it has put in 
an appearance early in September and its haunting song 
is irresistible. At first it is only heard in the early morn- 
ing and at dusk, but later sings all through the day. All 
the cuckoo calls are lovely, but elusive. This seems to 
be a quality common to all cuckoos because on the other 
side of the world Wordsworth wrote, "O cuckoo, shall I 
call thee bird, or but a wand'ring sprite ?" km sure if 
he had had anything to do with our cuckoos he wouldn't 
have been so polite about it. However, the Koel Cuckoo 
(cooee bird) follows soon after his anaemic relation and 
his vibrant song is soon setting our heads singing. His 
is a dual personality — thunder in the air and blue-black 
banks of cloud, and from the other side of the hill 
(always the other side) the call of the Koel, expectant, 
threatening; and sometimes, like ye old black crow, 
ironical. We often called him the storm-bird when we 
were children, although that is the official nickname for 
the Channel-billed cuckoo. But just before those 
November storms, in the hush before it starts, the cooee 
birds are often heard. What a different bird he seems 
when the moon comes up, and from the ironbarks or the 
grey gums in the paddock comes a love song, strong and 
clear, passionate and persuasive. I can't resist him. 
Yet what a villain ! — proof that a bird can sing and be 
a villain still. In case you have never heard it, the mat- 
ing call of the Koel Cuckoo is quite different from the 
"cooee" call. It is heard more often at night and only 
in springtime. Nine o'clock seems to be the witching 
hour. The song slightly resembles that of the grey 
butcher-bird but is richer and more golden in tone. 
Of course it is just as well we don't see much of the 
cuckoos, because they are not much to look at. The 
Pallid has a big head and a very clumsy flight. The 
Golden Bronze has beautiful greeny-bronze wing- 
feathers, but it also has a clumsy flight and when we 
recollect its mean habits, we cannot appreciate its fine 
feathers. The Koel is about the best-looking; he is 
slim and navy blue with a striking forked tail quite 
different from the others, but if anything, he has a 
nastier look in his eye than all the others put together. 
I've never actually caught the Koel out in a crime yet, 
but even without a bird-book a child could tell he was uo 
to no good. Last year the white-naped honeyeaters took 
