Change of Mind.

I have always liked hearing the call of the Common Koel at the beginning of summer. For me it has signaled that winter is over and all the summer activities that I enjoy so much are beginning. However, I have only once had good clear sightings of both the male and female birds. They sat outside my window and I photographed them through the glass.

Male KoelFemale Koel with her head ducked down in front

Two nights ago I changed my mind about these birds. One sat outside my bedroom window and called intermittently all night. Their call is particularly loud and definitely enough to disturb anyone's sleep. The Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds describes the call this way:
"Monotonous shrieking crescendo of calls, most commonly a loud and shrill repeated coo-eee, rising to a frantic climax and abruptly breaking off..."
Here's a little video (although a rather shaky one!) with the bird calling this morning out on the power lines. This is not the shrieked climax of the call – just the normal monotonous part.

It's enough to change anyone's mind when this goes on all night immediately outside the window.