Asian koel
Eudynamys scolopaceus (Linnaeus, 1758)
The Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus), also called the common koel or western koel, is a bird in the order Cuculiformes and the family Cuculidae. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 194.9 g and up to 223.5 g, and it is a frugivore that lives in woodland and has a perching lifestyle.
Quick facts about the Asian koel
Its clutch holds 1 egg, which is incubated for 13.5 days, and the species is partially migratory. The Asian koel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category, and its geographic range covers 9,692,000 km².
- Weight
- 194.9 g – 223.5 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Frugivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 13.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the Asian koel
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the Asian koel live?
Not recorded
What is the Asian koel?
The Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus) is a member of the cuckoo family of birds, the Cuculidae. It is found in the Indian subcontinent, China, and Southeast Asia. It forms a superspecies with the closely related black-billed koels, and Pacific koels which are sometimes treated as subspecies. The Asian koel, like many of its related cuckoo kin, is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of crows and other hosts, who raise its young. They are unusual among the cuckoos in being largely frugivorous as adults. The name koel is echoic in origin with several language variants. The bird is a widely used symbol in Indian, Pakistani and Nepali poetry.
From the Wikipedia article “Asian koel” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Asian_koel&oldid=1357132215), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the Asian koel sound like?
Is the Asian koel endangered?
The Asian koel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the Asian koel classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCuculiformes
- familyCuculidae
- genusEudynamys
- SpeciesEudynamys scolopaceus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Cuculus honoratus, Cuculus scolopaceu, Cuculus scolopaceus, Eudynamys honoratus, Eudynamys horonatus, Eudynamys scolopacea, Eudynamys scolopacea, Eudynamys scolopacea
Other names and names in other languages (70)
- Common koelEnglish
- Common koelEnglish
- Western koelEnglish
- Western koelEnglish
- زعاق آسيويArabic
- قوال آسيويArabic
- কুলিAssamese
- কোকিলBangla
- cucut coel asiàticCatalan
- Cucut koel asiàticCatalan
- kukačka koelCzech
- KoelDanish
- AsienkoelGerman
- Indischer KoelGerman
- ދިވެހި ކޮވެލިDivehi
- (♀) ޑިންޑިން ކޮވެލިDivehi
- (♂) ކަޅު ކޮވެލިDivehi
- azia koeloEsperanto
- Koel ComúnSpanish
- Koel occidentalSpanish
- koelkäguEstonian
- کوکوی سیاهPersian
- variskäkiFinnish
- intianvariskäkiFinnish
- Coucou koëlFrench
- Cuach fhadearrachIrish
- કોયલGujarati
- קואל אסייתיHebrew
- एशियाई कोयलHindi
- कोयल (एशियाई)Hindi
- crvenooka kukavicaCroatian
- ázsiai koelHungarian
- Tuwur asiaIndonesian
- Koel comuneItalian
- オニカッコウJapanese
- ಕೋಗಿಲೆKannada
- 검은뻐꾸기Korean
- 검은뻐꾸기(초록부리뻐꾸기)Korean
- paprastasis koelisLithuanian
- Āzijas kuelaLatvian
- നാട്ടുകുയിൽMalayalam
- നാട്ടുകുയില്Malayalam
- कोकिळMarathi
- कोकीळMarathi
- Burung Sewah TahuMalay
- ဥဩBurmese
- Indische KoëlDutch
- grønnebbkoelNorwegian
- କୋଇଲିOdia
- ਏਸ਼ੀਆਈ ਕੋਇਲPunjabi
- kukiel wielkiPolish
- کوئلWestern Panjabi
- coel-asiáticoPortuguese
- koel-ocidentalPortuguese
- КоэльRussian
- කොහාSinhala
- koel vraníSlovak
- азијски коелSerbian
- Azijski koelSerbian
- asiatisk koelSwedish
- Afrikansk koelSwedish
- காளகண்டம்Tamil
- குயில் (ஆசியக் குயில்)Tamil
- కోయిల్Telugu
- นกกาเหว่าThai
- Asya koeliTurkish
- коель великийUkrainian
- Tu hú châu ÁVietnamese
- 噪鵑Chinese
- 噪鹃Chinese
Relatives of the Asian koel
Other species in the same genus Eudynamys.
Black-billed koel
Eudynamys melanorhynchus
Pacific koel
Eudynamys orientalis
CompareAsian koel vs Black-billed koelAsian koel vs Pacific koel
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the Asian koel?
The Asian koel is a bird in the order Cuculiformes and the family Cuculidae. It belongs to the genus Eudynamys.
How heavy is the Asian koel?
An adult Asian koel weighs 194.9 g, with values up to 223.5 g reported. This places it in the small size class.
What does the Asian koel eat?
The Asian koel is a frugivore, and its trophic level is herbivore.
What habitat does the Asian koel live in?
The Asian koel lives in woodland, where it has a perching lifestyle.
Is the Asian koel endangered?
No. The Asian koel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How many eggs does the Asian koel lay?
The Asian koel lays a clutch of 1 egg, which is incubated for 13.5 days.
Does the Asian koel migrate?
The Asian koel is partially migratory.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/asian-koel
“Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/asian-koel.
@misc{asian_koel_2026,
title = {Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/asian-koel},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}