Kuli Calling

KULI CALLING

The Asian variety of the Cuckoo known to the world by its Hindi name Koel. In the Assamese language it is called Kuli. In the Guwahati city capital of the Assam state of India, this bird is there in significant numbers. Guwahati is one of the many cities of the world where there is abundance of greenery, being dotted with large number of trees in its residential quarters. There is a presence of a large number of urban wildlife. The Kuli bird is prominent amongst them. The bird gets two things needed for its breeding and survival here. First there are sufficient trees to provide them with food. Second, the Kuli bird is a brood parasite, meaning it lays eggs in the nest of other birds. The male of the Kuli and the young ones have black colour, they therefore choose to lay their eggs in birds with black colour. The most common brood host bird is the Common Crow, which is present in large numbers in Guwahati city. They also lay eggs in the nest of the Thick Billed Crow, a type of Raven, found less commonly in Guwahati. Another less common brood host bird, is the Hill Myna, which is present in some localities of Guwahati. The Kuli bird is well known for its cooing call, which the male of the Kuli emits in the mating season. The mating season starts with the beginning of the spring season in Assam. In the spring season the Assamese people celebrate the Bohag or Rongali Bihu festival, the main festival of this nationality. The festival takes place in mid-April, in the beginning of the Assamese month of Bohag. The Kuli bird with its characteristic calling therefore finds an important place of reference in Assamese literature and music, since times immemorial.