22/02/2009 an Asian Koel at Abdali Farms a first for Kuwait and the WP

Ouda Al-Bathalie a member of Kuwait Birding forum has asked me to see what he thinks a new bird for Kuwait at his farm. This morning Rashed and I went to his farm and photographed the bird it turned out to be an Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus, a first winter.

Asian Koel has been recorded twice in Bahrain (has not been accepted yet), eight times in UAE between 1996 and 2006, and is an uncommon and irregular winter visitor to Oman with a mximum of six birds, birds are  mostly seen at Masirah.

This bird has not been seen at Kuwait Bird Market according to Ouda Al-Bathalie who owns a bird shop at this Market. Further, no birds have been imported to Kuwait since the breakout of avian flu. The bird being a first winter, as the white tips to greater coverts and in breast indicate this age, also being a parasitic bird that parasites on Crows and Mynas would make it difficult to breed in captivity or even impossible. It must have flown to Kuwait from its breeding ground naturally.

The heavy yellowish green hooked bill, unforked heavy rounded tail, yellowish green legs, and gape reaches under eye excludes any other forms of Drongo.

This constitutes a first record for Kuwait and the Western Palearctic as defined by BWP by Cramp and Simmons 1977 if accepted by KORC.