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Asian Koels are large cuckoos. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Male Asian Koels are all glossy-black, with prominent red eyes. Female Australian Koels have a dark-brown crown, brown throat patches and a lightly barred buff front, while the back is dark-brown, speckled white. The females' undertail shows the typical barring of cuckoo tails. Both sexes have striking red irises, the bill is light-grey, the legs and feet are grey. Juvenile Asian Koels have a cream-coloured crown and dark irises. Their back is barred rufous, with white specks.

Previously various Koels were considered to be conspecific, but more recently they are being treated as separate species. Some sources still list the Australian Koel as race "cyanocephalus" of the Eastern Koel or Asian/Common Koel (Eudynamys orientalis or Eudynamys scolopaceus).

The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org .

The global distribution of the Asian Koel is available HERE .

Asian Koels are a mainly sedentary species found in much of tropical South-east Asia. The combined range of the 5 recognized races extends from eastern Pakistan in the West to southern and central China in the East, and from Indonesia in the South to central China in the North (for more details see, e.g., Wikipedia ). During the winter, Asian Koels of nominate race "scolopacea" sometimes move westwards along the northern coastline of the Persian Gulf, which they can cross to reach the northern parts of the Arabian peninsula.

In Arabia Asian Koels are found only rarely as winter visitors. Their range is restricted to North coast, from the eastern cape at Ras Al-Hadd in Oman up to the western base of Musandam, in the UAE.

Asian Koels have a preference for lightly wooded habitats, such as woodland, but also orchards, parks and gardens. While they are omnivorous, adult Asian Koels feed largely on fruit.

Race "scolopaceus"