Cuckoo bird quiet due to mating season

26 March 2018 10:51 pm

Dismissing claims that the Koha or Cuckoo-bird is relatively absent during the current Avurudhu season, environmentalist Jagath Gunawardane said there was a low pitch in its song this year because of a change in its breeding pattern.

“The bird is actually going through the mating season in its breeding cycle these days and this is why we don’t hear its sound much despite the National New Year Season. One will be able to hear its sound louder by the last week in March and up to around April 5. It may go back to a low pitch after then,” he said.

He said the cuckoo bird is a species with an increasing population.

The belief among Sri Lankans is that cuckoo sounds its tune to herald the National New Year. People are usually awakening by this sound and they prepare themselves for the festival buying gifts, household items and colour wash their homes. (Yohan Perera)