To kill a koel bird

[MrHammer]

There's a koel bird in a tree somewhere outside and this bird is driving me crazy. It begins it's awful calling as early as 3 am and keeps it going through the day. This is the sound:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObwGd64yTTs

How do I get rid of this bird, serious replies wanted, I can't see it or tell which three it is in.

[BillyBobThai]

If you can't see it you can't kill it. Smart bird.

[MrHammer]

If you can't see it you can't kill it. Smart bird.

I don't need to kill it, that was a play on words (clue mockingbird), but I do want to try to scare the bird away.

[canarysun]

These are great birds and live all over Thailand.Can become quite irritating after a while..at a certain time of the year they all seem to " FOXTROT OSCAR " ( become a " bit scarce " ...)

[MrHammer]

These are great birds and live all over Thailand.Can become quite irritating after a while..at a certain time of the year they all seem to " FOXTROT OSCAR " ( become a " bit scarce " ...)

As my research it is actually a cuckoo kind of bird, so I don't have much sympathy for it. I was thinking about buying one of those fake hawks and put on the roof:

Will that work or are there no hawks in Thailand?

[canarysun]

Well yes it is a kind of " tropical cuckoo " LOL ( probably the cheapest kind of bird you will find in Thailand...)

[bgrassboy]

These are some clever birds. They lay one of their eggs in a nest of a crow and then let the crow raise it for a while before it begins to change how it looks. A truly parasitic bird. I too wish to know about remedies to get rid of the three that inhabit trees around my condo. There is a room on the 7th floor corner of the condo building that always seems to be for rent. Nobody seems to stay very long as the height of the tree canopy is right at the balcony's level. I've had two different friends live in the room as it is a cheap rate and great location, but both left due to the crazy birds. Now I won't recommend the place anymore.

The first fellow who lived there tried to make sport out of it using his leftover water cannon from Songkran to try and chase it away then went on to bottle rockets to try and scare it. After those two failed, he bought an air horn to try and out do it, all this to no avail as well. Two of the security guards shot one one day with a BB gun but another soon moved in. Finally the friend left, thank goodness he didn't hold it against me. My other friend was forewarned before moving in and at first was content but then the dang bird started it's song about 2:30 in the morning until about 5. It drove him off as well. I wish I could offer an effective means to do away with this noisy bird but alas I can only comeserate in your agony. Hopefully someone else with have a good remedy.

[hanno]

It is an extremely common bird, I even hear it over the traffic in BKK and you won't be able to chase it away. If you do, another will move in. Just live with it. And I don't think a fake Hawk will work, I do not see any Hawk tackling a Koel.

Whatever happened to living with nature? Those birds have been around much longer than man; they are probably thinking about ways to chase away all the sensitive foreigners.

[evadgib]

Place a mirror or rubber snake near his favourite perch.

[Jimmu]

I have been plagued by these infernal birds for years and anyone that thinks they are sweet lovely birds needs their head examined. No-one who has had a Koel in a tree near their home or in particular near a bedroom window will ever forget it. It makes you suicidal. In fact I have read reports of people actually doing just that. They are not just a problem in Asia as many reports I've read from Australia attest! I have tried everything to eliminate these pests with little success. They prefer certain types of trees that provide them with cover and fruit. So living in a tree free area helps. For a large bird they can remain hidden, pretty well invisible. I've moved home twice to stay away from them. Only saving grace is that after the mating season they shut up for a while! Best of luck...

[meatboy]

I have been plagued by these infernal birds for years and anyone that thinks they are sweet lovely birds needs their head examined. No-one who has had a Koel in a tree near their home or in particular near a bedroom window will ever forget it. It makes you suicidal. In fact I have read reports of people actually doing just that. They are not just a problem in Asia as many reports I've read from Australia attest! I have tried everything to eliminate these pests with little success. They prefer certain types of trees that provide them with cover and fruit. So living in a tree free area helps. For a large bird they can remain hidden, pretty well invisible. I've moved home twice to stay away from them. Only saving grace is that after the mating season they shut up for a while! Best of luck...

makes you suicidal are you sure your not talking about a BAR BIRD,we have 3-4 in the tree's by the side of our house and they normally start winding up our hound who starts howling when they get louder 6pm to 6am but as soon as our boy tells them its his territory they soon move on.get yourself a MALAMUTE.

[reethika]

[minikev]

Hang some old Cd's on fishing line near it's favorite perches as they spin the reflection scares them.

[desi]

I have been plagued by these infernal birds for years and anyone that thinks they are sweet lovely birds needs their head examined. No-one who has had a Koel in a tree near their home or in particular near a bedroom window will ever forget it. It makes you suicidal. In fact I have read reports of people actually doing just that. They are not just a problem in Asia as many reports I've read from Australia attest! I have tried everything to eliminate these pests with little success. They prefer certain types of trees that provide them with cover and fruit. So living in a tree free area helps. For a large bird they can remain hidden, pretty well invisible. I've moved home twice to stay away from them. Only saving grace is that after the mating season they shut up for a while! Best of luck...

I lived in a condo in BKK for 7+ years and only in the last year + did the mating Koel get bad. And I mean seriously bad. I bought Boise earphones to get through it. The Koel was right outside my bedroom window and if I hadn't moved to Chiang mai I would have paid to double-glaze the condo. Koels are going crazy in CM as well but there are no trees close to my bedroom window. So I guess that's the trick when you go to rent a house/condo. Greenery is fine but greenery at a distance is better.

[bgrassboy]

The locals call the bird nok Gao Wow. On Sundays I tell the wife the bird is telling us what to eat for breakfast, Gao Lao. เกาเหาว

Sounds similar to the sound this bird makes and the wife enjoys the play on words. Better than letting it get under our skin.

OH NO ?the bird has just started up it's singing ??

[impulse]

I'm only proposing this as an experiment since I've never done it myself.

Have you tried a laser pointer to try to scare it at night? I have had cats jump 4' up a bare wall chasing the red dot, so apparently some critters think they're living things.

Nowadays, with the more powerful green and blue dots available all over Thailand, you may even blind the sucker or singe his feathers.

And if it's a real smart bird that watches television through the window, maybe he'll think he's in the crosshairs of a sniper and look for another tree.

If it works, you may even want to buy one of those nasty laser disco balls for a variation on minikev's hanging CDs.

Edited February 10, 2014 by impulse

[wombat]

[Jimmu]

I have been plagued by these infernal birds for years and anyone that thinks they are sweet lovely birds needs their head examined. No-one who has had a Koel in a tree near their home or in particular near a bedroom window will ever forget it. It makes you suicidal. In fact I have read reports of people actually doing just that. They are not just a problem in Asia as many reports I've read from Australia attest! I have tried everything to eliminate these pests with little success. They prefer certain types of trees that provide them with cover and fruit. So living in a tree free area helps. For a large bird they can remain hidden, pretty well invisible. I've moved home twice to stay away from them. Only saving grace is that after the mating season they shut up for a while! Best of luck...

makes you suicidal are you sure your not talking about a BAR BIRD,we have 3-4 in the tree's by the side of our house and they normally start winding up our hound who starts howling when they get louder 6pm to 6am but as soon as our boy tells them its his territory they soon move on.get yourself a MALAMUTE.

Nope! definitely a Koel or Nok Gow wow as it's called in Thai. They are least active between 6pm and around 4am although that is not to be taken as verbatim as they most definitely have a mind of their own. No dog has an effect on them, nor cats. Climbing trees is not often an option as they are real high up and not always on your own property. In one place I lived my Thai neighbour brought me over a catapult and made an arrangement to attack it from both sides. This was only partially successful because it was only as long as your were prepared to get up in the middle of the night to fire at it! Once stopped it came back after a week or so. Both I and my neighbour eventually moved. Lasers were tried, BBs were tried, night club lights were tried, fireworks were tried. If you can think of it we tried it!

[dotpoom]

My Thai neighbors keep one in a cage in their back garden, they also have three dogs that like to be heard.....and when the bull frog at the bottom of my garden decides to join in the chorus.....need i say more?

[Dogbarker]

The bird is alive up here .. missed it when I landed in September but it came back in earnest a few weeks ago. Try whistling the same sounds or playing the sound you sent .. it seems to make them think there is another in the area .. hear it less and less over time ..

[SlyouThai]

And if it's a real smart bird that watches television through the window, maybe he'll think he's in the crosshairs of a sniper and look for another tree.

btw if he is ruining your lilfe you may consider just shooting him no ? Its sad but at some point drastic solutions need to be taken

[lucjoker]

my house has double walls (as in europe) if i hear a nok gow waw "in my garden" i close my window and

gone with the noise .

They start calling and then wait for an aswer (can come from far away) one of the 2(hopefuly yours) will fly to the other and then they ....hm...do something.

If i can spot one ,he will fly into a led pellet,accidents happen.

[MegaRanter]

Six rounds short gauge in rapid fire in the general direction should do the trick.

[kizz06]

'

Not sure where you can buy it in Thailand though

[catinthehat]

As my research it is actually a cuckoo kind of bird, so I don't have much sympathy for it. I was thinking about buying one of those fake hawks and put on the roof:

Will that work or are there no hawks in Thailand?

Where does one find either the hawk shown here, or possibly a large owl. Owl's were great deterrants of unwanted birds back home.

[h90]

Six rounds short gauge in rapid fire in the general direction should do the trick.

yes than the neighbor who is in the general direction will call the police, they after listening to the bird story will call some professional help.

They will than give him some valium......

[lucifer666]

The best bird repellent i ever saw was a large plastic cat with dull glowing (oversize) glass eyes. It worked like a charm.

[brianP]

They were making a big fuss at the neighbors one morning. Found out a snake had them upset and the neighbor who investigated it made hamburger out of it.

[jackflash]

A scientific response would be to record the birds alarm call and then see what happens when you play it back.

Even playing their normal call might upset them sufficiently. Perhaps it might bring them close enough to take more direct action.

[smileydude]

They're called "nok gow wow". Nok meaning bird and gow wow I'm assuming comes from the sound it makes?

They drive me crazy too with their ascending pitch and loudness but after a while you get use to them just like gecko's.

I know airports use noise to scare away birds such as recordings of their natural predator's screech or even sonic cannons.

My housekeeper suggested firecrackers but I don't see that as feasible long term unless I want my neighbors to give me the stink eye.