Green-billed Malkoha
In 2016, while working on a book of photographs of birds of Bangladesh, I visited Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary several times looking for birds that I had not found elsewhere. It was during one of these trips that I saw my first Green-billed Malkoha. Trying to photograph it was a frustrating experience. It was often hidden behind branches with only parts of its body showing as it moved from branch to branch. Eventually it moved to a tree which had shed its leaves and I caught it whole on camera, including its long, dark-grey tail with large white spots in it.
Its name notwithstanding, the polka-dot tail and the bright red patch around its eyes are the striking features of the Green-billed Malkoha. And the bill? It is a weak green, not particularly remarkable. At 20-25 inches long and weighing around four ounces, the bird is larger than a crow. From above, it is dark grey with a greenish sheen, oily green wings and a long tail. Its habitat is primary and secondary forests, cultivated areas, scrub and village groves. It lives on insects it gleans from the trees, such as large caterpillars, crickets and grasshoppers. It will also eat small lizards and eggs of other birds. While looking for food, it perches and often contorts its body into awkward directions as it searches behind leaves. It makes its way through the foliage, checking all possibilities, creeping like a squirrel, before making a hop – or gliding - into the next tree.
Known as Phaenicophaeus tristis, the bird belongs to the Cuckoo family. Its range is South and Southeast Asia. There are nine species of Malkoha in the world: all of them are restricted to tropical Asia, and only the green-billed one is seen in Bangladesh. The name "Malkoha" is derived from Sinhala meaning "flower cuckoo."
Since that day in Rema-Kalenga, I have observed Green-billed Malkohas many times. Once I got past the difficulty of photographing them, I found them fun to watch because of their distinctive behaviour. For example, one afternoon in a village grove in Purbachol, I observed one for several minutes. It was crawling along the branches, performing its usual search. At one point it turned upside down, head hidden behind the leaves, its tall tail straight up. It remained in this ridiculous position for a while before it decided to right itself.
But the best view I had was from the tower in Satchori National Park where it flew in and landed on top of a tree crown. It stayed there for a minute or two, surveying the immediate vicinity. Along with others at the tower, I was able to observe it in all its glory before it decided to fly off.
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