A pheasant coucal is a mass of contradictions: a bewildered bravo rolling through my house like a feathered wrecking ball | Bronwen Scott

Swinging wildly from confident to confused, and permanently dishevelled, this most relatable of cuckoos blunders through life as best it canGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSee more Australian bird of the year contentA sudden thud made me look up from my work. A stack of books sprawled across the floor. There were folders too, the contents fanned out like a deck of cards. In the middle, unperturbed by the mess it was creating, a pheasant coucal sauntered down the hallway. The bird was a feathered wrecking ball.In those days, I lived in a traditional Queenslander. The hall was once a veranda running the full length of the house. It had been enclosed with louvres to make a pleasant, airy office. I'd leave the door open to catch the breeze. To wildlife, an open door is an invitation. I'd been visited by a grey fantail, an entire family of pied butcherbirds and a brush-turkey, who had entered with uncharacteristic stealth and made off with a shoe. This was the first pheasant coucal. Continue reading...