BIRDWALKERMONDAY

Thursday, 12 March 2020

12-3-2020 KERALA, INDIA - BLACK BACKED DWARF KINGFISHER (Ceyx erithaca)

The Black-backed Dwarf Kingfisher, also known as the Three-toed Kingfisher, is a diminutive avian jewel of the Alcedinidae family. This tropical kingfisher is a partial migrant, endemic to the Indian Subcontinent and Mainland Southeast Asia. It is a striking bird with a red bill, yellow-orange underparts, and lilac-rufous upperparts, contrasted by a blue-black back.

Adults of this species can be identified by their black forehead spot, blue and white neck patches, and lilac-rufous crown, rump, and tail. They possess a dark blue back and wings, a white chin and throat, and pale yellow-orange underparts. Their legs, feet, and bill are a vivid red. Juveniles are duller with less lilac and a yellow-orange bill with a pale tip. Both sexes are similar in appearance, with males being slightly larger.

The Black-backed Dwarf Kingfisher favors lowland forests, often near streams or ponds. It thrives in primary and secondary deciduous and evergreen forests, as well as alluvial forests, mangroves, and overgrown plantations.

This species is found in northeastern India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, southern China, and disjunctly in southwest India and Sri Lanka. Some northern populations migrate to the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra during the non-breeding season.

12-3-2020 KERALA, INDIA - GREATER SPOTTED EAGLE (Clanga clanga)

The greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga), also called the spotted eagle, is a large migratory bird of prey belonging to the family Accipitridae. Its feathered legs indicate that it is a member of the subfamily Aquilinae, also known as the "booted eagles." This species was once thought to be a member of the genus Aquila, but was reclassified to a distinct genus, Clanga, along with the two other species of spotted eagle.

During the breeding season, greater spotted eagles are widely distributed across Eastern Europe, parts of Central Europe, central Russia, Central Asia, parts of China, the Indian Subcontinent and the upper Middle East. During winter, they migrate primarily to South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the Mediterranean Basin and parts of East Africa.

Greater spotted eagles favor wetter habitats than most booted eagles, preferring riparian zones as well as bogs, lakes, ponds, some coasts, and other bodies of water surrounded by woodland or forested land. Floodplains are the primary breeding sites, especially ones that experience high water levels. During winter and migration they often seek out similar wetland habitats, but have also been observed in dry upland areas such as savanna plateaus.

Monday, 9 March 2020

9-3-2020 PERIYAR RIVER LODGE, INDIA - GREAT HORNBILL (Buceros bicornis)

The great hornbill (Buceros bicornis), also known as the concave-casqued hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It occurs in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is predominantly frugivorous, but also preys on small mammals, reptiles and birds. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2018. It is known to have lived for nearly 50 years in captivity. Due to its large size and colour, it is important in many tribal cultures and rituals. The Government of Kerala declared it as the official Kerala state bird.

During the breeding season (January to April) great hornbills become very vocal. They make loud duets, beginning with a loud "kok" given about once a second by the male, to which the female joins in. The pair then calls in unison, turning into a rapid mixture of roars and barks. They prefer mature forests for nesting. Large, tall and old trees, particularly emergents that rise above the canopy, seem to be preferred for nesting. They form monogamous pair bonds and live in small groups of 2-40 individuals. Group courtship displays involving up to 20 birds have been observed.

The female hornbill builds a nest in the hollow of a large tree trunk, sealing the opening with a plaster made up mainly of feces. She remains imprisoned there, relying on the male to bring her food, until the chicks are half developed. During this period the female undergoes a complete moult. The young chicks have no feathers and appear very plump. The mother is fed by her mate through a slit in the seal. The clutch consists of one or two eggs, which she incubates for 38–40 days. The female voids feces through the nest slit, as do the chicks from the age of two weeks. Once the female emerges from the nest, the chicks seal it again.

The young birds have no trace of a casque. After the second year the front extremity separates from the culmen, and in the third year it becomes a transverse crescent with the two edges growing outwards and upwards, while the anterior widens to the width of the rear end. Full development takes five years.

Sunday, 8 March 2020

7-3-2020 THATTEKAD, INDIA - WHITE BELLIED BLUE FLYCATCHER (FEMALE) (Cyornis pallidipes)

The white-bellied blue flycatcher (Cyornis pallidipes) is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats (including the Nilgiris) of southwest India. Males are dark blue with a lighter shade of blue on the brow and have a greyish white belly. Females have a rufous breast, a white face and olive grey above.

8-3-2020 THATTEKAD, INDIA - CRESTED GOSHAWK (Accipiter trivirgatus)

The crested goshawk (Accipiter trivirgatus) is a bird of prey from tropical Asia. It is related to other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards (or buteos) and harriers, and thus placed in the family Accipitridae.

The crested goshawk breeds in southern Asia, from India and Sri Lanka to southern China, Indonesia, Taiwan, and the Philippines. It is primarily a lowland bird, and an all-year resident. Even in upland habitat it is resident in winter, for example in the Himalayas foothills of Bhutan or in Sal (Shorea robusta) forest in India's Dehradun district. In these lands at the northern end of its range, it is generally very rare however. Essentially it is limited to tropical and warm subtropical areas. In Malaysia and Singapore there is increasing evidence of this species adapting to life in urban centres.

Like its relatives, this secretive forest bird hunts birds, mammals and reptiles in woodland, relying on surprise as it flies from a perch to catch its prey unaware. It builds a stick nest in a tree and lays two or three eggs.

5-3-2020 KANHA NAT PARK, INDIA - INDIAN JACKAL (Canis aureus ssp. indicus)

Friday, 6 March 2020

7-3-2020 THATTEKAD, INDIA - MALABAR WHISTLING THRUSH (Myophonus horsfieldii)

The Malabar whistling thrush (Myophonus horsfieldii) is a whistling thrush in the family Muscicapidae. The bird has been called whistling schoolboy for the whistling calls that they make at dawn that have a very human quality. The species is a resident in the Western Ghats and associated hills of peninsular India including central India and parts of the Eastern Ghats.

Malabar whistling thrushes are usually found in dark undergrowth in dense riverine forest. They typically forage in the margins, beds and adjacent ground of rocky hill streams and rivers in forest, secondary growth and plantations from foothills up to 2200 m above sea level but reach the plains in the rainy season. The species is found all along the Western Ghats south of the Surat Dangs. They are also found along the Satpura range to Chhattisgarh, northwestern Orissa (Surguja and Simlipal National Park), and locally in the Eastern Ghats. Populations are not migratory but are known to disperse widely in winter. An individual that was ringed in Mahabaleshwar in the summer of 1972 was recovered in the winter of 1976 in Sampaje, Coorg. Although historically recorded twice from Mount Abu, more recent surveys have not recorded the bird or suitable habitat in that location.

7-3-2020 THATTEKAD, INDIA - BROWN SHRIKE (Lanius cristatus)

The brown shrike (Lanius cristatus) is a bird in the shrike family that is found mainly in Asia. It is closely related to the red-backed shrike (L. collurio) and isabelline shrike (L. isabellinus). The genus name, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits. The specific cristatus is Latin for "crested", used in a broader sense than in English. The common English name "shrike" is from Old English scríc, "shriek", referring to the shrill call.

Like most other shrikes, it has a distinctive black "bandit-mask" through the eye and is found mainly in open scrub habitats, where it perches on the tops of thorny bushes in search of prey. Several populations of this widespread species form distinctive subspecies which breed in temperate Asia and migrate to their winter quarters in tropical Asia. They are sometimes found as vagrants in Europe and North America.

Thursday, 5 March 2020

6-3-2020 RAIPUR , INDIA - ROSE COLOURED STARLING (Pastor roseus)

The rosy starling (Pastor roseus) is a passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae, also known as the rose-coloured starling or rose-coloured pastor. The species was recently placed in its own monotypic genus, Pastor, and split from Sturnus. This split is supported by recent studies, though other related species within its new genus are not yet known for certain.

The genus name Pastor, and the old English name come from the Latin pastor, "shepherd", and by extension a pastor. The specific roseus is Latin for "rose-coloured".

Formerly, some authorities also considered the maroon oriole to be a species within the genus Pastor.