Sunday, 22 March 2020
Saturday, 21 March 2020
8-3-2020 PERIYAR RIVER LODGE, INDIA - ORIENTAL MAGPIE ROBIN (Copsychus saularis)
This magpie-robin is a resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and eastern Pakistan, eastern Indonesia, Thailand, south China, Malaysia, and Singapore.
The Oriental magpie-robin is found in open woodland and cultivated areas often close to human habitations.
Magpie-robins breed mainly from March to July in India and January to June in south-east Asia. Males sing from high perches during courtship. The display of the male involves puffing up the feathers, raising the bill, fanning the tail and strutting. They nest in tree hollows or niches in walls or building, often adopting nest boxes. They line the cavity with grass. The female is involved in most of the nest building, which happens about a week before the eggs are laid. Four or five eggs are laid at intervals of 24 hours and these are oval and usually pale blue green with brownish speckles that match the color of hay. The eggs are incubated by the female alone for 8 to 14 days. The nests are said to have a characteristic odour.
Females spend more effort on feeding the young than males. Males are quite aggressive in the breeding season and will defend their territory. They respond to the singing of intruders and even their reflections. Males spend more time on nest defense. Studies of the bird song show dialects with neighbours varying in their songs. The calls of many other species may be imitated as part of their song. This may indicate that birds disperse and are not philopatric. Females may sing briefly in the presence of a male. Apart from their song, they use a range of calls including territorial calls, emergence and roosting calls, threat calls, submissive calls, begging calls and distress calls. The typical mobbing calls is a harsh hissing krshhh.
8-3-2020 PERIYAR RIVER LODGE, INDIA - ASIAN HOUSE GECKO (Hemidactylus frenatus)
The common house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) is a gecko native to South and Southeast Asia as well as Near Oceania. It is also known as the Asian house gecko, Pacific house gecko, wall gecko, house lizard, tiktiki, chipkal] or moon lizard.
Most geckos are nocturnal, hiding during the day and foraging for insects at night. They can be seen climbing walls of houses and other buildings in search of insects attracted to porch lights, and are immediately recognisable by their characteristic chirping.
They grow to a length of between 7.5–15 cm (3–6 in), and live for about 7 years. These small geckos are non-venomous and not harmful to humans. Most medium-sized to large geckos are docile, but may bite if distressed, which can pierce skin. The common house gecko is tropical, and thrives in warm, humid areas where it can crawl around on rotting wood in search of the insects it eats, as well as within urban landscapes in warm climates. The animal is very adaptable and may prey on insects and spiders, displacing other gecko species which are less robust or behaviourally aggressive. In parts of Australia and Papua New Guinea they are often confused with a similar native lizard, the dubious dtella.
Friday, 20 March 2020
10-3-2020 THATTEKAD BIRD SANCTUARY, INDIA - ASIAN BROWN FLYCATCHER (Muscicapa dauurica)
The Queen of Spain fritillary (Issoria lathonia) is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.
This migratory species is widespread in most of Europe, in North Africa, Canary Islands, and in the eastern Palearctic realm (Central Asia, Himalayas, Baluchistan, and Western China). These butterflies live in open areas, in dry lawns, agricultural wastelands and in extensive crops at altitudes between sea level and 2700 m.
The Asian brown flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica) is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae. The word Muscicapa comes from the Latin musca, a fly and capere, to catch. The specific dauurica refers to Dauria, an area of south-eastern Siberia named after a local nomadic tribe.
This is an insectivorous species which breeds in Japan, eastern Siberia and the Himalayas. It is migratory and winters in tropical southern Asia from southern India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia.
The correct specific epithet for this species is disputed.
11-3-2020 KERULA, INDIA - BRAHMINY KITE EAGLE (Haliastur indus)
The brahminy kite (Haliastur indus), also known as the red-backed sea-eagle in Australia, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. They are found in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia. They are found mainly on the coast and in inland wetlands, where they feed on dead fish and other prey. Adults have a reddish-brown body plumage contrasting with their white head and breast which make them easy to distinguish from other birds of prey.
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