Red Munia – Female, Mysore

A cute sparrow sized bird that is found in the open fields and grass lands across Asia especially near water. The name of the Genus this bird belongs to is derived from the city of Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat state in India. The birds mainly feeds on grass seeds. You will easily observe a flock of these birds together and once in a while they do perch around and give you a split second opportunity frame them. The female bird lacks the bright red plumage of the male but still has the red beak and the white spots.

Common hawk cuckoo, Bangalore

It is also known as the brain fever bird, the name is associated because of the call this bird makes. This is a brood parasite – meaning it relies on other birds to raise its young. The egg is of blue color much like babblers. The hatchling disburses off the egg of the host and the foster parents rear it. Common hawk-cuckoo is categorized as least concern by IUCN.

Thick Billed flower pecker, Bangalore

This species flowerpecker is about 10 cm long (slightly bigger than pale billed flowerpecker) and has a dark stout beak and short tail. They are dark grey brown above and dull greyish with diffuse streaking on light buffy underparts. Like other flowerpeckers they feed mainly on berries, nectar but sometimes eat insects too. This is classified as least concern bu IUCN.

pale and thick billed flower peckers

For comparison – Pale-billed flowerpecker and Thick-billed flowerpecker in the same perch. Pale billed is to the left and the thick billed is to the right of the frame.

white-breasted sea eagle, with kill,,Kundapura

The white-bellied sea eagle is also known as the white-breasted sea eagle. Resident from India and Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia to Australia on coasts and major waterways, the white-bellied sea eagle breeds and hunts near water, and fish form around half of its diet. The bird here is seen with a wader kill, although it was anti light still the record of seeing this beautiful raptor with a kill made it up.