Sep 21
by Admin in Dandeli, Karnataka 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Black naped monarch flycatcher, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500

Call of a male black naped monarch flycatcher

  The black-naped monarch or black-naped blue flycatcher (Hypothymis azurea) is a slim and agile passerine bird belonging to the family of monarch flycatchers found in southern and south-eastern Asia. They are sexually dimorphic, with the male having a distinctive black patch on the back of the head and a narrow black half collar (“necklace”), while the female is duller with olive brown wings and lacking the black markings on the head. They have a call that is similar to that of the Asian paradise flycatcher, and in tropical forest habitats, pairs may join mixed-species foraging flocks. Populations differ slightly in plumage colour and sizes. The black-naped monarch breeds across tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia and the Philippines. This species is usually found in thick forests and other well-wooded habitats. The calls are a sharp and abrupt skrip. The main breeding season in India is in summer from May to July. Two to three eggs are laid in a cup nest placed in the fork of a tree. The nest is decorated with spider-egg cases. The black-naped monarch has short legs and sits very upright whilst perched prominently, like a shrike. It is insectivorous, […]
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Sep 21
by Admin in Dandeli, Karnataka 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Dandeli, Digitalfrescos, Indian paradise flycatcher, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500

Call of a Indian paradise flycatcher

  The Indian paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi) is a medium-sized passerine bird native to Asia, where it is widely distributed. Adult Indian paradise flycatchers are 19–22 cm (7.5–8.7 in) long. Their heads are glossy black with a black crown and crest, their black bill round and sturdy, their eyes black. Female are rufous on the back with a greyish throat and underparts. Their wings are 86–92 mm (3.4–3.6 in) long. Young males look very much like females but have a black throat and blue-ringed eyes. As adults they develop up to 24 cm (9.4 in) long tail feathers with two central tail feathers growing up to 30 cm (12 in) long drooping streamers. Young males are rufous and have short tails. They acquire long tails in their second or third year. Adult males are either predominantly bright rufous above or predominantly white. Some specimens show some degree of intermediacy between rufous and white. Long-tailed rufous birds are generally devoid of shaft streaks on the wing and tail feathers, while in white birds the shaft streaks, and sometimes the edges of the wing and tail feathers are black. The Indian paradise flycatcher is a migratory bird and spends the winter season […]
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Sep 21
by Admin in Dandeli, Karnataka 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Blyth's reed warbler, Dandeli, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500

Blyth’s reed warbler on a stick, Dandeli

  Blyth’s reed warbler is named after the British zoologist Edward Blyth. The genus name Acrocephalus is from Ancient Greek akros, “highest”, and kephale, “head”. It is possible that Naumann and Naumann thought akros meant “sharp-pointed”. The specific dumetorum is from Latin dumetum, “thicket”. This small passerine bird is a species found in scrub or clearings, often near water, but it is not found in marshes. 4-6 eggs are laid in a nest in a bush. This is a medium-sized warbler, 12.5-14 cm in length. The adult has a plain brown back and pale underparts. It can easily be confused with reed warbler, marsh warbler and some of the Hippolais warblers. It is most like reed warbler but is greyer on the back, the forehead is less flattened and the bill is less strong and pointed. The sexes are identical, as with most warblers, but young birds are yellower below. Blyth’s reed warbler (Acrocephalus dumetorum) is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds in temperate Asia and easternmost Europe. It is migratory, wintering in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. It is one of the most common winter warblers in those countries. It is a rare vagrant to […]
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Sep 21
by Admin in Dandeli, Karnataka 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Blue throated blue flycatcher, Dandeli, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500

Blue-throated Blue-flycatcher female, Dandeli

  The habitat of this species is a thicker forest than other species of flycatchers. The blue-throated flycatcher is found in much of the Indian Subcontinent, all through the Himalayas, the plains and Western Ghats of India in the winter. The blue-throated flycatcher is found in much of the Indian Subcontinent, all through the Himalayas, the plains and Western Ghats of India in the cold months, and also extends eastwards into Bangladesh, and to Arakan and the Tenasserim Hills in Myanmar. Diet includes small invertebrates, e.g. flies (Diptera), small cicadas (Cicadoidea) and larvae. Not globally threatend. This is classified as least concern by IUCN.
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Sep 21
by Admin in Dandeli, Karnataka 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Black throated munia, Dandeli, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500

Black throated munia, Dandeli

  The black-throated munia or Jerdon’s mannikin (Lonchura kelaarti) is a small passerine bird. This estrildid finch is a resident breeding bird in the hills of southwest India, the Eastern Ghats and Sri Lanka. The black-throated munia is 12 cm in length with a long black tail. The adult of the southwest Indian population, L. k. jerdoni, has a stubby grey bill, dark brown upperparts with pale shaft streaks; a blackish face and bib; and pinkish brown underparts with scaly marking towards the vent. The Eastern Ghats form vernayi has paler pinkish underparts. The nominate form L. k. kelaarti of Sri Lanka has scaly patterning on the underparts and vent with the pale almost whitish shaft streaks contrasting on the darker back. The sexes are similar in all populations, but immatures lack the darker face and have more uniform underparts. The black-throated munia is a small gregarious bird which feeds mainly on seeds. It frequents open hill woodland and cultivation. The nest is a large domed grass structure in a tree or creepers on a house into which 3-8 white eggs are laid in India, and usually five in Sri Lanka. Black-throated munia feeds on grass seeds, flowers and seedheads […]
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