Sep 29
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, red shank, spotted redshank

Spotted Redshank with feed, Jaipur

The spotted redshank is a wader (shorebird). The genus name Tringa is the New Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek trungas, a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading bird mentioned by Aristotle. It is black in breeding plumage, and very pale in winter. It has a red legs and bill, and shows a white oval on the back in flight. Juveniles are grey-brown finely speckled white above, and have pale, finely barred underparts. Adults moult completely between July and October. In spring, the body plumage is moulted between March and May. Juveniles have a partial moult between August and February. Like most waders, it feeds on small invertebrates. The Spotted Redshank is a wary, noisy wader, larger and more elegant than the Common Redshank. It is often named “Sentinel of the Marshes” as it flies off while yelling a warning to other birds. The Spotted Redshank feeds primarily on both aquatic and terrestrial insects and their larvae, but it also takes crustaceans, molluscs, worms, small fish and amphibians. It sometimes forms dense flocks, and the group members seem to chase prey in unison, moving while pecking or running in the same direction. This […]
Read More
Sep 29
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, pied avocet

Pied avocet walking by, Jaipur

The pied avocet is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family. This species gets its English and scientific names from the Venetian name avosetta. While the name may refer to black and white outfits once worn by European advocates or lawyers. It is also called as black-capped avocet, Eurasian avocet. They breed in temperate Europe and western and Central Asia. It is a migratory species and most winter in Africa or southern Asia. Some remain to winter in the mildest parts of their range, for example in southern Spain and southern England. These birds forage in shallow brackish water or on mud flats, often scything their bills from side to side in water (a feeding technique that is unique to the avocets). The Pied Avocet feeds mainly on aquatic invertebrates such as insects and larvae, molluscs, crustaceans, worms, and also fish and plant materials. It feeds by picking, or by strong sideway sweeps of the bill. It also performs up-ending. It forages in watery mud and often swims too. . This species keeps the same plumage all year round, without any seasonal variation. It is classified as least concern by IUCN.
Read More
Sep 29
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, black winged stilt, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, stilt

Black winged stilt Adult and the water droplet, Jaipur

The black-winged stilt is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family  They have long pink legs, a long thin black bill and are blackish above and white below, with a white head and neck with a varying amount of black. Males have a black back, often with greenish gloss. Females’ backs have a brown hue, contrasting with the black remiges. In the populations that have the top of the head normally white at least in winter, females tend to have less black on head and neck all year round, while males often have much black, particularly in summer. This difference is not clear-cut, however, and males usually get all-white heads in winter. Immature birds are grey instead of black and have a markedly sandy hue on the wings, with light feather fringes appearing as a whitish line in flight. The Black winged Stilt is a social bird species, and is usually found in small groups. The Nesting season is principally between April and and August. The mated pairs strongly defend their individual territories. The artificial ecosystems of these black-winged stilt species include irrigated lands, irrigation canals, flooded agricultural lands, fish ponds and flooded pasture lands. […]
Read More
Sep 29
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, black tailed godwit, Digitalfrescos, godwit, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500

Black tailed godwit feeding, Jaipur

The black-tailed godwit is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird. It is a member of the godwit genus, Limosa. There are three subspecies, all with orange head, neck and chest in breeding plumage and dull grey-brown winter coloration, and distinctive black and white wingbar at all times. Its breeding range stretches from Iceland through Europe and areas of central Asia. Black-tailed godwits spend (the northern hemisphere) winter in areas as diverse as the Indian Subcontinent, Australia, New Zealand, western Europe and west Africa. The species breeds in fens, lake edges, damp meadows, moorlands and bogs and uses estuaries, swamps and floods in (the northern hemisphere) winter; it is more likely to be found inland and on freshwater than the similar bar-tailed godwit. They mainly eat invertebrates, but also aquatic plants in winter and on migration. In the breeding season, prey includes beetles, flies, grasshoppers, dragonflies, mayflies, caterpillars, annelid worms and molluscs. Occasionally, fish eggs, frogspawn and tadpoles are eaten. In water, the most common feeding method is to probe vigorously, up to 36 times per minute, and often with the head completely submerged as seen in the i,age here. On land, black-tailed godwits probe into soft ground and also pick prey […]
Read More
Sep 29
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, pied avocet

Pied Avocet pair not in talking terms, Jaipur

The pied avocet is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family. This species gets its English and scientific names from the Venetian name avosetta. While the name may refer to black and white outfits once worn by European advocates or lawyers. It is also called as black-capped avocet, Eurasian avocet. They breed in temperate Europe and western and Central Asia. It is a migratory species and most winter in Africa or southern Asia. Some remain to winter in the mildest parts of their range, for example in southern Spain and southern England. These birds forage in shallow brackish water or on mud flats, often scything their bills from side to side in water (a feeding technique that is unique to the avocets). The Pied Avocet feeds mainly on aquatic invertebrates such as insects and larvae, molluscs, crustaceans, worms, and also fish and plant materials. It feeds by picking, or by strong sideway sweeps of the bill. It also performs up-ending. It forages in watery mud and often swims too. . This species keeps the same plumage all year round, without any seasonal variation. It is classified as least concern by IUCN.
Read More