Sep 29
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, grey headed swamphen, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, puple swamphen, purple moorehen

Grey headed swamphen showing its pedicured nails, Jaipur

Grey-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus) is a species of swamphen occurring from the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent to southern China and northern Thailand. It used to be considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen. The grey-headed swamphen was introduced to North America in the late 1990s due to avicultural escapes in the Pembroke Pines, Florida area. State wildlife biologists attempted to eradicate the birds, but they have multiplied and can now be found in many areas of southern Florida. They forage on insects, mollusks, water beetles, and water-plant shoots. In their foraging sprees they sometimes invade the close by paddy fields and graze on the tender rice-shoots.It is a very shy bird and hides itself among the cat-tail reeds at the slightest disturbance. Pairs are often seen and sometimes a party of them can be seen foraging at close fields adjoining the swamps. It is in the group of Rails, and has the characters of all rails. It is classified as least concern by IUCN.
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Sep 29
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, ruff, spotted redshank

Spotted redshank and Ruff comparison, Jaipur

This image shows two different birds – the spotted redhank and the ruff. The bird on the left is spotted redhank which is taller and the one on the right is Ruff which is smaller. Both the birds are in non breeding plummage.
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Sep 29
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, Marsh sand piper, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, sand piper, Sandpiper

Marsh Sandpiper assuming non breeding plummage, Jaipur

The marsh sandpiper is a small wader. It is a rather small shank, and breeds in open grassy steppe and taiga wetlands from easternmost Europe to central Asia. 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 a migratory species, with majority of birds wintering in Africa, and India with fewer migrating to Southeast Asia and Australia. They prefer to winter on fresh water wetlands such as swamps and lakes and are usually seen singly or in small groups. These birds forage by probing in shallow water or on wet mud. They mainly eat insects, and similar small prey. They feed by wading briskly in shallow water, pecking from the surface or sometimes sweeping the bill from side to side. They may wade deeper and feel for prey. They also follow the other aquatic birds, and take the preys disturbed by their movements. This is an interesting individual with one leg in winter non breeding plummage and the other leg still showing the breeding plummage (Yellow).  It is classified as least concern by IUCN.
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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 […]
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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.
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