Southern grey shrike, Jorbeed

The southern grey shrike is also called as great grey shrike. It is a large songbird species in the shrike family.  The general colour of the upperparts is pearl grey, tinged brownish towards the east of its Eurasian range. The cheeks and chin as well as a thin and often hard-to-see stripe above the eye are white, and a deep black mask extends from the beak through the eye to the ear coverts; the area immediately above the beak is grey. Males and females are about the same size, and do not differ conspicuously in appearance except by direct comparison. In the female the underparts are greyer and are usually visibly barred greyish-brown, and the white wing and tail markings are characteristically less in extent. The preferred habitat is generally open grassland, perhaps with shrubs interspersed, and adjacent lookout points. These are normally trees – at forest edges in much of the habitat. The great grey shrike eats small vertebrates and large invertebrates. To hunt, this bird perches on the topmost branch of a tree, telegraph pole or similar elevated spot in a characteristic. It is classified as Least Concern by IUCN.

Eastern imperial eagle juvenile feeding, Jorbeed

The eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) is a large species of bird of prey that breeds from southeastern Europe to western and central Asia. Most populations are migratory and winter in northeastern Africa and southern and eastern Asia. In Europe, the eastern imperial eagle is threatened with extinction. It has nearly vanished from many areas of its former range, e.g. Hungary and Austria. The eagle’s preferred habitat is open country with small woods; unlike many other species of eagle, it does not generally live in mountains, large forests or treeless steppes. The eastern imperial eagle feeds mainly on hares, hamsters and pheasants as well as a variety of other birds and mammals. The Imperial eagle has for centuries been considered a sacred bird, because our ancestors had thought that it drives away storm clouds and saves the crops. Even today it is believed in some parts of Bulgaria that killing or harming an Imperial eagle will bring serious disaster upon people. Its popular name is the ‘cross eagle’ because of the epaulet-like white spots on its wings which are visible in flight. The juvenile birds have brown feathers, ochre in colour, which gives them their specific light brown appearance. The […]

Steppe Eagle landing on a carcass full wing spread, Jorbeed

The steppe eagle is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. The steppe eagle breeds from Romania east through the south Russian and Central Asian steppes to Mongolia. The European and Central Asian birds winter in Africa, and the eastern birds in India. Throughout its range it favours open dry habitats, such as desert, semi-desert, steppes, or savannah. Large numbers are seen at certain places such as Khare in Nepal during migration. As many as 15.3 birds per hour during October and November have been noted. The steppe eagle’s diet is largely fresh carrion of all kinds, but it will kill rodents and other small mammals up to the size of a hare, and birds up to the size of partridges. It will also steal food from other raptors. Like other species, the steppe eagle has a crop in its throat allowing it to store food for several hours before being moved to the stomach. The Steppe Eagle appears on the flag of Kazakhstan. It is also the National bird (animal) of Egypt and appears on its flag. It is classified as Endangered by IUCN.

Red naped ibis looking back, Jorbeed

The red-naped ibis also known as the Indian black ibis or black ibis is a species of ibis found in the plains of the Indian Subcontinent. Unlike other ibises in the region it is not very dependent on water and is often found in dry fields a good distance away from water. It is usually seen in loose groups and can be told by the nearly all dark body with a white patch on the shoulder and a bare dark head with a patch of crimson red warty skin on the crown and nape. The red-naped ibis is a large black bird with long legs and a long downcurved bill. The wing feathers and tail are black with blue-green gloss while the neck and body are brown and without gloss. A white patch on the shoulders stands out and the top of the featherless head is a patch of bright red warty skin. The red-naped ibis is omnivorous, feeding on carrion, insects, frogs, and other small vertebrates as well as grain. They forage mainly in dry open land and stubbly fields, sometimes joining egrets and other birds on land being tilled to feed on disturbed insects and exposed beetle grub. […]