Wooly necked stork

The woolly-necked stork is a medium-sized stork at 75–92 cm tall. The iris is deep crimson or wine-red. The stork is glistening black overall with a black “skull cap”, a downy white neck which gives it its name. The lower belly and under-tail coverts are white, standing out from the rest of the dark colored plumage. The woolly-necked stork or whitenecked stork (Ciconia episcopus) is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae.This is classified as vulnerable as per IUCN.

Wooly necked storks

The woolly-necked stork is a medium-sized stork at 75–92 cm tall. The iris is deep crimson or wine-red. The stork is glistening black overall with a black “skull cap”, a downy white neck which gives it its name. The lower belly and under-tail coverts are white, standing out from the rest of the dark colored plumage. The woolly-necked stork or whitenecked stork (Ciconia episcopus) is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae.This is classified as vulnerable as per IUCN.

Red spurfowl

The red spurfowl (Galloperdix spadicea) is a member of the pheasant family and is endemic to India. It is a bird of forests, and is quite secretive despite its size. It has a distinctive call and is often hard to see except for a few seconds when it flushes from the undergrowth. It appears reddish and like a long-tailed partridge. The bare skin around the eye is reddish. The legs of both males and females have one or two spurs, which give them their name.The species is found in scrub, dry and moist-deciduous forests often in hilly country. They are found south of the Ganges across India. They prefer areas with good undergrowth. This is classified as least concern by IUCN. Forest hills at Masinagudi is a very good place to record this bird.

Lesser golden-backed woodpecker

This is a woodpecker found widely distributed in the Indian subcontinent. This is a female black-rumped flameback (lesser golden-backed) woodpecker. The female can be identified because the red in its crown does not reach forward till its forehead. The forehead is black and white in female birds whilst the male can be identified easily if the red crown extends till the forehead. This bird has white markings on black near the shoulder region. So the black-rumped flamebacks has patterned wings.The similar looking greater flameback has plain golden yellow wings. The rump i.e. the lower back above the tail of the bird, is black as their name suggests. In the greater flameback birds, the rump is red.

Black-rumped flameback woodpecker

This is a woodpecker found widely distributed in the Indian subcontinent. This is a female black-rumped flameback (lesser golden-backed) woodpecker. The female can be identified because the red in its crown does not reach forward till its forehead. The forehead is black and white in female birds whilst the male can be identified easily if the red crown extends till the forehead. This bird has white markings on black near the shoulder region. So the black-rumped flamebacks has patterned wings.The similar looking greater flameback has plain golden yellow wings. The rump i.e. the lower back above the tail of the bird, is black as their name suggests. In the greater flameback birds, the rump is red.