Aug 18
by Admin in Alibaug 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, great knot, knot, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, shoreline bird, wader

Great Knot wading, Alibaug

The great knot is a small wader. It is the largest of the calidrid species. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. Their breeding habitat is tundra in northeast Siberia. They nest on the ground laying about four eggs in a ground scrape. They are strongly migratory wintering on coasts in southern Asia through to Australia. This species forms enormous flocks in winter. The species is recorded in low numbers in western Alaska most years, and has occurred as a vagrant in British Columbia, Oregon, West Virginia, and Maine. These birds forage on mudflats and beaches, probing or picking up food by sight. They mainly eat molluscs and insects. This species has short dark legs and a medium-length thin dark bill. Breeding adults have mottled greyish upperparts with some rufous feathering. The face, throat and breast are heavily spotted black, and there are also some streaks on the rear belly. In winter the plumage becomes uniformly pale grey above. This species is classified as Endangered by IUCN.
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Aug 18
by Admin in Alibaug 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, kentish plover, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, plover, shoreline bird, wader

Kentish plover , Alibaug

The Kentish plover is a small cosmopolitan shorebird that breeds on the shores of saline lakes, lagoons, and coasts, populating sand dunes, marshes, semi-arid desert, and tundra. Both male and female birds have pale plumages with a white underside, grey/brown back, dark legs and a dark bill, however additionally the male birds also exhibit very dark incomplete breast bands, and dark markings either side of their head, therefore the Kentish plover is regarded as sexually dimorphic. Kentish Plover  has a large geographical distribution, ranging from latitudes of 10º to 55º, occupying North Africa, both mainland, such as Senegal, and island, such as the Cape Verde archipelago, Central Asia, for example alkaline lakes in China, and Europe, including small populations in Spain and Austria. Some populations are migratory and often winter in Africa, whereas other populations, such as various island populations, do not migrate. Like most plovers, the Kentish plovers are predominantly insectivores, feeding on a large range of arthropods and invertebrates depending on the environment, by using a run and stop method. Kentish plovers either forage individually or in loose flocks of 20-30 individuals (outside the breeding season), and occasionally can incorporate into larger flocks of multiple species. This species […]
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Aug 18
by Admin in Alibaug 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, lesser, lesser sand plover, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, sand plover, shoreline bird, wader

Lesser sandplover preening, Alibaug

The lesser sand plover is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The spelling is commonly given as lesser sand-plover, but the official British Ornithologists’ Union spelling is “lesser sand plover”. t breeds above the tree line in the Himalayas and discontinuously across to bare coastal plains in north-eastern Siberia, with the Mongolian plover in the eastern part of the range; it has also bred in Alaska. It nests in a bare ground scrape, laying three eggs. This species is strongly migratory, wintering on sandy beaches in east Africa, south Asia and Australasia. In all plumages, it is very similar to greater sand plover. Separating the species may be straightforward in mixed wintering flocks on an Indian beach, where the difference in size and structure is obvious. The lesser usually has darker legs, a white forehead, and a more even white wing bar than the greater. This species is classified as Least Concern by IUCN.
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Aug 18
by Admin in Alibaug 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, Greater, Greater sand plover, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, sand plover, shoreline bird, wader

Greater sand plover, Alibaug

The greater sand plover is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The spelling is commonly given as “greater sandplover” or “greater sand-plover”, but the official British Ornithologists’ Union spelling is “Greater Sand Plover”. It breeds in the semi-deserts of Turkey and eastwards through Central Asia. It nests in a bare ground scrape. This species is strongly migratory, wintering on sandy beaches in East Africa, South Asia and Australasia. It is a rare vagrant in western Europe, where it has been recorded as far west as Iceland. It has been spotted twice in North America. In all plumages, it is very similar to lesser sand plover. Separating the species may be straightforward in mixed wintering flocks on an Indian beach, where the difference in size and structure is obvious. This species is classified as Least Concern by IUCN.
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Aug 18
by Admin in Alibaug 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, little stint, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, shoreline bird, stint, wader

Little stint feeding, Alibaug

The little stint, is a very small wader. It breeds in arctic Europe and Asia, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to Africa and south Asia. It occasionally is a vagrant to North America and to Australia. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific minuta is Latin for “small”. Its small size, fine dark bill, dark legs and quicker movements distinguish this species from all waders except the other dark-legged stints. It can be distinguished from these in all plumages by its combination of a fine bill tip, unwebbed toes and long primary projection. This species is classified as Least Concern by IUCN.
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