Oct 12
by Admin in Dandeli, Karnataka 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Dandeli, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, velvet-fronted nuthatch

Velvette fronted nutatch with catch Dandeli

  The velvet-fronted nuthatch (Sitta frontalis) is a small passerine bird in the nuthatch family Sittidae found in southern Asia from Nepal, India, Sri Lanka ‍and Bangladesh east to south China and Indonesia. Like other nuthatches, it feeds on insects in the bark of trees, foraging on the trunks and branches and their strongly clawed toes allow them to climb down tree trunks or move on the undersides of horizontal branches. They are found in forests with good tree cover and are often found along with other species in mixed-species foraging flocks. Adult males can be told apart by the black stripe that runs behind and above the eyes. They have a rapid chipping call note. The velvet-fronted nuthatch has the typical nuthatch shape, short tail and powerful bill and feet. It is 12.5 cm long. It is violet-blue above, with lavender cheeks, beige underparts, yellow eyes, and a whitish throat. The iris is distinctly pale and yellow. The bill is red, and there is a black patch on the forehead and lores which is well developed in adults and less so in younger birds. Young birds have a dark beak and dark tips to the undertail coverts. Adult males […]
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Oct 12
by Admin in Dandeli, Karnataka 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Dandeli, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, velvet-fronted nuthatch

velvet-fronted nuthatch gravity defying bird, Dandeli

The velvet-fronted nuthatch (Sitta frontalis) is a small passerine bird in the nuthatch family Sittidae found in southern Asia from Nepal, India, Sri Lanka ‍and Bangladesh east to south China and Indonesia. Like other nuthatches, it feeds on insects in the bark of trees, foraging on the trunks and branches and their strongly clawed toes allow them to climb down tree trunks or move on the undersides of horizontal branches. They are found in forests with good tree cover and are often found along with other species in mixed-species foraging flocks. Adult males can be told apart by the black stripe that runs behind and above the eyes. They have a rapid chipping call note. The velvet-fronted nuthatch has the typical nuthatch shape, short tail and powerful bill and feet. It is 12.5 cm long. It is violet-blue above, with lavender cheeks, beige underparts, yellow eyes, and a whitish throat. The iris is distinctly pale and yellow. The bill is red, and there is a black patch on the forehead and lores which is well developed in adults and less so in younger birds. Young birds have a dark beak and dark tips to the undertail coverts. Adult males can […]
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Oct 12
by Admin in Dandeli, Karnataka 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Dandeli, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, Tickells Blue Fly Catcher

Tickells blue flycatcher looking back, Dandeli

  Tickell’s blue flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae) is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family. The name commemorates the British ornithologist Samuel Tickell. This is an insectivorous species which breeds in tropical Asia, from the Indian Subcontinent eastwards to Bangladesh and western Myanmar. The Indochinese blue flycatcher was formerly considered conspecific. They are blue on the upperparts and the throat and breast are rufous. They are found in dense scrub to forest habitats. Tickell’s blue flycatcher is about 11–12 cm long. It sits upright and forages mainly in the overgrowth. The male’s upper parts are bright blue, its throat and breast are red, and the rest of the underparts are white. The female is duller blue with a brighter blue brow, shoulder, rump, and tail. It hybridizes with the pale-chinned blue flycatcher (Cyornis poliogenys) in the Eastern Ghats of India and these hybrids have sometimes been called the subspecies vernayi. The juvenile is streaked and has a spotted mantle, scaly brown upperparts, head and breast, with just the wings and tail being blue. They have sometimes been known to feed even after dusk. Apart from flying insects they have been noted to occasionally glean crawling insects. The species shows regional […]
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Oct 12
by Admin in Dandeli, Karnataka 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Dandeli, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, Southern hill myna

Southern hill myna, Dandeli

  The southern hill myna (Gracula indica) is a member of the starling family. It is a resident of southwest India and Sri Lanka. This was formerly considered conspecific with Common hill myna G. religiosa, but maintained as a separate species differing in its long, narrow serrated wattle on hindcrown; much shorter wings than closest form of G. religiosa; proportionately finer bill; “striking vocal differences”. 23–25 cm; 126 g. Medium-sized black myna with bare patch below eye clearly separated from bare postorbital skin, which extends back to nape, where there is a yellow-orange wattle. The habitat of the southern hill myna is Wooded country, including evergreen forest and well-wooded cultivated areas. This myna is almost entirely arboreal, moving in large, noisy groups of half a dozen or so, in tree-tops at the edge of the forest. It hops sideways along the branch, unlike the characteristic jaunty walk of other mynas. Like most starlings, the hill myna is fairly omnivorous, eating fruit, nectar and insects. The main diet includes fruit and nectar: fruit of figs (Ficus) and berries of sapu tree. Not globally threatened classified as Least Concern by IUCN. Often treated as a race of G. religiosa. Probably not globally […]
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Oct 12
by Admin in Dandeli, Karnataka 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, bulbul, Dandeli, Digitalfrescos, flame throated bulbul, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500

Flame throated bulbul on a moss perch, Dandeli

The flame-throated bulbul (Pycnonotus gularis) is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found only in the forests of the Western Ghats in southern India. Formerly included as a subspecies of Pycnonotus flaviventris it has since been elevated to the status of a full species. They are olive backed with yellow undersides, a triangular orange-red throat and a white iris that stands out against the contrasting black head. They are usually seen foraging in groups in the forest canopy for berries and small insects. They have a call often with two or three tinkling notes that can sound similar to those produced by the red-whiskered bulbul. The species has been referred to by names in the past such as ruby-throated bulbul and black-headed bulbul. The flame-throated bulbul keeps in small flocks and feeds on berries, including those of Lantana sp. It inhabits evergreen forests often along streams and valleys. The flame-throated bulbul feeds on fruit and insects, sometime in mixed species foraging flocks. Feeds on figs (Ficus ) and other fruit, and insects often in small flocks, which seem to keep more to dense cover. Populations appear to move seasonally within the Western Ghats. The breeding […]
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