Sep 25
by Admin in Dandeli, Karnataka 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Dandeli, Digitalfrescos, hornbill. malabar pied hornbill, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500

Malabar pied hornbill pair in flight, Dandeli

  The Malabar pied hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus), also known as lesser pied hornbill, is a bird in the hornbill family, a family of tropical near-passerine birds. The Malabar pied hornbill is a large hornbill, at 65 cm (26 in) in length. It has mainly black plumage, apart from its white belly, throat patch, tail sides and trailing edge to the wings. The bill is yellow with a large, mainly black casque. Females have white orbital skin, which the males lack. Male has a creamy white large bill with black base, and a huge ivory yellow and black casque with projecting front end, red eye with black bare skin, female is smaller with bare skin around eye pale blue, becoming pink during breeding season. Juveniles have no casque. It might be confused with the oriental pied hornbill. The Malabar pied hornbill is a common resident breeder in India and Sri Lanka. Its habitat is evergreen and moist deciduous forests, often near human settlements. This species is omnivorous, taking fruits, small mammals, birds, small reptiles, insects etc. Prey is killed and swallowed whole. Figs are an important food, contributing 60% of their diet from May to February, the non-breeding season; during breeding, […]
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Sep 25
by Admin in Dandeli, Karnataka 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Dandeli, Digitalfrescos, hornbill, malabar grey hornbill, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500

Malabar grey male hornbill with cicada catch, Dandeli

  The Malabar grey hornbill (Ocyceros griseus) is a hornbill endemic to the Western Ghats and associated hills of southern India. They have a large beak but lack the casque that is prominent in some other hornbill species. They are found mainly in dense forest and around rubber, arecanut or coffee plantations. They move around in small groups, feeding on figs and other forest fruits. Their loud cackling and laughing call makes them familiar to people living in the region. The Malabar grey hornbill is a large bird, but mid-sized for a hornbill, at 45 to 58 cm (18 to 23 in) in length. It has a 23 cm (9.1 in) tail and pale or yellowish to orange bill. Males as seen in this picture has a reddish bill with a yellow tip, while the females have a plain yellow bill with black at the base of the lower mandible and a black stripe along the culmen. They show a broad whitish superciliary band above the eye, running down to the neck. They fly with a strong flap and glide flight and hop around heavily on the outer branches of large fruiting trees. They have brown-grey wings, a white carpal […]
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Sep 24
by Admin in Bangalore, Karnataka 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Dandeli, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, Painted stork, stork

Painted stork and the water droplets, Bangalore

  The painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) is a large wader in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. Their distinctive pink tertial feathers of the adults give them their name. They forage in flocks in shallow waters along rivers or lakes. They immerse their half open beaks in water and sweep them from side to side and snap up their prey of small fish that are sensed by touch. As they wade along they also stir the water with their feet to flush hiding fish. They nest colonially in trees, often along with other waterbirds. The only sounds they produce are weak moans or bill clattering at the nest. They are not migratory and only make short distance movements in some parts of their range in response to changes in weather or food availability or for breeding. Like other storks, they are often seen soaring on thermals. This large stork has a heavy yellow beak with a down-curved tip that gives it a resemblance to an ibis. The head of the adult is bare and orange or reddish in […]
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Sep 24
by Admin in Bangalore, Karnataka 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Dandeli, Digitalfrescos, eagle, Greater spotted Eagle, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500

Greater spotted eagle, Bangalore

  The greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga), occasionally just called the spotted eagle, is a large bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. The scientific name clanga is from Ancient Greek meaning “scream”. This medium-sized eagle is very similar in general appearance to its closest relative the lesser spotted eagle, which shares part of its range. Head and wing coverts are very dark brown and contrast with the generally medium brown plumage; the lesser spotted eagle has a paler head and wing coverts. The head is small for an eagle. The similarities of the greater spotted to the lesser spotted often results in misidentification as being that species. This is further complicated by occasional hybrids between the two species. This is a species of wooded country. The population is entirely migratory. It breeds from northern Europe eastwards across Eurasia, and winters in south-eastern Europe, north-eastern Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent. Migration to the breeding grounds takes place fairly late; in Bhutan, for example, birds can be seen with some regularity until the end of March. In its winter range, the species is more social than when breeding. Small flocks of up […]
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Sep 24
by Admin in Dandeli, Karnataka 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, babbler, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Dandeli, Dark fronted babbler, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500

Dark fronted babbler, Dandeli

  The dark fronted babbler (Rhopocichla atriceps) is an Old World babbler found in the Western Ghats of India and the forests of Sri Lanka. They are small chestnut brown birds with a dark black cap, a whitish underside and pale yellow iris. They forage in flocks in the undergrowth of forests constantly making calls and uttering alarm calls when disturbed. The dark-fronted babbler measures 13 cm including its square-tipped tail. It is brown above and white below. The two subspecies in the Western Ghats have black hoods, but the two Sri Lankan races have this reduced to a dark bandit mask. The pale yellow iris stands in contrast. Babblers have a weak flight and are residents within their range. The forage in parties and clamber up vegetation and when disturbed, they tend to drop from the topmost perches of the bush into the undergrowth. The typical habitat is undergrowth in forest or on the edge of forests in more open growth. Their food is mainly insects. They can be difficult to observe in the dense vegetation they prefer, but like other babblers, these are noisy birds, and their characteristic rattling churr alarm calls are often the best indication that […]
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