Rainquail male in the bushes, Bangalore

  The rain quail or black-breasted quail (Coturnix coromandelica) is a species of quail found in the Indian subcontinent, its range including Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Grassland, cropped fields, and scrubs in the Indus valley of central Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, ranging across the Gangetic plains, and parts of peninsular continental India. Mostly seen in winter further south.The male has a black breast-patch and distinctive head pattern of black and white. the male has a very noticeable stripe on the crown and supercilium with a black and white pattern on the head and neck, a black ‘anchor’ mark on the throat and a prominent black patch on the breast. A black border highlights the white neck. The flanks are streaked with black. The female is difficult to separate from female common quail and Japanese quail, although the spots on the breast are more delicate. The call is a metallic chrink-chrink, constantly repeated mornings and evenings, and in the breeding season also during the night. The rain quail has a very large range and the population is stable. It is a common species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated […]

Puff throated babbler, Dandeli

  Puff-throated babblers are brown above, and white below with heavily brown streaks towards the breast and belly. They have a chestnut crown, long buff supercilium and dusky cheeks. The throat is white, and is sometimes puffed out giving it the English name. Puff-throated babblers have strong legs, and spend a lot of time on the forest floor. They can often be seen creeping through undergrowth in search of their insect food, looking at first glance like a song thrush. Some subspecies have streaks on the mantle while others, especially in Peninsular India, are unstreaked. This bird is a common resident breeder in the Himalayas and the forests of Asia. Like most babblers, it is not migratory, and has short rounded wings and a weak flight. Its habitat is scrub and bamboo thickets and forages by turning over leaves to find insects.Puff-throated babblers vocalize often. Their calls are a series of whistling notes ascending in scale. Some calls have been transcribed as he’ll beat you, pret-ty-sweet. The calling can be persistent. The breeding season is mainly during the rainy season. They build a nest on the ground at the base of bush and is a dome of leaves and twigs […]

Orientalmagpie robin male , Dandeli

  Oriental magpie robin (Copsychus saularis) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but now considered an Old World flycatcher. They are distinctive black and white birds with a long tail that is held upright as they forage on the ground or perch conspicuously. Occurring across most of the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia, they are common birds in urban gardens as well as forests. They are particularly well known for their songs and were once popular as cagebirds. The oriental magpie robin is the national bird of Bangladesh. This species is 19 centimetres (7.5 in) long, including the long tail, which is usually held cocked upright when hopping on the ground. When they are singing a song the tail is normal like other birds. It is similar in shape to the smaller European robin, but is longer-tailed. The male has black upperparts, head and throat apart from a white shoulder patch as in the picture here. The underparts and the sides of the long tail are white. Females are greyish black above and greyish white. Young birds have scaly brown upperparts and head. This magpie-robin is a […]

Not size but attitude matters, Dandeli

  Oriental white eye is found in small groups feeding on Nectar and small insects. It is on the left side of the frame.This is another tiny bird about 8cm or so in length. The bird gets its name because of the the white ring around its eyes. This is classified as least concern by IUCN. This is on the left side of the image. Yellow browed bulbul in the right side of the picture is also called as Golden browed bulbul. An yellow and olive bird that has a distinct yellow brow and consequently the name. It is a forest canopy dwelling bird and found in the western ghats of India and Srilanka. They primarily feed on insects and berries, it is classified as least concern by IUCN.

Male Indian paradise flycatcher perched, Dandeli

        The Indian paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi) is a medium-sized passerine bird native to Asia, where it is widely distributed. Adult Indian paradise flycatchers are 19–22 cm (7.5–8.7 in) long. Their heads are glossy black with a black crown and crest, their black bill round and sturdy, their eyes black. Female are rufous on the back with a greyish throat and underparts. Their wings are 86–92 mm (3.4–3.6 in) long. Young males look very much like females but have a black throat and blue-ringed eyes. As adults they develop up to 24 cm (9.4 in) long tail feathers with two central tail feathers growing up to 30 cm (12 in) long drooping streamers. Young males are rufous and have short tails. They acquire long tails in their second or third year. Adult males are either predominantly bright rufous above or predominantly white. Some specimens show some degree of intermediacy between rufous and white. Long-tailed rufous birds are generally devoid of shaft streaks on the wing and tail feathers, while in white birds the shaft streaks, and sometimes the edges of the wing and tail feathers are black. The Indian paradise flycatcher is a migratory bird and spends […]