Apr 27
by Admin in Bhutan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bhutan, Bird, birds, Blue whistling thrush, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, Thrush

Blue whistling Thrush, Bhutan, Bhutan

The blue whistling thrush (Myophonus caeruleus) is a whistling thrush present in the mountains of Central Asia, China and Southeast Asia. It is known for its loud human-like whistling song at dawn and dusk. The widely distributed populations show variations in size and plumage with several of them considered as subspecies. This whistling thrush is dark violet blue with shiny spangling on the tips of the body feathers other than on the lores, abdomen and under the tail. The wing coverts are a slightly different shade of blue and the median coverts have white spots at their tips. The bill is yellow and stands in contrast. The inner webs of the flight and tail feathers is black. The sexes are similar in plumage. Like others in the genus, they feed on the ground, often along streams and in damp places foraging for snails, crabs, fruits and insects. The blue whistling thrush is usually found singly or in pairs. They hop on rocks and move about in quick spurts. They turn over leaves and small stones, cocking their head and checking for movements of prey. They feed on fruits, earthworms, insects, crabs and snails. Snails and crabs are typically battered on […]
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Apr 27
by Admin in Bhutan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bhutan, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, Minivet, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, scarlett minivet

Scarlett Minivet on tree top, Bhutan

The scarlet minivet (Pericrocotus speciosus) is a small passerine bird. This minivet is found in tropical southern Asia from India to southern China, Indonesia, and the Philippines. They are common resident breeding birds in forests and other well-wooded habitats including gardens, especially in hilly country. While the male of most subspecies are scarlet to orange with black upper parts, the females are usually yellow with greyish olive upper parts. This minivet catches insects in trees by flycatching or while perched. It flushes insects out of foliage by beating its wings hard. Scarlet minivet will form small flocks. Its song is a pleasant whistling. This bird nests high up in the treetops. This is found in broadleaf evergreen, semi-evergreen and deciduous forests, and peatswamp-forest. It eats mainly insects, including caterpillars (Lepidoptera), grasshoppers and green crickets (Orthoptera) and cicadas (Cicadidae). Not globally threatened. Widespread and common in Nepal; locally common in India, Bangladesh and China; common in Bhutan and Sri Lanka; common in SE Asia. It is classified as least concern by IUCN.
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Apr 27
by Admin in Bhutan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bhutan, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, Minivet, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, scarlett minivet

Scarlett Minivet on bamboo shoot, Bhutan

The scarlet minivet (Pericrocotus speciosus) is a small passerine bird. This minivet is found in tropical southern Asia from India to southern China, Indonesia, and the Philippines. They are common resident breeding birds in forests and other well-wooded habitats including gardens, especially in hilly country. While the male of most subspecies are scarlet to orange with black upper parts, the females are usually yellow with greyish olive upper parts. This minivet catches insects in trees by flycatching or while perched. It flushes insects out of foliage by beating its wings hard. Scarlet minivet will form small flocks. Its song is a pleasant whistling. This bird nests high up in the treetops. This is found in broadleaf evergreen, semi-evergreen and deciduous forests, and peatswamp-forest. It eats mainly insects, including caterpillars (Lepidoptera), grasshoppers and green crickets (Orthoptera) and cicadas (Cicadidae). Not globally threatened. Widespread and common in Nepal; locally common in India, Bangladesh and China; common in Bhutan and Sri Lanka; common in SE Asia. It is classified as least concern by IUCN.
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Apr 27
by Admin in Bhutan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bhutan, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, Sultan tit, tit

Sultan tit feeding on a kill, Bhutan

The sultan tit (Melanochlora sultanea) is a large songbird (about 17 cm long) with a yellow crest, dark bill, black upperparts plumage and yellow underparts. The sexes are similar. The female has greenish black upperparts and yellowish throat. The young bird is duller than the adult and has a shorter crest. The male has the forehead and crown with the crest brilliant yellow; the whole upper plumage, sides of the head and neck, chin, throat, and breast deep black glossed with green, the edges of the feathers of the upper plumage with a metallic lustre, and the outermost tail-feathers tipped with white; lower plumage from the breast downwards deep yellow, the thighs barred or mottled with white. The recumbent crest is raised when the bird is alert or alarmed. In India, this species occurs in the lower ranges of the Himalayas from Nepal to the head of the Assam valley, the Khasi hills, Cachar, Manipur, the Kakhyen hills east of Bhamo, Arrakan, the Pegu hills, Karennee, and Tenasserim. This species does not appear to be found above 4000 feet of elevation. It extends down the Malay peninsula. It frequents the larger trees in small flocks. Diet is chiefly small invertebrates […]
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Apr 27
by Admin in Bhutan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bhutan, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, fauna, golden langur, Langur, Mammal, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500

Golden Langur family with baby, Bhutan

  Gee’s golden langur or simply the golden langur, is an Old World monkey found in a small region of western Assam, India and in the neighboring foothills of the Black Mountains of Bhutan. It is one of the most endangered primate species of India. Long considered sacred by many Himalayan people, the golden langur was first brought to the attention of the western world by the naturalist E. P. Gee in the 1950s. The coat of the adult golden langur ranges from cream to golden; on its flanks and chest the hairs are darker and often rust coloured; the coats of the juveniles and females are lighter, silvery white to light buff. The golden langur has a black face and a very long tail measuring up to 50 cm (19.69 in) in length. Apart from their fur, Gee’s golden langurs are known for having long tails which can grow up to 39 inches long, even longer than their bodies, especially in males. They use these tails to swing from one tree to another. When they are alarmed, however, they will leap from tree to tree instead. The regions of its distribution are very small; the main region is limited […]
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