Dec 09
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, common snipe, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, snipe

common snipe and the water droplet, Jaipur

The common snipe is a meduim-sized wading bird with a long, straight, pointed, black bill. It has a brown body with black bars, a striped head and back and a white belly. The common snipe is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World.  Common snipe can be found in wet grassy areas of freshwater marshes, ponds, flooded meadows, fields and occasionally, salt marshes. The breeding habitat is marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout northern Europe and northern Asia. It is migratory, with European birds wintering in southern and western Europe and Africa (south to the Equator), and Asian migrants moving to tropical southern Asia. It is a well camouflaged bird, it is usually shy and conceals itself close to ground vegetation and flushes only when approached closely. When flushed, they utter a sharp note that sounds like scape, scape and fly off in a series of aerial zig-zags to confuse predators.[9] They forage in soft mud, probing or picking up food by sight. They mainly eat insects and earthworms, also some plant material. It is classified as least concern by IUCN.
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Dec 09
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, flycatcher, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, red breasted flycatcher

Female red breasted flycatcher

The red-breasted flycatcher is, at first glance, similar to a European robin in appearance; however, these species are not related. The scientific name of this species, Ficedula parva, is Latin for ‘small fig-eating bird’, parva meaning little. Both male and female red-breasted flycatchers have olive-brown upperparts, white underparts, white rings around the eyes, and a wide, black, pointed bill, characteristic of flying insectivores. A good identification feature is the white patches on either side of the base of the tail which are very conspicuous when birds cock and spread their tails. Males have a greyish head and sides to the neck and a bright orangey-red bib on the throat, which females and juveniles lack. The breeding male of this small 11–12 cm long flycatcher is mainly brown above and white below, with a grey head and orange throat. The bill is black and has the broad but pointed shape typical of aerial insectivores. As well as taking insects in flight, this species hunts caterpillars amongst the oak foliage, and will take berries. The base of the outertail feather is white and the tail is often flicked upwards as they perch looking out for insect prey which are caught on the […]
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Dec 09
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, flycatcher, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, red breasted flycatcher

Female red breasted flycatcher, Jaipur

The red-breasted flycatcher is, at first glance, similar to a European robin in appearance; however, these species are not related. The scientific name of this species, Ficedula parva, is Latin for ‘small fig-eating bird’, parva meaning little. Both male and female red-breasted flycatchers have olive-brown upperparts, white underparts, white rings around the eyes, and a wide, black, pointed bill, characteristic of flying insectivores. A good identification feature is the white patches on either side of the base of the tail which are very conspicuous when birds cock and spread their tails. Males have a greyish head and sides to the neck and a bright orangey-red bib on the throat, which females and juveniles lack. The breeding male of this small 11–12 cm long flycatcher is mainly brown above and white below, with a grey head and orange throat. The bill is black and has the broad but pointed shape typical of aerial insectivores. As well as taking insects in flight, this species hunts caterpillars amongst the oak foliage, and will take berries. The base of the outertail feather is white and the tail is often flicked upwards as they perch looking out for insect prey which are caught on the […]
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Dec 09
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, flycatcher, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, red breasted flycatcher

Red breasted flycatcher male, Jaipur

The red-breasted flycatcher is, at first glance, similar to a European robin in appearance; however, these species are not related. The scientific name of this species, Ficedula parva, is Latin for ‘small fig-eating bird’, parva meaning little. Both male and female red-breasted flycatchers have olive-brown upperparts, white underparts, white rings around the eyes, and a wide, black, pointed bill, characteristic of flying insectivores. A good identification feature is the white patches on either side of the base of the tail which are very conspicuous when birds cock and spread their tails. Males have a greyish head and sides to the neck and a bright orangey-red bib on the throat, which females and juveniles lack. The breeding male of this small 11–12 cm long flycatcher is mainly brown above and white below, with a grey head and orange throat. The bill is black and has the broad but pointed shape typical of aerial insectivores. As well as taking insects in flight, this species hunts caterpillars amongst the oak foliage, and will take berries. The base of the outertail feather is white and the tail is often flicked upwards as they perch looking out for insect prey which are caught on the […]
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Dec 09
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, common greenshank, Digitalfrescos, greenshank, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500

Common greenshank non breeding plummage, Jaipur

The largest species in the genus Tringa, the common greenshank is an elegant wading bird with a long, stout, slightly upturned bill and long, yellowish- to greyish-green legs. It has a relatively long neck, and the bill is grey with a darker tip. Outside of the breeding season, the common greenshank is largely grey above and white below, with darker wings, grey streaks on the head and neck, and a whitish tail. Breeding adults have heavy dark streaking and spotting on the upperparts, head, neck and upper breast. At all times of year, this species has a white rump which extends into a distinctive white wedge up the back, visible in flight. The male and female common greenshank are similar in appearance, but females average slightly larger. Juveniles resemble the non-breeding adults, but have browner upperparts with buff edges to the feathers, and more streaking on the neck and breast. The common greenshank forages by both day and night, feeding on a variety of insects and their larvae, but also taking crustaceans, molluscs, worms, amphibians and small fish. This species has even been recorded eating rodents and lizards. It usually feeds by pecking or probing as it walks through shallow […]
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