162 : White-browed Bulbul

White-browed Bulbul - Pycnonotus luteolus

I think this may be the last picture of a new bird I picked up from India on my trip at the end of May. June has been a record month for postings and the best month I have had since I started the Task - all thanks to the one 3 night trip.

At the end of the first day's birding Dhillon and I went for a walk around a small patch of scrub jungle around a rocky outcrop. The sort of place you find Sloth Bears he said - and Quail (we saw neither). What we did turn up was a good crop of new passerines incluing the rare Yellow-thoated Bulbul and this White-browed variety and good views of an Iora. The light was perfect. What I have learned is that it is better to try and get some foliage in the background if you can otherwise the picture is pretty washed out. These guys were so good they were moving to places with the best background or perch and then "pishing" (making bird calls) to try and draw the birds in. Some guys even have Ipods with recordings on to act as lures.

The birds were singing and the Bulbuls had a lovely melifluous tone to their song. There is a rule with birds - bright gaudy colours means rubbish song and a fairly plain bird will normally have a  better song. Think of blackbirds for example compared to a blue tit. I think that rule does the White-browed a disservice as the head pattern is charming - the clear white supercilium and crescent below the eye and the sub moustachial stripe bordered by a yellow chin patch. I think these are attractive birds with fantastic song.

The sun continued to set over the rocky outcrop, the birds sang but I have to say my feet were killing me ! My luggage had not turned up in India as my monopod had been mistaken for something dodgy in Dubai on the bag taken off the plane. It turned up in peices eventually !  I had the clothes I was stood up in and my camera and binoculars. I had spent the day walking for miles in Birkenstocks. My field kit consisted of a new pair of jeans from a shop opposite the hotel and a pink polo shirt. Comments had been passed by Bopana and Dhillon about my atire - I ignored them. The next day with my new lightweight Columbia rustle free jungly gear and new walking boots (my bag turned up) I still ended the day with sore feet. The boots at size 11 were a birthday gift but the left one was just slightly too small so that climbing and descending was agony on my big toe. I used them for the day so they have been put on one side for the time that one of sons makes it to size 11.

I have always been somewhat dismissive of birders in the UK clothed head to toe in serious backwoodsman kit. Most reserves have paved paths !  Why do you need clothing designed for trecking through the rockie mountains. Ray Mears is allowed - you or I really are not unless we are going to wrestle a grizzly. I am perfectly prepared now to take the plunge into safari tones as I have earnt my wings crashing through "jungle scrub" in the company of an award winning wildlife photographer. I have been learning what colours attract Tse-Tse fly (blue) for Tanzania and I have no choice but to go khaki. Dillon also had Columbia lightweight trousers and a jaunty cap but also a natty checked shirt. It may take me a while to find my style but I can already tell you that a water bottle and a pocket somewhere for an extra camera battery are essential. Give it a few years and I will have my favourite jungly trousers, sweat towel and hat. I have a wide brimmed hat with an orange gingham band - not very rambo at the moment - more it Aint Alf Hot Mum. Kit for birding is mostly focused in optics - I cannot get too excited about clothing - when it's hot and dirty though there are some practicalities that need addressing - I am sure I will adapt from Boden to something that looks a bit more paramilitary. Not wearing bright colours helps - I am not sure I won't feel like a bit of a fraud if I dress like a BBC cameraman from SpringWatch.

On reflection my two days in Banaglore were extremely good for the soul. Each evening I would return to my 5 star luxury room at the Oberoi (I got a good deal online) and after a long power shower I would come down for a couple of cold Kingfisher beers in the garden before supper. The taste of cold beer after 14 hours of solid birding in dusty, hilly scrub is fantastic ! A curry tastes fantastic after a day in the field. Its all heightened. The most satisfying birding in a long time. It is very satisfying to leaf through a field guide making notes - ticking off the species - you do feel like your own small adventurer. I love working through the pictures on a camera card. I would set up office at the edge of the bar and process the day. I think I had something like 400 shots on the first day - it takes a lot of time - I reckon a full camera card is an evening's work at least.

There are 1375 species in my Birds of the Indian Subcontinent book so many more trips to come. In two days I think I cranked out 100 species many of which I had seen before. I am not sure I could keep the pace up for more than a couple of days. I have actually posted 43 new species photographed from the trip starting with the Grey Hornbill at post 119 that were new for me. I will count it as a successful trip.

I will admit that I felt a bit stupid at first booking myself on a long weekend and a bit odd getting on the plane. I must have looked like a geek pouring over my field guide and my world list. When I look at the Emirates flight map now though with all the lines out of Dubai to every corner of the planet I just feel lucky. I do feel very capable now of just dispearing into the "bush" for a couple of days and getting a buzz out "collecting" some more birds. I am going to stick to 5 star hotels for where I can though and get a driver or guide.

It just makes sense rather than getting lost, mugged, kidnapped or injured. These places are the third world. I have to say though that the most dangerous thing I have done in my life (even though I have run the bulls at Pamplona twice) was crossing the road in Bangalore to get to the clothes shop opposite the hotel. I have a good life - I do not want to end up dead in a jungle somewhere because I wandered into an opium plantation or trod on a snake. I was told to be careful a couple of times in India crossing ditches full of leaves - what do you do though ?? Tread softly ?? There is going to be some risk with walking in jungles or outdoors in any of these places - getting a good guide and staying in a nice clean upmarket lodge should limit that. I am just debating with myself what I am prepared to do for my birds. We'll take it a step at a time. I am not about to just walk into some steaming jungle on my own. Suicide.

Where next then ? I don't know why but Burma or Myanmar is calling me. I have been to Hong Kong years ago so its not the farthest East I have been - I think a couple of days of proper steaming jungle is needed. I want to get into a proper rain forest and hear monkeys and birds and twigs snapping. Just dip my toe for a day or two and see what that feels like. I could actually get that in Goa or right up in the mountains of the Western Ghats. I am sure after the plains of Tanzania I will have a yearning to get into the forest in Uganda or Rwanda - the proper steaming jungly stuff. The middle of Africa is a giant jungle and the plates of birds in the books are to die for. Easy goes it though - some investment in anti-leach gear will be required ! Mrs C sent me off with a pot of table salt last time but I was fine as the rains had not yet arrived. I will post some heroic leach shots at some point and tell you some funny stories about the children in Sri Lanka. Back to my train of thought - Weekend dashes really have to be within 4 hours flying time at the most. Its quite fun just looking at the flight routes and seeing where they go ! I will list them the next time I post - every route which is less than 4 hours for starters ! I think Burma may not make the cut and I will stick to Emirates flights for now.  

So that was India - a day of new birds, a cold beer, a curry and some great shots on the camera. All very good for the soul. I have a sunset in the company of I think of 4 life ticks to remember - even Dillon had a broad grin as one of the birds (The Yellow-Throated bulbul) is listed as vulnerable by Bird Life International. Less than 10,000 left in the wild and this small patch of scrub was a new site for the bird. So I did some good on my trip - a couple of Southern India's top birders now know a new site for a rare endemic. That is a start to protecting them. They did say that it wouldn't be there for long. The charcoal burning issue again. Even if you bought the land the local villagers would still come onto it to chop down the trees - it has to be protected day and night and when you have 1 billion plus people who need food and fuel whats a patch of jungly scrub ? 

I will look back through the shots but I think that is the end of the new species I picked up from Bangalore on the camera. It has been good to go back through the all the shots a month later and remember all of the places. One last thing I have realised - I need two camera bodies or a small camera - just to take snaps of the place as well. You cannot swap lenses while you out very well and pictures of the place as well as the bird make the memories stick much better.

That was a longer post today. I really am looking foward to posting up a picture of a lion and an elephant in the next month or so. Tanzania here we come. Beyond excited now.

White-browed Bulbul, Pycnonotus luteolus

Karnataka, India, at sunset

25 May 2012

161 : Bronze-winged Jacana

Bronze-winged Jacana - Metopidius indicus

On the big bridge again near Bangalore and I decided to walk across and have a look on the other side. I found this handsome Jacana with chicks carefully picking a trail through the floating vegetation. I have decided I like Jacanas - they are going up there with Barbets as a firm Crossley favourite.

When I get to 200 (or 300 if thats what happens after Tanzania) I will have a retrospective and try and pick a top 20 I think. It gets harder - but I think a Jacana is going to make the cut. For a good description of the social lives of these birds see here. This is the male bird of course - who else would take such good care of the chicks ! 6 more species of Jacana to go for a Jacana flush. They are also known as 'Jesus Birds' or 'Lily Trotters'. To get the full set we need Lesser, African, Comb-Crested, Wattled, Madgascan (oh yes please Lemurs !) and Northern. These are tropical birds in the main - Wattled and Northern require a trip to South and Central America, Comb-Crested to Borneo or North Australia, Madagascan and African are self evident - Lesser again I can pick up in Africa and specifically Tanzania. This time next month we could have 50% of the world's Jacannas in the camera bag.

I haven't thought past Tanzania for what the next trip might be as a dash - Burma was one idea or more of India - Ethiopia could be doable - I think Northern India - The Corbett National Park perhaps. Its a long way from Northern Australia to Africa to South America to polish off the Jacannas. I think I got two of the smartest species on the big Bangalore Bonanza. Look at that glossy plumage - the bronze wing yes but the irridescent green moving to purple neck with a dashing bright white supercilium. You really are a handsome bird. If you are a cousin to the gulls I could almost forgive them. Somewhere a long way back a bird nothing like either a Jacana or a Gull had some offspring and that line went on to become these beautiful birds whereas the rest of the line developed into the world's gulls. Isn't evolution amazing.

Bronze-winged Jacanna, Metopidius indicus
Karnataka, India - the Big Bridge (somewhere !)
25 May 2012.

160 : Pied Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher - Ceryle rudis

On the post !

It was probably a good 600 m away so for a while this was the best I could do. Blown up -



It did come to a closer telegraph wire - note my fondness of telegraph wires. I just couldn't get a better shot than this though. Another bird that I have noted I need a better shot of. The excitement of many of these life ticks was getting subsumed in my desperation to get a decent picture. Picture first and then a good look through the scope or binoculars. I must not forget that birding on its own used to be the thing before the pictures came along. When the picture is going to be this bad I have to get a good mental note and soak it up as well !

Pied Kingfisher, Ceryle rudis
Karnataka, India - the big birding bridge !
25 May 2012

159 : Black-headed Ibis

Black-headed Ibis - Theskiornis melanocephalus

Another shot off the big bridge in Karnataka. Quite a long ranged shot and a bit over exposed. This is an adult bird in breeding plumage - the grey tertials show this. I think these birds wade and look for crayfish, frogs, small fish and so on, perhaps invertabrates in the mud judging from the down-curved bill.

The Asian population of these birds is estimated at 15-30,000 birds and they are undergoing a rapid population decrease and are listed as "Near Threatened"by Birdlife International. Drainage of wetlands, habitat disturbance, hunting - all of the usual pressures are taking their toll on these striking birds.

Karnataka, India
25 May 2012

158 : Little Swift

Little Swift- Apus affinus

We took up station on a large bridge across a river bed as one of our stops in Karnataka. I spent a while testing my new found ariel photography skills on these small and fast moving birds. Mode to "Servo'', multi point focus and dial up the exposure to 1.5 or 2. They are not perfect but these little fellas were moving at a fair pace. Practice practice practice.



Dillon reckoned they were nesting under the bridge and proceeded to give me the heebie geebies by trying to lean out and see back under the railings. The man is obsessed with birds - really !

I just came across a blog concerning a twitch of a Little Swift all the way up in the Wirral near where I used to live ! See here -  Poor thing got lost !

Over the years my firm belief has become that while it might be interesting to see a bird thats lost and stick it on a UK list it is so much more satisfying to travel to where a bird belongs and watch it in its home.  I saw a Lesser Kestrel in Suffolk once that provoked a major twitch - The Lesser Kestrels I have seen in Spain in the Sierra Nevada up in the Pueblos Blancos followed by a glass of sherry and a cold almond soup - so much better.

It will soon be time for Kori's Bustard followed by a gin an tonic, a sunset and barbequeued skewers - the roar of lions - I will be camping next to the Mara river - there has to be some swifts and swallows near there. I wont be wandering down to the water's edge to find out but I am sure I can get some shots of say sand martins (or the East African equivalent) and Hippos.

Anyway this is where Little Swifts live ! Not the Wirral.

Little Swift, Apus affinus

Big bridge somewhere in Karnatataka (get a map Neil !) India

25 May 2012

157 : Black-winged Kite

Black-winged Kite - Elanus caeruleus

The last few shots from my Indian Bangalore Bird Bonanza at the end of last month. This is small quite compact Kite - more the size of a Kestrel than a Buzzard.Watching telegraph or telephone wires is always a good strategy when you are birding. Something will turn up every kilometre or so down a road.

My excitement is at fever pitch as its (count them) just 19 days until the family head off to Tanzania. I am drooling over East African field guides and spending lunchtimes at work reading blogs by safari goers, naturalists, the odd birder (not so many sites that I can find). I am starting to build up a picture of what I might see in the Serengetti. It should catapult the site way up beyond the 200 mark - perhaps even to 300. There are some beautiful looking birds to chase. I need to remember that we are there for the rhinos and cheetahs as well. It will be good to just get out under some big skies with green grass. The Summer heat is here now and I do not feel much like chasing out for birds in 40 degree heat.

I remember the excitement of driving to Woburn Abbey or Whipsenade when I was small or for my boys Knowelsy in the North West. Its hard to realise that I have only seen some of these beuatiful creatures behind bars or in a zoo. I will put up a page of Safari views on my return as well as the birds. I almost do not now want the day to arrive as I have been waiting for several months and I know its going to pass in a blur when it comes. Maybe thats not true - I had the experience in Sri Lanka in the Yala NP that time slowed down - 48 hours was a lifetime - especially when you are getting up at 6 am to get the best of the viewing. I hope I can get in the zone and just let the days wash past and soak every bird, bug and beast.

And we need to go back to India for a better picture of a Black-winged Kite. The last few shots I will put up from Karnataka will probably not be my best !

Black-winged Kite, Elanus caeruleus
Karnataka, India
25 May 2012

156 : Spot-billed Pelican

Spot-billed Pelican - Pelicanus philippensis

There was a tree or two filled with young pelicans at the Egret village where we stopped off to photgraph Painted Storks and Brahminy Kites and Ibises landing. I didn't catch sight of any adult birds. The whole place stank of fish and amonia ! The noise and smell was overwhelming. The villagers just get on with it cohabiting with hundreds of storks, egrets, ibisis and pelicans.

Young which fall out of the trees are fed by the villagers - its the Hindu way with things. They bring them dried fish until they fledge ! This fellow below was being hand fed on a daily basis by the villagers with fish caught in the nearby lake. They had a small enclosure that kept half a dozen disenfranchised pelicans and Painted Storks. They seemed genuinely fond of their neighbours.

Spot-billed Pelican, Pelicanus philippensis

Karnataka, India, Kokare Bellur ("Egret Roost Village")

25 May 2012

155 : Singing Bushlark

Singing Bushlark - Mirafra cantilans

I am told that this is what it was. At this range and with this shot its beyond identification to me. Its probably because it was singing from a wire or perch. I should have asked Bopana to clarify a few of the sitings so that I could log them up with a little more certainty. Why is it a Singing Bushlark ?

Karnataka, India
25 May 2012

154 : Indian Bushlark

Indian Bushlark - Mirafra erythroptera

It is the night I am posting up all the little brown jobs I didn't have the heart of patience to post when i first got back from India. These pictures of a small party of bushlarks were taken on a big open grassland. They were filming some sort of Indian TV programme or a film nearby and a large crowd had gathered. My moronic driver was more interested in trying to gawp to see who was being filmed - how could that be more interesting than these little fellows ? This was probably the last new bird I saw in India. I had had enough of the chittering, whining and complaining - at one point could I close the window because he was worried about dust in his new car - you what ?? This is a bird safari. I called it a day and headed in for an early return in good time for 4 pints before dinner and ans sort through all the snaps on the camera.

I stayed at the Oberoi for 3 nights. Splendid food, obsequeous staff and the feel of teh old Raj. I would recomend that if you are going to stomp about for 12 hours chasing birds have a 5 star hotel with a world class curry buffet and Tai restaurant to come back to. I had a stir fired lobster with chilli and ginger, noodles and a bottle of Pinot gris for I think for 30 quid that night. Jobs a good un !

Indian Bushlark - Mirafra erythroptera
Karnataka, India, Grassland where they filming something near "our native village"
26 May 2012

153 : Black Kite

Black Kite - Milvus migrans

These birds soar over every area of human habitation in India. They feed on rubbish and the detritus of our life. They are needless to say doing very well in India.I saw so many I kept putting off getting a good shot until the only shot I got was a bad one. I will add to the site in due course.

Karnataka, India
26 May 2012

152 : Paddyfield Pipit

Paddyfield Pipit - Anthus rufulus

Dilon and I ventured into a nationalised fodder farm and got stopped by the management. Not before we had managed to spot this little brown job. Now I am not going to confess to good enough views to identify it for myself in the field. By a process of elimiation from range I can see for myself now that it is a Paddyfield which was another life tick for me. Most of the birds I was seeing in India were life ticks or birds I had only seen once before in Sri Lanka.

I have to say the driver was really irritating me by this stage - would he shut up to 2 minutes so that I could focus on a bird - a constant stream of chitter chatter and mobile calls and he didn't speak a word of English. Quite alienating and by mid afternoon it was grating sorely. I know that he was saying things like "this guy is actually paying good money to drive around plowed fields looking for small brown birds - what a wierdo !" to the flocks of field labourers who would appear to gawp at what I was up to wherever we went.

I can remember actually saying something like " Are yoy incapable of being quiet for 2 minutes" at some point while I was trying to geta half decent shot of this bird as it pottered about in lumps of field twoce teh size of it at a range of 50m - no easy task !!

Paddyfield Pipit, Anthus rufulus
Karnataka, India
26 May 2012

151 : Spotted Dove

Spotted Dove - Stigmatopelia chinensis

A rather handsome new dove species for me photograhed in Karnataka on the second day in the field of my "Big Bangalore Bird Bonanza". This is a widesread resident in India. The pink wash of the breast and spotted almost chequered pattern on the side of the neck lift it up and above the ordinary such as Collared Dove.

Karnataka, India
26 April 2012

150 : Black Drongo

Black Drongo - Dicrurus macrocercus

I seem to remember using "Drongo" as a derogatory term in the 70's along with "flid" and a number of other fantastic put-me-downs that have been consigned to the pc bin of posterity. In bird terms (I am not sure what it ever meant as an insult) Drongo is derived from native Madagascan and is now used to describe not just the Madagascan species but also 24 further species across Africa and Asia.

Black Drongos are open species of farmland and savannah. They are acrobatic and voracious insectivores and no less pugnacious when it comes to mobbing other birds threatening their nests. Birds of prey and crows are mobbed bravely and incessantly - pecked and driven off. This has caused smaller Passerines ("perching birds") to use Black Drongos as paid neighbourhood thugs. Studies have counted high densities of e.g. Red-vented Bulbuls in the vicinity of Black Drongo nests and there are even reports of the Drongo young being fed by the "hangers on".

I just looked up an online dictionary of slang to see if I was correct in my memory of using Drongo as a put down - "Drongo - unintelligent person, a moron, friendly insult, Australian slang". The site actually gives some handy tips for usage here. So there we go ! Drilling down though on another site I discover that Drongo was derived in Australia from the name of a 20's race horse who showed promise but failed to win time after time. On paper the horse should have won but it never did. It really was a term of endearment. The horse was of course named after the bird by its owners as the Drongo family has a couple of species present in Northern Australia which are similary aerobatic and graceful in the pursuit of insects. A Drongo is was not just a stupid horse but a "waste" of a horse - an unlucky horse. There was even a Drongo handicap in the 70's  for jockeys who had not won a race in 12 months ! The term was originally used therefore by betting race goers for a horse that doesn't live up to its promise - over time it was corrupted into something far more negative akin to fool or idiot. It was used as a term for recruits in the Royal Australian Air Force during the war for example. Isn't language a strange thing ! A Madagascan tribal name for a flycatcher becomes a friendly insult for an Australian tradie who drops his spanner or trips over his tool bag. It was once a more subtle insult - a heroic failure rather than simply a "moron".

We are a long way from our bird here - but its nice to confirm what an influence they can have on culture !

Black Drongo, Dicrurus macrocercus
Karnataka, India
April 2012

149 : Puff-throated Babbler

Puff-throated Babbler - Pellonorneum ruficeps

Another skulking forest bird and pefectly camouflaged for the leaf litter. Again photographed close to the secret garden on the Nandi hills in Karnataka, India.  There are 30 sub-species of this bird and this is the nominate species. I seriously hope they are not all split as they hop along, in the undergrowth, are hard to photograph and I could not get as excited as the guide. Yes I understand these are special birds and hard to see - very frustrating to get on though. Really I could take or leave this bird after an hour of skulking myself to get the shot.

Its not a Pitta is it !

It will remain though a "small achievement". These are hard birds to photograph.

26 May 2012

148 : Orange-headed Thrush

Orange-headed Thrush - Zoothera citrina

One of these striking Thrushes was pottering about in the "secret garden" on the Nandi Hills. It was dark and very hard to get a good picture without the flash.

He pottered about turning the leaf litter. They are a good friend to man as they eat leeches ! I had a leech free time on this trip but at some point I will have to do battle with the pesky critters again.

Karnataka, India
26 May 2012

147 : Nilgiri Wood Pigeon

Nilgiri Wood Pigeon - Columba elphinstonii

This is a rare endemic pigeon of the Western Ghats in India. I did not make it to the Western Ghats but to a large hill called the Nandi (''Sacred Cow'') Hill in Karnataka. On the top of the hill is a large botanical garden and other remnents of orginal highland forest so there is small "outcrop'' of Western Ghat birds.

Dillon led me to a secret garden with a potting shed, green house, small lawn and benches - the public was not allowed in but Dillon knew the gardners. We picked up a few birds in the secret garden including these rare pigeons.

26 May 2012

146 : Tawny-bellied Babbler

Tawny-bellied Babbler - Dumetia hyperythra

Took me a while to work this one out. Dillon kept pointing out "Tiny Billed Babblers'' (in *perfect* English). My field guide drew a blank. I had to retro-engineer these - AH ! Tawny-bellied Babbler - Yes ! says Dillon "Tiny-billed babbler".

Nandi Hills, Sultan Tippus fort, Karnataka, India
26 May 2012

145 : Oriental White-eye

Oriental White-eye - Zosterops palpebrosus

Its hard not to just go - Ah ! Sweet ! How cute ! What a little lemon fluff ball of sacherine birdiness ! Its the eye isn't it - a cartoon eye - and the colour. Click on him (or her) to admire the eye. I am sure I have seen something like this being fired from a catapult on Angry Birds (an Ipod game).

To me these look like little flying squidgy jiffy lemon bottles from pancake day. I have come across these birds in different forms elsewhere - endemic forms on Sri Lanka and Mauritius - not as cute as these. If this was a biscuit it would be a lemon puff biscuit. Its funny how we lump things together by colour, sense. Somehow my brain has saved them in the same cell with all things lemony including lemon fairy liquid, a lemon, lemon merangue and grated lemon zest - even zaffir lime leaves for some reason. I have nothing else to say except Ah Sweet ! How cute ! A living lemon ! These are just objects of bird cosseting to me.

Oriental White-eye, Zosterops palpebrosus
Nandi Hills, Karnataka, India
26 May 2012

144 : Large Cuckooshrike

Large Cuckooshrike - Coracina macei

My second day in Karnakaka.

I believe Cuckooshrike is a misnomer. The bird is not a cuckoo in the sense that it is parasitical on other birds nests etc. It is a shrike that looks like a cuckoo. This photo was taken first thing in the morning and the bird was at distance and it was dark and drizzly. Beyond my photography skills. Thats my excuse ! The flash kept wanting to activate. I need to find the "be gone flash" button.

You can see the resemblance to a cuckoo in the fine barring on the chest (possibly seen if you click and blow up the photo a touch.

Looking in my books this bird is closely related to the Bar-Winged Flycactcher Shrike that I photographed at a restaurant stop in Sri Lanka.

Large Cuckooshrike, Coracina macei
The climb up to the Nandi Hills, Karnataka, India
26 May 2012

143 : Black-headed Munia

Black-headed Munia - Lonchura malacca

This is my third Munia on the site along with the Scaly-breasted and the White-rumped . Looking in birds of the Indian sub-continent I need Black-throated and possible Chestnut for a full set.

Now its the European championship coming up and little boys the world over are diving into Panini cards. Its Thursday and like my father before me I try on occasion to treat the end of the week as ''suprise night''. Last week it was a little lego figure in a sachet. This week I am debating whether to start them off on Euro 12 Panini cards.

Unlike football cards I have no ability to swap but I guess I can throw money at the problem !

Black-headed Munia, Lonchura malacca

Telegraph wire somewhere in Karnataka, India

25 May 2012.

142 : Common Iora

Common Iora - Aegithini tiphia

A widespread resident in India. Not common or uncommon. Suprisingly hard to see (and photograph) for such a bright birds. Reminded me of a pocket sized oriole - a fluting call. A sunny bird and I love the sulphur yellow.

Relic Jungle Scrub, Karnataka, India

25 May 2012

141 : White-naped Woodpecker

White-naped Woodpecker; Chrysocolpates festivus

I was walking through what looked a bit like a village green in Karnataka with Dillon the bird guide (and award winning photographer and wildlife documentary cameraman) when quite a substantial woodpecker flew up onto a nearby tree. A pair of locals (men in this case) were having an extremely loud a conversation nearby and I was convinced that the bird that had set about grubbing in a hole in an old tree would fly off. "An argument ?"  I asked Dillon. "'No - always like this they speak'' was the response with the kind of Yodaesque  construction which should be mandatory when you you are at one with nature with a bird guide. Now he didn't say this but I'll add a whispered "White-naped he is, widespread yet scarcely found".

Widespread and scarce is the phrase in a bird book that lets you know that you have a chance of seeing a bird almost anywhere geographically within a country but that you'll be lucky. A Hawfinch is widespread yet scarce. So you are doing well - a solid birders bird that should brighten up a list. On this occasion we were lucky as the argument that wasn't - simply a mornings banter about the price of goat's milk - had developed into full blown shouting with finger wagging. This just off to stage right.  Still I held my breath and crept foward taking shots as I went and watching the bird grubbing away.

Some things to note from this excelent shot while we are all in "Spring-watch'' mode in the UK with Chris Packham. Well today's science on the Daily Bird is the term zygodactyl or “yoked" feet. Two toes on the bird point forward, and two backward. The normal arrangement might be three foward and one back like a heel. This cruciate pattern gives the bird equal grip at all angles and must have given the first woodpecker whose toe wandered an advantage in foraging. You can see as we have noted before on both woodpeckers and barbets that the stiff tail is used a prop - almost a third leg. The bird hangs back and the weight transfers down the tail and takes some of the work away from the clawed feet. A bit like your own foot if you have two hands gripping whil rock climbing and you are reaching for another foothold.

The bird  was spooked by my coming too close in the end - the locals remained indifferent to his presence. This bid was more the size of small crow than the woodpecker most of us would know in the UK - the Greater Spotted. This is the same family of woodpeckers largely that the fabled Ivory Billed is a member of. We will have to have a page on the Ivory billed at some stage - the Loch Ness Monster of birds. A bird either so rare or so extinct that it drives a whole industry of books, expeditions, lectures, counter-claims by scientists and general US led froth. That's all for another day. I like scarce - like a White-naped woodpecker. Virtually or definately extinct is not the kind of odds we are looking for on the Daily Bird. I am not going to be the first man in 60 years to photograph an Ivory Billed - I am however pleased to have photgraghed a White-naped given that I was in the field for 22 hours in total over the course of 2 days.

White-naped Woodpecker, Chrosocolaptes festivus
Hornbill Village - next to men who were not arguing very very loudly - Karnataka, India
25 May 2012

140 : Intermediate Egret

Intermediate Egret - Mesophoyx intermedia

Identifed from Little Egret by the lack of yellow feet and from Great Egret because of the size (does not have the huge snake like neck) and the lack of a gape line that extends beyond the eye.

We saw a lot of birds at the roadside wetland.

Near Bangalore
25 May 2012

139 : Small Minivet

Small Minivet - Pericrocotus cinnamomeus

I promised better pictures of a Minivet some time ago - on that occasion I had long range photos of an Orange Minivet on Sri Lanka. The colours on these birds are as good as they look. This is the 'Small' Minivet which is a different species but as the name says on the tin...

This bird showed itself in some old trees in a village inhabited by woodpeckers and hornbills.

Small Minivet, Pericrocotus cinnamomeus

Hornbill Village near Banaglore, India

25 May 2012

138 : Red-naped Ibis

Red-naped Ibis - Pseudibis papillosa

These are usually wetland birds although I photographed this bird in a field. They use their long decurved bills to probe for food in wet mud. They are fairly substantial birds with wing spans of getting on for 4 or 5 feet.

This particular ibis species are widespread across India, Pakistan and Nepal. The remaining 30 or so species are spread across most of the globe.

Fields and wetlands around Bangalore, India
25 May 2012

137 : Pheasant-tailed Jacana

Pheasant-tailed Jacanna - Hydrophasianus chirurgus

There are 8 species of Jacanna spread across the globe. Normally brightly coloured these waterbirds are more closely related to gulls than to rails. They possess huge feet that allow them to walk across lilys and other vegetation in search of the snails, insects and small frogs on which the feed. This is a male bird sporting a big streamered tail.

Jacannas practice polyandry which is the rarest mating strategy in birds. The female will set up a large territory within which several males will build her a nest. She will then mate with each in turn who are left to raise the brood of eggs that she lays for each. Of she then goes to enjoy a day wandering around the lillies in search of more potential partners while the males are left to fend for themselves. The males are very gallant and will fight off predators who come to take the chicks with two sharp spurs on their wings.

Wetland on outskirts of Bangalore
25 May 2012

136 : White-browed Wagtail

White-browed Wagtail - Motacilla maderaspatensis

A long range shot of this bird.

Wetland outside Bangalore, India
25 May 2012

135 : Pied Bushchat

Pied Bushchat - Saxicola caprata

These are equivalent of a stonechat in the UK - same family. Very smart little birds. I will try for a better shot next time. You had to pay attention to make sure you don't muddle your chats and robins in India.

Ramnagar, Bangalore, India
25 May 2012

134 : Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon - Falco Peregrinus

This was a long range shot of a bird perhaps 800m away on a ledge at Ramnagar. So I have the photo. I will wait for a better shot to write a proper peice about these fantastic birds.

Bangalore, India
25 May 2012

133 : Indian Spot-billed Duck

Indian Spot-billed Duck - Anas poecilorhynchos

My guide in India Dilon was suprised to track down a couple of these ducks on a small pond near Ramnagar. I think they are common - just not common on this pond.

Ramnagar, Bangalore, India
25 May 2012

132 : Jungle Myna

Jungle Myna - Acridotheres fuscus

I almost didn't see these for looking past them - Mynas are the equivalent of feral pigeons in the UK. This bird does not have any patches of orange exposed skin behind the eye. Dilon my guide encouraged me to take a shot and only later did I realise that this wasn't a common myna but a Jungle Myna. Even birds I am not that fond of add 1 to the list. It is a trash bird though.

Ramnagar, Bangalore, India
25 April 2012