Indian Grey Hornbill

The Female Hornbill by Jody Hildreth A peculiar bird      With a large curved bill           Enters a prison                Of her own free will. This prison is small.      It is inside a tree.           She enters alone                Without ever a plea. She seals herself in,      But leaves a small crack           Through which she is fed                And protected from attack She sits on her eggs      For weeks all alone           In her dark prison cell                That she calls her home. Four weeks go by.      The nestlings appear.           Their chirping is heard                When father draws near. He alone feeds them      For up to three weeks.           Then the young can escape                With their hammering beaks. The family united      Is now free to roam           Far from that prison                They once called their home

A visit to Qutuab Minar....Admired the tallest minaret in the world and clicked a few birds that was a added bonus .... Sitting under the Neem tree was enjoying the gentle breeze suddently I spotted a bird clinging to the tree....Indian Grey Hornbill.

They are only a few species found in the urban landscapes that also because of few old trees still existing in the city.The Grey Hornbill is a medium sized bird with the upperparts in greyish brown in color .The horn is black or dark grey with casaque extending upto the point of the curvature in the horn .
The Hornbills nest usually  in tree hollows on tall trees. I sat down to one corner so that I could watch the bird without disturbing  it.

I kept on watching the bird and was trying to figure out what it was up to. It would fly and get back with a few berries in its beak.I went around the tree ,wondering whether the bird was feeding its chicks but could not see anything .I got back home and read about their behaviour during nesting  time . The female bird enters the nest hollow and seals the nest hole leaving a small vertical slit that the male uses to feed .No wonder i could not see the chicks the male bird was feeding the female from the narrow slit .

 Isn't that amazing behaviour ....... 

Happy Birding...

Birding plans for weekend???

What bird related plans do you have this weekend ?

Ok, I intend to to go clicking the Baya weaver 

The breeding season of the Baya weavers is during the monsoons.Breeding males weavers have a bright yellow crown on their heads .The nests are generally built from thorny Acacia or palm trees and hang over open water bodies .

Hope to be back soon with some pictures of the Baya in their natural habitat .

Happy Birding .

Colorful Fridays....

A bird with beautiful contrasting colors

One of my favorites Blue and Orange....

Its the Common Kingfisher .

 Its a sparrow sized bird with a short tail and a large head . It has blue upperparts and orange underparts and a long bill .

While rambling in wild heard a short sharp whistle and I knew that the king was around ....Finally I spotted the electric blue'' flash'' whirring its rounded wings rapidly.

''As he sits on a branch

And is ever alert

He’ll wait and watch

Then dive with a spurt''

Happy Birding..

The Whistling Schoolboy.....

The Whistling schoolboy

From the gorge above Gangotri

Down to Kochi above the sea,

The whistling thrush keeps singing

His constant melody.

He was a whistling schoolboy once,

Who heard Lord Krishna's flute,

And tried  to play the same sweet tune,

But struck a faulty note.

Said Krishna to the erring youth:

A bird you must become,

And you shall whistle all your days

Until your song is done .    

By Ruskin Bond...

     

I was sitting outside my tent and feasting on banana chips a glossy blue  black winged bird flew and perched on a branch very close to where i was sitting......

After a few minutes gathered the courage and came closer .....

Not scared of human presence came close pecked on the banana chips gave a  solo performance of her whistling skills and  flew.....My short encounter with the whistling schoolboy.

Dense oak forests echoed of whistling call.... It is a song that never fails to cast a spell on you. Rambling in the wild spotted the glistening blue feeding on berries , shouldered flecked with white..sturdy black legs and yellow beak...

The whistle of the school boy..!

Happy Birding..!

Birds with spiked hair-do's....

A prominent tuft of feathers on the crown of birds head lends to the funky hairstyle which is actually  known as the -CREST.Crests vary differently from just a few long feathers to a tuft a small feathers , it could also be a temporary feature as a part of breeding plumage. Birds  are often able to control a crest can raise it or lower it for a courtship display or to aggression ,submission or dominance   

 Khalij Pheasant (female)

Lesser yellow nape 

Black bulbul

Black lored tit

Crested lark

Brown fish owl

Koklass pheasant(female)

Koklass pheasant(male)

Aren't the crest like tiaras on their heads making them feel royal .....Will be back soon with some more birds with tiaras on their heads .Till then.........

Happy Birding

Colorful Fridays....

 ''Keep the green in your mind 

perhaps a singing bird will come ''

This is so very true ..... Whenever i would finish with my household chores ,errands and some other routine tasks would step out into a patch of green , and you are charmed by the presence of these winged creatures.One fine sunny morning I spotted a pair of  White Wagtails frantically bobbing  and dashing about in the lawns .They are generally found in open marshy grounds or meadows where they walk solitarily or in pairs along the ground capturing insects ..They frequently wag their tails and fly low undulations and have sharp call during their flights.

 Look of this Friday is going to be ''Salt and Pepper ''--White  Wagtail.

White wagtail (male)

White wagtail (female)

A morning walk with the avian delights was totally unforgettable .... 

Happy Birding

Colorful fridays ....

 The sun has started shying behind the rain clouds .... gentle breeze and the smell of the moist earth is just divine in the capital city  . Got reminded of the day birding in Sattal when it began to pour . After a short spell of rain small birdie dressed in yellow arrived  hopping from one twig to another taking a dip in the stream.It  was a delight to watch the bird  from such close quaters .

Red Billed Leiothrix....is a member of old babbler family,and is native to the Indian subcontinent . Adults have bright red bills and dull yellow ring around their eyes. Their backs are dull olive green , and they have bright yellow orange throat with a yellow chin .The edges of the wings are also brightly colored with  yellow and orange and the tail is olive brown and blackish at the tip.

Happy Birding..! Have a fun filled weekend...!

Murmurations of Starlings.....

The Chestnut tailed starling a  member of the starling family of perching birds .It is a resident or partially migrant species found in wooded habitat in India and Southeast Asia .On sunday morning left home at crack of dawn and decided to do birding in Talave on Palm beach road (Navi Mumbai). Found  this to be a very interesting place for birding as it has two large water bodies and rest is scrub land area.There  were large flocks of chestnut headed starling with Rosy starlings and Drongos...

The evening wore a very different look.The sun was setting , but the birds were still flying here and there black forms against the yellow haze.

I could sit there for hours mesmerized by the antics of the birds all around and admiring the beauty of nature..

Happy Birding..!

Colorful Fridays...

Hello World..! Missed out on my colorful Fridays post last week. I totally , completely , absolutely forgot about it. So, this Friday is gonna be a riot of colors...

''Blue Throated Barbet "

I was sitting by a stream when i heard the bird digging into the bald tree trunk. I could spot the bird from a distance itself thanks to its multicolored striking  plumage.

Their nest is in a hole in a tree , usually freshly excavated.

 

They perch and climb well as they have two toes forward , two toes backward foot structure that allows for a good grip.

Barbets hop and clamber about trees , and move rather heavily through low bushes on the ground.

Lend your ears to hear the song of the barbet....

Happy Birding..!