Purple Heron

The twelfth in the series of Winter Visitor to the city is Purple Heron. Similar in appearance to the grey heron but slightly smaller, more slender and has darker reddish brown plumage. It has a narrower yellow bill, which is brighter in breeding adults. It is also a more evasive bird, favoring densely vegetated habitatsContinue reading “Purple Heron”

Black-crowned Night-Heron

The next in my series of Winged Visitors to City Beautiful, Chandigarh is Black-crowned Night Heron. The Black-crowned Night-Heron is a black, white and grey bird, identified by its black cap and back, white neck and grey wings, stocky build and with neck usually tucked in. In flight, it has a distinctive compressed outline withContinue reading “Black-crowned Night-Heron”

Northern Shoveler

The next in the list of Winter Visitors to the City Beautiful is Northern Shoveler. The name of the Northern Shoveler is derived from its highly specialized spoon shaped bill that is used to forage for aquatic invertebrates. I spotted Northern Shoveler at Sukhna Lake, Chandigarh in the second week of February. Though the flockContinue reading “Northern Shoveler”

Northern Pintail

The latest to wing its way to the Sukhna Lake at Chandigarh is the Northern pintail (Anas acuta), an elegant medium-sized dabbling duck with a slim profile, long narrow neck and pointed tail, that is native to the northern areas of Europe. The male’s long central tail feathers give rise to the species’ English andContinue reading “Northern Pintail”

Winged Odyssey – Bar-headed Goose

They don’t train or acclimatize. They could walk on the top of Everest and have no problem at all. They achieve physiological feats that seem impossible – flying at extreme altitude, where there is less than 10% the oxygen found at sea level.  They never stop flapping their wings and one or two of theContinue reading “Winged Odyssey – Bar-headed Goose”

Tufted Duck

The next in the list of Winter Migrants to the City Beautiful is Tufted Duck. Like every year, this year also Tufted Ducks started arriving in the month of October 2021 and likely to stay here till March 2022. I had spotted Tufted Duck at Dhanas Lake on 23rd October and a flock of TuftedContinue reading “Tufted Duck”

Common Pochard

The next winter visitor, which has already arrived at the water bodies of City Beautiful this winter and can be easily spotted is Common Pochard. We can easily spot Common Pochards either at Sukhna Lake or more closely at Dhanas Lake. These are likely to stay here till March. The feature image was clicked atContinue reading “Common Pochard”