Great Cormorant

The Great cormorant is a large, long-necked, beautiful black waterbird with an oily Plumage which is usually black with an iridescent sheen.  It is often seen with its wings spread for drying after it had been diving for fish. After fishing, cormorants go ashore and are frequently seen holding their wings out in the sun. CormorantsContinue reading “Great Cormorant”

Oriental Magpie Robin

The Oriental Magpie-Robin is the national bird of Bangladesh, where it is known as Doyel/doel and appears on their currency notes as well. The Oriental Magpie-Robin is a medium-sized robin (19-20 cm) with a broad white wing-bar running from the shoulder to the tip of the wing, and a long tail with white outer-tail feathers.Continue reading “Oriental Magpie Robin”

White – throated Kingfisher

A brilliant turquoise blue Kingfisher with deep chocolate brown head, neck and under parts, a conspicuous white ‘shirt front’ and long heavy , pointed red bill.  A white wing patch is noticeable in flight.  It is perhaps the most familiar of our kingfishers and also known as white-breasted kingfisher. It is also the state birdContinue reading “White – throated Kingfisher”

Indian Roller – An auspicious bird

Indian roller also popularly known as Blue Jay, is one of the most colourful birds of India whose colours are visible during flight.  Found across the plains in India, it is the state bird of three Indian States, Telangana, Karnataka and Odisha. The bird gets its name from the wonderful acrobatics the male displays duringContinue reading “Indian Roller – An auspicious bird”

Ashy Prinia – The Ashy Wren Warbler

Eleven species of Prinia are found in India, but this write-up focuses on the  species most commonly found in cities and human-dominated habitats , Ashy Prinia.  It is a common inhabitant of gardens and backyards. The Ashy Prinia is a small sociable bird that’s easy to spot.  Prinias are sometimes called long tail warblers orContinue reading “Ashy Prinia – The Ashy Wren Warbler”

Purple Sunbird – The tiniest bird in ours garden

The Purple sunbird is a small bird and one of the common and most beautiful birds in our gardens. Its name, purple sunbird, comes from the male, some of whose feathers acquire a metallic purple shade under soft sunlight. In harsh sunlight, it appears to be a shiny black although it is a combination ofContinue reading “Purple Sunbird – The tiniest bird in ours garden”

Indian Grey Hornbill – State bird of Chandigarh

The Indian Grey Hornbill, as its name suggests, the bird has a unique casque (or horn) on its grey-coloured bill. Apart from being the State Bird of Chandigarh, it is common across the city these days, especially in areas where there are large and contiguous tracts of trees. The male sports a blacking bill, narrowContinue reading “Indian Grey Hornbill – State bird of Chandigarh”

Bird with a beard – Brown-headed Barbet

A large headed, beautiful bird with dark green feathers present in most residential areas of the city and very easy to locate in these days in the backyard. Its name is derived from the Latin work barba, meaning beard ( also the root of the word “barber” ). This bird has a number of stiff,Continue reading “Bird with a beard – Brown-headed Barbet”