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”

Red-billed Blue-Magpie

The red-billed blue magpie  is a colourful bird known for having one of the longest tails in birds. They were named magpies primarily for the fact that they consume almost everything – they are omnivores. Red-billed blue magpie have already arrived at Chandigarh in this winter season and can be seen at Nature trail behindContinue reading “Red-billed Blue-Magpie”

Ruddy shelduck ( Brahminy Duck )

The Ruddy shelduck, known in India as the Brahminy duck, is a winter visitor to Chandigarh. These ducks have already arrived at Sukhna Lake. It has orange-brown body plumage with a paler head, while the tail and the flight feathers in the wings are black, contrasting with the white wing-coverts. It may be due toContinue reading “Ruddy shelduck ( Brahminy Duck )”

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”

Winter Visitors – Chandigarh

Painted Stork | Sukhna Lake | February 2021 Every year, with the Change in weather and the start of winter, winged visitors from far-off places like Siberia, Central Asia, China, Afghanistan, and also from Upper Himalayas start arriving at Water Bodies in and around Chandigarh.  I have been birding for the last two years.  Generally,Continue reading “Winter Visitors – Chandigarh”