White-bellied Treepie - Dendrocitta Leucogastra

Our trip to Kerala was eventful; we sighted a lot of birds. One among the birds was White-bellied Treepie, which is endemic to the forests of southern India. The bird visited the Flame of the Forest Tree, to suck nectar. We sight the bird also in a wooded area, flying from one tree to another. Was a delightful sight!

The White-bellied Treepie belongs to the crow family, and can be found with Rufous Treepies. The White-bellied Treepie has White underparts, rump, and nape, and White flash at base of primaries; back and scapulars orange brown. For more description, see Avis Indian Bio Diversity.

Regards,
Asha

Long-tailed Shrike or Rufous-backed Shrike - Lanius Schach

The evening sun was flaunting splendid hues. After a day's work, birds were returning home. They sat on branches of trees to have one look of their neighbourhood, and then they disappeared in to their homes. One such bird that we sighted at Munnar was the Long-tailed Shrike.

We found the Long-tailed Shrike perched on a broken branch of a tree. This bird has a long and narrow tail (usually Black), a Black patch around the eyes, rufous rump and flanks, and grey mantle and back. These birds can be sighted at open habitats. They feed on insects, small birds, and rodents. Both sexes are alike in plumage.

Please see the list of birds sighted during our Kerala trip.

Long-tailed Shrike

Regards,
Asha

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo - Dicrurus Paradiseus

During our recent visit to Thekkady, we saw a variety of birds. The list of birds is available in the article, Thekkady-Munnar Trip Report, March 2014.

One of the birds that interested us was the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo. We saw more than 7 of these birds at a time. Population seems good! How they manage to fly or sit with that beautiful tail is worth watching. :-)

The Racket-tailed Drongo has a distinctive tail rackets, and the crest of curled feather that begin in front of the face above the beak and extends till the crown. The entire bird is Black in color. These birds eat insects and also feed on fruits and nectar. We saw them sucking nectar from the flowers. These birds have varied calls; they can mimic other birds. One can hear their calls early in the morning, throughout day during mating season, and early evenings.

Racket-tailed Drongo sitting on 'Flame of the Forest' tree.

Regards,
Asha