Spot-billed Pelican - Pelecanus Philippensis

The Spot-billed Pelicans can be seen breeding and nesting at Kokkare Bellur village. The birds coexist with the villagers, and nest on trees in and around the village. The bird droppings are rich in phosphorus and potassium; good manure for the agricultural lands.

The season is during September-October to May-June. The village has sign boards indicating the direction to the parking lot. Pay a nominal amount to the caretaker. You will be flocked by young boys on their bi-cycles, promising to show you birds. They can pester you till you yield! Please kindly ignore them. You don't need a guide because, as you enter the village, you can see colonies of birds nesting on trees (fig, tamarind, and so on). The call of birds will direct you to the trees, if you are unable to sight them. You can freely roam around the village but ensure to respect privacy and culture. Do not harm the natural habitat. Do not, please, try to touch the birds or nest or eggs or even fallen chicks. Do NOT pay money to anyone!

The Karnataka Forest Department works with the villagers to protect birds visiting the village. The department provides a compensation (a fixed amount of money) for each tree that the birds use for nestling. This scheme is in place to compensate the loss of benefits from not harvesting tamarind (from trees) and the land below the trees.

For list of birds we sighted, see My eBird Checklist.

Regards,
Asha

Painted Stork - Mycteria Leucocephala

We've grown up seeing these birds at Ranganathittu bird sanctuary (at Mandya district, on way to Mysore). The season happens to be from November to June. We can also see this bird nesting at Kokkarebelluru. This is a small sleepy village; villagers protect the birds during nesting period. In fact, they have a protection area for the young ones that fall off the trees or those that are abandoned by parents. Will talk more about these two places later.

The Painted Stork is an amazingly beautiful bird; widespread resident in plains. The down-curved yellow bill, orange head, pink legs, long wings,white-black wings, and pink tertial feathers are distinctive of the bird. The juvenile is greyish-white and has greyish-brown feathers. The adult birds look stunning when in flight.

Painted Stock collecting nesting material

Adult Storks with chicks

Regards,
Asha

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

Rosy Starlings or Rose-coloured Pastor

As I have already mentioned, flocks of Chestnut-tailed Starlings and Rosy Starlings have been visiting our garden and neighbourhood. Watching the Starlings fly from one tree to another (as a group) is awesome. These birds seem to be bullying the other resident birds such as pigeons, parakeets, barbets, common mynas, and so on.

The Rosy Starlings migrate to India during winter. The body is Pink in color, the legs and bill are pale Orange, and the head, wings, and tail are Black. The juvenile birds have a paler plumage and short yellow bill. These birds can be found in open agricultural lands or grasslands, feasting on grasshoppers and locusts. There's an article in Indian Express titled, Fighters in Flight.

Rosy Starling sitting on our Mango tree

Rosy Starlings

A flock of Rosy Starlings

Regards,
Asha

Chestnut-tailed Starling or Grey-headed Myna - Sturnia Malabarica

Today, our garden saw a flock of Chestnut-tailed Starlings (and Rosy Starlings). This is the first time in several years that we have sighted these birds at our house/neighbourhood. Their repeated collective calls forced me to go to our terrace garden, and oh, what do I see! The pretty birds flying from one tree to another, at our garden and at our neighbourhood. Growing and nurturing a garden has its own benefits, I guess.

The Chestnut-tailed Starling visits South India during winters; they fly in flocks and are said to change directions. Some websites mention that the bird's movements are poorly understood. I'm not sure about its visit during this time - summer - of the year. Whatever may be the reason for its late visit, we heartily welcome the birds.

This bird has a Yellow beak with a pale Blue base. The White eye-ring is distinctive. The underparts of the body are Grey. The under-tail may be rufous. The plumage depends on the subspecies the bird belongs to. Both sexes look alike. However, juveniles have Whitish underparts and chestnut tips to the tail feathers.

I secretly prayed that the Chestnut-tailed Starling birds stay at our garden/neighbourhood, build nests, have chicks, and then (if they desire) fly away. Stood watching these pretty birds and listened to their calls almost all the morning and afternoon. I've also recorded their calls (along with traffic noise). The birds sat along with Rosy Starlings. The other birds (Common Mynas, Crows, White-cheeked Barbets, Asian Koels, Common Tailor bird, Pigeons) at our garden were curious, and flew near them and sat with them. They seemed comfortable with each other.

My stomach was growling, and I stepped inside the house to have lunch. Oh, what a waste of time! When I returned to the garden, could see the birds for a while. Later they flew away somewhere else. Not a trace of the birds. No calls. Nothing.

Tomorrow being our New Year - Ugadi - the birds visiting us has been the best gift!

Chestnut-tailed Starling sitting on our Mango tree

Regards,
Asha