32) JACOBIN CUCKOO (Clamator jacobinus) or PIED CUCKOO

32) JACOBIN CUCKOO (Clamator jacobinus) or Pied Cuckoo 

On 21st June 2016,  I took photographs of Jacobin Cuckoo or Pied Cuckoo at the end of my early morning walk inside Van Vihar National Park at Bhopal.

I saw it perched on a branch inside a shrub just adjacent to the road. It was on the lookout for something, unmindful of onlookers and gave me enough time to take these photographs though many small branches of the shrub were coming in the way of photography.

I informed Dr Sangeeta Ragir of Bhopal Birds about the sighting of this bird later. She said that Pied Cuckoo is a migratory bird. Generally, it is said to migrate from South Africa to India to coincide with the onset of Monsoon in India. In North India, the Pied Cuckoo is generally called as "Chatak" in the local language. 

Her feedback increased my curiosity to find out more about the bird, as I was wondering how it is able to cross the vast Arabian Sea to migrate from South Africa to India, to be in time for the monsoon.


According to the Wikipedia, this bird is partially migratory. It has been considered a harbinger of the monsoon in India due to the timing of its arrival. It has been associated with a bird known as the chatak (Sanskrit: चातक) in Indian mythology and poetry.The subspecies serratus (Sparrman, 1786) is a summer breeding visitor to northern India and is believed to migrate to southern Africa. 


The bird is widespread resident and partial migrant in India.  It is resident in southern India and summer visitor to Northern India according to Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp. 


The winter ranges of this bird are not known completely as per Birds of South Asia, the Ripley guide by Pamela C Rasmussen and John C Anderton.

As per Wikipedia the east African population of Pied Cuckoo is migratory and moves over southern Arabia into India during April. It prefers thorny, dry scrub or open woodland habitat. It avoids dense forest areas or extremely dry environments.

Like other Cuckoos this one is also said to lay its eggs in the nest of other birds. 

It seems though this bird is commonly found and noticed in India, its migratory and breeding pattern of this bird are not studied fully.

Reference:-
1)Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp
2)Birds of South Asia, the Ripley guide by Pamela C Rasmussen and John C Anderton
3) Wikipedia : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobin_cuckoo

31) ORIENTAL PRATINCOLE (Glareola maldivarum)

31) Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum) 

I had visited Dahod Water Reservoir near Mandideep, Bhopal along with Dr Sangeeta Rajgir and Md Khalique of Bhopal Birds to watch Saras Crane in the month of May 2016.

We went there early in the morning. it was really a hot day. The reservoir was more or less dry with few patches of water in few places. 

We came across this bird while ambling through the dry reservoir bed in search of Saras Crane.

I am seeing this bird for the first time in my life.

I read that the Oriental Pratincole catches its insect prey on the wing. It also feeds on the ground. 

These birds are said to be birds of open country and are often seen near water.

These birds have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails. The back and head are brown. Its wings are brown with black flight feathers. The belly is white. The underwings are chestnut.

These Pratincoles are found in warmer parts of south and east Asia. Its breeding areas are said to be in North Pakistan, Kashmir and China.

 It lays about 2–3 eggs on the ground. It migrates to, wintering in both India and Pakistan in winter.

I guess that the said specimen might have overstayed or stayed back for breeding as Oriental Pratincole is said to be winter visitor in India.

30) ORIENTAL WHITE EYE (Zosterops palpebrosus)

Oriental White Eye Arera Hills

Oriental White Eyes Arera Hills

 30) Oriental White Eyes (Zosterops palpebrosus)

I came across Oriental White Eye at Arera Hills, Vanvihar National Park as well as at Kerva Dam at Bhopal.

It is said that this bird is quite common and can be seen in gardens, deciduous forest and similar habitats. 

It gets its name from the white ring around its eyes. The body is greenish yellow with white belly. 

Oriental White Eyes Arera Hills

It spends almost its entire life amidst trees and is never seen singly.They forage in small groups, feeding on nectar and small insects.

At Arera Hills as well as Kerva Dam I saw Oriental White Eyes flock consisting of 4 to 5 birds. 

It is a small bird, smaller than house sparrow. 

Oriental white Eyes Kerva Dam

It is said to be a resident breeder in open woodland in tropical Asia, east from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia, extending      to Indonesia and Malaysia. 

I found it  difficult to photograph it as it hops from branch to branch and rarely staying still. 

Moreover it is difficult to spot it in the green canopy of trees owing to its small size.

Oriental White Eye Kerva Dam

The information about this bird is also available in the Wikipedia : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_white-eye 

29) KNOB-BILLED DUCK (Sarkidiornis melanotos)

 29) Knob-billed duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos) or Comb Duck. 

I was travelling to Diu few year back. On the way saw some birds in a water body. The water body was just on the border of the Union Territory of Diu and the State of Gujarat. The Knob-billed duck was one of the bird among several other birds that I saw in that water body. 

A knob or comb-like structure can be seen on the bill of the adult male of this species of duck.

The photograph of the bird was taken with Fuji HS 10.


Several books on birds state that: The bird is a resident bird. It is found throughout India. It feeds by grazing  or in shallows. 

The Wikipedia also has information on this bird https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knob-billed_duck

28) COMMON IORA (Aegithina tiphia)

Common Iora Male Vanvihar -Canon 

28) Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia)

Common Iora is a very common bird in this part of the country. I found it in the area where I reside as well as in Van Vihar National Park, Bhopal. I also came across this bird in Pachmarhi too. This bird is found across most parts of India.

This bird is a resident bird.The male has bright yellow underparts with black wing and large white wing bar.the female is generally greenish with an olive coloured tail.

Common Iora Female Vanvihar- Canon

It is said to be very common in forest edge, groves and orchards. It feeds on insects and larvae. 

Since Bhopal has good tree cover, this bird is often seen. 

Tried to photograph Iora Pair at Vanvihar as well as Pachmarhi

For information from the Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_iora

Common Iora Male Vanvihar - Canon

Common Iora Vanvihar- Fuji HS 10

Common Iora Male Vanvihar - Canon 

Common Iora Pair Vanvihar - Canon

Common Iora Pair Vanvihar- Canon

Common Iora Pair Pachmarhi - Canon

Common Iora Male feeding an insect

Common Iora male feeding an insect

27) ORIENTAL TURTLE DOVE (Streptopelia orientalis)

1) Oriental Turtle-Dove or rufous turtle dove (Streptopelia orientalis)

2) Van Vihar National Park, Bhopal 

3) 25/05/2016 morning 

4) Fuji HS 10

5) Earlier I use to give doves a miss. After reading  books on bird came to know that there are different kinds of doves. Earlier I have seen Laughing Dove, Eurasian Collared Dove and Spotted Dove, whose photographs I have posted earlier in this blog. Recently came across  Oriental Turtle-Dove at Van Vihar

6) One of the birding books states that this bird is a resident of peninsular hills mainly of central India.

7) The Wikipedia has information about the said bird :  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_turtle_dove

26) CLAMOROUS REED WARBLER (Acrocephalus stentoreus)

 26) CLAMOROUS REED WARBLER (Acrocephalus stentoreus) 

1) Bhandup Pumping Station on 17042016

2) Canon 600D

3) On 17042016, I had plenty of time on my hand. Mr Nikhil Bhopale of Gaia Eco Tours had organised a trip to Bhandup Pumping Station on Warbler Watch Part 2 on that day. He is an expert as well as an authority on Birding, Snakes, Wild Life etc. He has also authored a book "Birds of the Indian Subcontinent: A field guide along" along with Ranjit Manakadan and J. C. Daniel. So participated in the said trip to learn something from him.  The link to his Gaia Eco Tours is http://www.gaiaecotours.com/

4) In my opinion, most warblers are small, they look alike with some minor variations, leading to confusion in novice bird enthusiast like me to get its correct identification. As a result identification description by experienced birders in the field is better in identifying warblers than reading it in birding books. 

5) The Bhandup Pumping Station is not very far away from my home. Its geographical location is on the west it is bounded by Eastern Express Highway, on the east it is bounded  Vashi Creek, its boundary on the north is Airoli birdge and probably its southern boundary is Kanjur Marg dump yard.

6) It was my first visit to this place. After visiting I realised that it is an excellent birding spot that I missed all these years due to lack of information and ignorance.

7) I hope that the spot would be able to with stand habitat destruction due to the onslaught of  development. 

8) I also tried to find the definition of  the word " Warbler" by searching the internet through Google for more information and came to know that Warblers are perching birds (Passeriformes) and there are a number of them. They may not be closely related to one another, but share some common characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous. They are mostly brownish or dull greenish in color.


9) In one of the birding book it is stated that Clamorous Reed Warbler also breeds locally in India and it is wide spread in winter. Its size is large compared to other warblers, long bill and has whitish supercilium. It feeds by foraging out of sight near the ground or water level.

10) The above photographs may not be the best, but I think it gives fairly good idea about the said Warbler. It is for the first time in my life I came across this bird.

11) wikipedia too has information on it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clamorous_reed_warbler