36) BLACK CRESTED BULBUL (Pycnonotus flaviventris)

36) BLACK-CRESTED BULBUL (Pycnonotus flaviventris)

I had visited waterfalls at Tirathgad near Jagdalpur in the state of Chattisgarh some time back. The persons who accompanied me brought my notice to this yellow bird which was perched on a branch in a tree nearby. It gave good pose and did not hop from branch to branch enabling me to take these photographs.

I referred to the internet as well as some birding books to identify this bird learnt that It is known as Black Crested Bulbul. It is a resident bird found in Himalayas, North-East India, Chattisgarh and Orissa in India.
It can be observed from the photographs that it has a glossy black head, long pointed crest, pale yellow eyes and bright yellow underparts.

Its crest reminds me of the latest hair style fashion among some youth in India nowadays.

Its diet consists of fruits and insects. It is a bird of forest and dense scrub. It builds its nest in a bush. The nest generally has two to four eggs.

In  my listing of birds that I have seen and photographed, this one comes at serial number 36.


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) The Book of Indian Birds by Salim Ali

4) The Wikipedia

35) BLACK WINGED KITE (Elanus caeruleus)

060816 Black Winged Kite Vanvihar 

Black Winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus)

I saw the Black Winged Kite very often perched on the roadside wire while travelling in the car.  

I tried to photograph it a couple of times but did not get good photographs of the bird.  

On the other day, while walking inside the Vanvihar National Park, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh saw this bird perched on the roadside wire.

It posed well and gave me enough time to click photographs to my heart content.

060816 Black Winged Kite Vanvihar 

The kite has forward facing eyes with red irises. I observed that it was able to turn its head almost 270 degrees. 

As a result, when I focussed my camera lens at it, sometimes I saw back of its head instead of its face.

The kite is ashy grey above, white below, with a black line above the eyes and black patches on shoulders. 

The long falcon-like wings extend beyond the short, square white tail when the bird is perched.

Generally, it can be observed perched on roadside wires very often. It keeps to a favoured pole or tree top very often.

060816 Black Winged Kite Vanvihar 

The black-winged kite is a widespread resident in India. It primarily inhabits open grasslands with scattered bushes and small trees and semi-deserts areas. But it avoids dense jungle as well as arid plain.

The black-winged kite feeds on small mammals like rodents, lizards, grasshoppers, crickets and other large insects.

060816 Black Winged Kite Vanvihar 

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) The Book of Indian Birds by Salim Ali

4) The Wikipedia

34) BLACK HOODED ORIOLE (Oriolus xanthornus)

  34) Black Hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus)

I had visited Bhandavgarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh to see Tigers in the month of April 2016. This wildlife sanctuary is famous for tigers. After seeing tigers in its natural habitat, I tried to see the birds. I saw this bird on a tree plucking berries in the neighbourhood of the place where I was staying. I am noticing this bird for the first time in my life.

Recently in Kerwa Dam area, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh  I saw this bird species again. But I couldn't take clear photographs of it as it was perched very high in the tree canopy.

At both the places, I saw a pair of this bird together. I guess both male and female fly together and stay in the near vicinity of each other.

It is said that it is a resident breeder in India preferring open broadleaved forest and well-wooded area.  Its food is made up of insects and fruits.It spends much of its time in the canopy of the trees.

It generally, builds its nest in the tree having Black Drongo nest. The Black Drongo has the habit of chasing away marauders approaching its nest. Hence it is presumed that by building the nest on the same tree, Orioles also get protection. Generally, it lay two eggs.

The male Oriole has striking black and yellow colouration. Its has predominantly yellow plumage. A black hood. Black patch on the wings and centre of the tail. It said that the female also has a black hood with greenish underparts.The young birds are said to be like the female with lighter black hood.

The presence of a black hood differentiates it from the Indian Golden Oriole.

In India, Indian Golden Oriole, Maroon Oriole, Black Hooded Oriole, Slender Billed Oriole and Black Naped Oriole are seen. So far, I have seen Indian Golden Oriole and Black Hooded Oriole. I hope to see other Oriole variants in one of these days.

Reference:
1) Wikipedia
2) The Book of Indian Birds by Salim Ali

3) Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp

4) Birds of South Asia, The Ripley Guide by Pamela C Rasmussen and John C Anderton

33) INDIAN GOLDEN ORIOLE (Oriolus kundoo)

Indian golden Oriole VanVihar

Indian Golen Oriole Van Vihar

33)  Indian Golden Oriole (Oriolus kundoo)

At Van Vihar National Park, Bhopal came across Indian Golden Oriole many times. I saw it in pairs but generally on higher branches of the tree and not on ground level. 

Many a time, it flew past me before I could focus my camera on it. Once I saw a male on a Ficus tree and female on a nearby Neem tree at my residence at Arera Hills.

As the name suggest the overall colour of the bird is bright golden yellow. It looks attractive. It may more or less of the size of a pigeon.

As per the Wikipedia, the Indian Golden Oriole populations in India are largely resident. It has more yellow in the tail and has a paler shade of red in the iris and bill.

Indian Golden Oriole Vanvihar

The male has the black eye stripe extending behind the eye, a large carpal patch on the wing and wide yellow tips to the secondaries and tertiaries. The female has  streaks on the underside.

The Indian golden oriole inhabits a range of habitats including open deciduous forests, semi-evergreen forests, woodland, forest edge, mangroves, and open country with scattered trees, parks, gardens orchards and plantations.

Indian Golden Oriole (Male ?) on ficus tree Arera Hills

Orioles feed on fruits, nectar and insects. The breeding season is April to August, the nest being a small cup placed in a fork near the end of a branch. Nests are often built in the vicinity of the nest of a black drongo.

Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp and Birds of South Asia, The Ripley guide by Pamela C. Rasmussen and John C Anderton have also given a similar description of the said bird.

Indian Golden Oriole (Female?) Arera Hills

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) The Wikipedia :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_golden_oriole

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