Birds Around Me 0112 - Magpie (Pica pica)

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Magpie (Pica pica)
Magpie (Pica pica)

 

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Birds Around Me 0160 - Black Kite काली चील (Milvus migrans)

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The king of urban skies - "Pariah or Black Kite ( काली   चील) - Milvus migrans", you can find these birds soaring above urban landscape all over India. In the middle of New Delhi, you could actually see 100s of Black Kites. Every time I go to India, the population of these birds catches my attention, it's growing along with other birds like Wood Pigeon and Crows. The  Pariah or Black Kite ( काली   चील) - Milvus migrans live in the neighbourhood of human habitations and depend for their livelihood chiefly on the artificial conditions created by the man. It is a large brown hawk easily distinguished from all other similar birds by its forked tail, a feature particularly noticeable in flight. Numbers are always present near slaughter houses, fish and meat markets, refuse dumps and docks for any bits that they can pick up. The ease and grace with which a kite will make its lightning swoop to carry off a dead rat or bit of food from narrow street, turning and twisting to avoid...
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Birds Around Me 0044 - Indian Robin (कलचुरी) - Copsychus fulicatus

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Female Indian Robin (कलचुरी) / Copsychus fulicatus Taken on June 26, 2018 Location: Sanjivini Nagar, Jabalpur, India (Latitude: 23.172826, Longitude: 79.881881)   Male Indian Robin (कलचुरी) - Copsychus fulicatus  Male Indian Robin (कलचुरी) - Copsychus fulicatus  Indian Robin (कलचुरी) is a sparrow-sized bird with a long tail, which is usually held up. The chestnut or rusty under-tail coverts and dark bodies of males make them easily distinguishable. The females are ashy brown with paler chestnut under. Distribution is throughout the Indian Subcontinent and is famous for its song with rhythm maintained by twitching tail. They feed mostly on insects but are known to take frogs and lizards especially when feeding young at the nest. You can spot it switching its cocked tail up and down expressively as it turns facing one way or other around the countryside, thatch roofs, roadside hedges or stones, sand mounds, and rocks.  The male has a fairly elaborate courtship dis...
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Bird Stories - Interesting Facts - Common Kingfisher

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I have been photographing, watching and observing   Common Kingfisher छोटा किलकिला, राम चिरैया, शरीफन, निता मछराला (Alcedo atthis)   for almost 8 years now. Over this time I have learned a few facts, observed some interesting behavior, and read a lot. Sharing some of these here: Common Kingfisher छोटा किलकिला, राम चिरैया, शरीफन, निता मछराला (Alcedo atthis) 1. How to differentiate between Male & Female? Both sexes of  Common Kingfisher  look very similar, females are slightly smaller than males. But the magic is in the mandible (bill or beak), males have all-black upper and lower mandibles while females have conspicuous orange lower mandibles. Obviously, females love to put lipstick on. It is hard to differentiate sexes in juveniles, they develop color in mandible only after a year or so. Male & Female Common Kingfishers with fish for the chicks 2. How to differentiate juveniles from Adults? There are two ways to differentiate between  Common Kingfis...
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Birds Around Me 0052 - Purple Sunbird छोटा शक्कर खोरा, फूल सुँघनी, थुन-थुनी (Cinnyris asiaticus)

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Purple Sunbird (छोटा शक्कर खोरा) - Cinnyris asiaticus  (10 cm), is a small sunbird that has a relatively short bill, a dark and short square-ended tail with distinctive sexual dimorphism. They have a down-curve bill with brush-tipped tubular tongues that aid in nectar feeding. The breeding plumage of males is glossy metallic bluish to purplish-black with a sheen of green on the upper parts with the wings appearing dark brown.  Purple Sunbird  छोटा शक्कर खोरा, फूल सुँघनी, थुन-थुनी (Cinnyris asiaticus) Sanjivini Nagar, Jabalpur The non-breeding plumage is similar to females olive-brown above, and yellowish below but with black wings and a brad black streak running down the middle of the breast. They usually go about in pairs, moving restlessly from flower to flower, inspecting by clinging upside down. You will also see them hovering around the flowers like a hummingbird, sucking nectar. Often you will see picking on insects, caterpillars, and spiders as well. Sunbirds ( शक्...
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Birds Around Me 0123 - Black Drongo (कोतवाल, भुजंग) - Dicrurus macrocercus

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Taken on January 15, 2018 Location: Sanjivini Nagar, Jabalpur, India (Latitude: 23.172826, Longitude: 79.881881) Black Drongo (कोतवाल, भुजंग), 31cm, is a wholly black bird with a distinctive forked tail. The only drongo commonly found in open country. It feeds on insects, and is common in open agricultural areas and light forests throughout its range, perching conspicuously on a bare perch or along power or telephone lines.  Black Drongo is known for its aggressive behavior towards much larger birds, such as crows, never hesitating to chase birds of prey away from their territory.  Identification: white rictal spot; dark red iris of adult    Bird Facts: Due to this behavior of guarding its territory aggressively, smaller birds often nest near the nesting  Black Drongo and earned this bird name - कोतवाल or Security Guard .  Where: open country, open woodlands, cultivation, marshes. Hindi name of bird  Black Drongo (Dicruru...
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Birds Around Me 0085 - Oriental Magpie-Robin (दहियर, काली सुई चिड़िया) - Copsychus saularis

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Oriental Magpie-Robin (दहियर, काली सुई चिड़िया) - Copsychus saularis (20 cm), is similar in shape to the smaller European robin, but is longer-tailed. The male has black upper-parts, head, and throat apart from a white shoulder patch. The underparts and the sides of the long tail are white. Females are greyish black above and greyish white. The birds keep singly or in pairs in thing jungle, but mostly around human settlements. Magpie robins were widely kept as cage birds for their singing abilities. Identification:   black or grey upper-parts, head, and throat apart from a white shoulder; song; not shy   Bird Facts:   The magpie robin is the national bird of Bangladesh, where it is common and known as the doyel or doel. Where:  scrubs, forests, gardens, parks Hindi name of Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis): दहियर, काली सुई चिड़िया  Birds Around Me - Unfinished List (अपूर्ण  सूची) :  https://birds.rekabira.in/p/this-is-list-of-bi...
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Birds Around Me 0083 - Common Kingfisher छोटा किलकिला, राम चिरैया, शरीफन, निता मछराला (Alcedo atthis)

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In 2014, it was the first time I saw and photographed Common Kingfisher  छोटा किलकिला, राम चिरैया, शरीफन, निता मछराला  (Alcedo atthis)   in Jabalpur, India. It was an experience on its own. I was sitting with my dad by the side of a small lake literally in front of our home talking about rubbish being dumped in the water bodies all over Jabalpur. Once renowned for its water bodies, the only name of those remain postal addresses. I had my camera with me because my dad wanted me to click a photo of him with his friend. All of a sudden we saw a bird diving in, a colorful one. It was Common Kingfisher and it flew and perched literally 5 meters from me. And it wasn't just  the Common Kingfisher that we saw that day, but also a couple more  White-throated Kingfisher ( किलकिला ,  श्वेतकण्ठ   कौड़िल्ला ) / Halcyon Smyrnensis  and  Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) . Since then I have photographed these birds in RSPB Rye Meads, Stocker's Lake, and H...
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Birds Around Me 0027 - Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) हरियल पतरिंगा, पतुरी

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Green Bee-eater हरियल पतरिंगा, पतुरी  (Merops orientalis), like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is about 9 inches (16–18 cm) long with about 2 inches made up by the elongated central tail-feathers. The sexes are not visually distinguishable. The entire plumage is bright green and tinged with blue especially on the chin and throat. The crown and upper back are tinged with golden rufous. The flight feathers are rufous washed with green and tipped with blackish. A fine black line runs in front of and behind the eye. Bird Facts: Green bee-eaters may be capable of interpreting the behaviour of human observers. They showed an ability to predict whether a human at a particular location would be capable of spotting the nest entrance and then behaved accordingly to avoid giving away the nest location. The ability to look at a situation from another's point of view was previously believed to be possessed only by primates. Hindi Name of Green Bee-eater (Merop...
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Birds Around Me 0068 - Brown Rock Chat or Indian chat (शमा) - Oenanthe fusca

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Brown rock chat or Indian chat (शमा) - Oenanthe fusca (17cm) is larger than the somewhat similar looking female  Indian Robin (कलचुरी) - Copsychus fulicatus .  It is uniformly rufous brown with the wings and tail of a slightly darker shade, tail being blackish. More rufous supercilium and cheek, stouter and straighter bill, paler and brown underparts and dark grey-brown vent. Also, the tail is broad and square across. Indian Robin has reddish or chestnut vent, more curved bill and greyish underparts. Found mainly in Central and Northern India. Identification: underparts rufous-brown and lacks chestnut on the vent.   Where: rocky areas, quarries, ruins, old forts Birds Around Me - Unfinished List ( अपूर्ण    सूची )  -- Ashutosh Jhureley @BirdsAroundMe Brown rock chat or Indian chat (शमा) - Oenanthe fusca Sanjivini Nagar, Jabalpur, M.P. October 2022  Brown rock chat or Indian chat (शमा) - Oenanthe fusca Sanjivini Nagar, Jabalpur, M.P. O...
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Birds Around Me 0007 - House Sparrow (चिड़िया, घरेलू गौरैया) - Passer domesticus

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House Sparrow (चिड़िया, घरेलू गौरैया) - Passer domesticus    (15 cm), is a common bird in urban areas throughout most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and most of Indian Subcontinent.  Bird Facts:    House Sparrow  is believed to have become associated with humans around 10,000 years ago.      Identification:   Males  have grey crown and black of throat extending onto the upper breast. pale buffy-brown supercilium behind the eye and unstreaked dingy white underparts.   Where: a  common bird in urban areas House Sparrow (चिड़िया, घरेलू गौरैया) - Passer domesticus Taken on June 26, 2018 Location: Sanjivini Nagar, Jabalpur, India (Latitude: 23.172826, Longitude: 79.881881) 
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