INDIAN BIRDSINDIAN BIRDS

AppearanceHabitat

Call

GREAT INDIAN HORNBILL

• Appearance-:A heavy billed with yellow head and neck but black and white wings and tail.Its a large bird.

• Habitat-:Found in w. ghats and e. himalayas

• Food-:Mainly frugivorour.Also eats lizards’mice and baby birds.

• Call-:A variety of loud raucous cackling and screams.

COPPERSMITH BARBET• Appearance-:A heavy billed

grass green barbet with crimson breast and forehead,yellow throat and green streaked yellowish underparts.sexes alike.

• Habitat-:Found commonly wherever there are fruiting trees especially the various species of fig,banyan and peepal tree.

• Food-:Fruits and berries .Sometimes eats winged termites.

• Call-:Aloud ringing tuk tuk repeated every second in long runs through out the day.

COMB DUCK

• Appearance-:A large duck ,black above glossed with blue and green;white below.head and neck speckled with black.The swollen knob at the base of drake’s bill much enlarged during breeding season.Female similar but much smaller and minus comb.

COMB DUCK (con.)

• Habitat-:Found throughout India,Pakistan,(patchy and rare ) in Bangladesh,Burma and Cylone.Locally migratory.Nest-A hollow in the tree standing in water

• Food-:Chiefly grain and shoots,rice and other vegetable matter.Feeds on frogs and insects occasionally.

• Call-:A low grating croak.

GREAT SLATY WOODPECKER

• Appearance-:A large slaty grey woodpecker with buffy yellow chin,throat and fore neck.Male with short broad crimson moustachial stripe; female without.

• Found in foothills up to 1000 to 20000m.in semi evergreen tropical forest.Scattered parties of 3 to 6 which maintain contact by short querulous notes and tapping.

Food-:insects mainly wood boring beetle larvae.

Call-:A loud cackle in flight .

SPECKLED PICULET WOODPECKER

• Appearance-:Bright yellowish olive from above with black and orange forecrown.Yellowish white with bold black spots turning into bars on posterior flanks.Female has the whole crown yellowish olive,uniform with back.

• Habitat-:In foothills up to 2000m.

• Food-:Ants and their eggs.• Call-:A sharp spit spit

frequently repeated.

RED JUNGLE FOWL

• Appearance-:Both sexes very similar to the domestiic ‘Game Bantam’breed.Male aboveglossy deep red with yellowish neck hackles.Long metallicblack tail.Below dull blackish brown.Female above-:crown dull rufous and rest upper parts reddish brown while pale brown from below.

Red Jungle fowl------ Cont.

• Habitat-:Found usually in foot hills in moist evergreen forest and bamboo and scrub jungle.Keeps in small parties.usually a cock and 3-4 hens.

• Food-:Seeds, shoots,insects and other vegetable matter.

• Call-:Crow of a cock very similar to that of Game Bantan-somewhat shriller and with more abrupt ending.

HILL PARTIRIDGE• A dumpy olive-brown short

tailed partridge with chestnut flanks.Crown and nape bright chestnut.Female similar with brown crown streaked with black.30 cm in length.

• Habitat-:Resident between 1500 and 4000m and hillside clad with dense forest of oak.Conveys of 5 to 10 scratch the mulch on the forest floor to feed.

• Food-:Seeds ,shoots,berries insects molluscs.Call-:A single low mournful whistle repeated slowly 2 or 3 times.

SNOW PARTRIDGE

• Appearance-:40cm in size with prominent red bill and legs.Narrowly barred black and white from above.Chestnut broadly streaked with white from below.

• Habitat-;Resident between 3000 and 40000m,descendind only a little in severe winters.

• Food-:Lichen,moss,seeds and shoots.

• Call-:Musical chuckels in breeding season ,shrill alarm whistle at times.

TIBETAN PARTRIDGE

• Appearance-:Grey colored and about 30cm in size.Head distinctly patterned with white forehead,chestnut ear coverts and black cheek patch below.A dull chestnut collar at base of hindneck.Back buffy grey barred with blakish;tail largely chestnut.White barred with black on breast.Both sexes alike.

• Habitat-:A high altitude partridge reminiscent of the familiar grey of the plains.

HOOPOE• Appearance-:A fawn coloured bird

with black and white z zebra markings on back.A conspicuous fan shaped crest.Both sexes alike.

• Habitat-:Throughout India and Bangladesh, Pakistan Cylone and Burma.

• Call-:A soft musical penetrating ho-po-po repeated in run.

• Food-:Insects,grubs and pupae.• NEST-:A natural tree hollow or

hole in wall,untidily lined with straw and rags.Looks filthy and give fowl smell.

• Eggs-:5 or 6 white