Babbler in thought, originally uploaded by PRAVINECHESTER.
One of the most common and highly visible bird, the jungle babbler can be found in gardens , parks and lawns of homes, This bird can be seen across India.
Jungle Babbler
Tag Archives: pravine chester’s blog on birds
Rock Pigeon
Rock Pigeon, originally uploaded by PRAVINECHESTER.
Captured at the Marble Arch in London. There are hordes of pigeions here who are always on the lookout for food from visitors
Herring Gull
Herring Gull, originally uploaded by PRAVINECHESTER.
Shot in the gardens in front of the Marble Arch in London
Herring Gulls are the most common of gulls and are found in abundance in Western Europe and Asia,
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Genus: Larus
Species: L. argentatus
Binomial name
Larus argentatus
Laughing Doves
A highly visible bird of the pigeon family is the Laughing Dove, also called the Little Brown Dove. A friendly and tame bird, it is a resident bird inhabiting scrub and dry farmland.
The bird builds a stick nest in trees and lays 2 white eggs.
The Laughing Dove is about 25 cms in length with wings , back and tail being reddish brown. The wings also have streaks of blue grey. The tail is long and the neck has black spots.
Sexes are similar and legs of both sexes are red in colour. Young Doves have reduced spotting on the necks.
Kingdom : Animalia Phylum : Chordata Class : Aves Order : Columbiformes Family : Columbidae Genus : Streptopelia Species : S. senegalensis Binomial name Streptopelia senegalensis
Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary
If you are a bird watcher ( the feathered ones), the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary , now known as the Keoladeo National Park is a must visit. Situated in Bharatpur in the State of Rajasthan in North India, this is one of the finest bird parks in the world. This famous avifauna sanctuary sees thousands of migratory birds arrive in the winter months of October to March. Though not sighted for the last few years, the rare and endangered Siberian Crane was a regular visitor to the sanctuary.
Created over 250 years ago, the sanctuary is named after a Keoladeo , Shiva Temple within its boundaries. The park today is about 35 sq Kms of which about 10 Sq Km is wet marshland. In the early 17th century, Bharatpur would get flooded every monsoon. In 1760, the then Maharaja constructed a dam of earth to prevent flood waters from entering the town. A lake formed at the place where the earth was extracted for the dam. Over time an elaborate system of dams and small lakes were created to effectively control the water. This wetland attracted water birds as well as hordes of migratory birds that moved out of cold climates to the warm hinterland of India. With the huge influx of birds into this area, this became a favourite hunting ground for the Maharaja and other.
History
The sanctuary was created 250 years ago and is named after a Keoladeo (Shiva) temple within its boundaries. Initially, it was a natural depression; and was flooded after the Ajan Bund was constructed by Maharaja Suraj Mal, the then ruler of the princely state of Bharatpur, between 1726 to 1763. The bund was created at the confluence of two rivers, the Gambhir and Banganga. The park was a hunting ground for the maharajas of Bharatpur, a tradition dating back to 1850, and duck shoots were organised yearly in honor of the British viceroys. In one shoot alone in 1938, over 4,273 birds such as mallards and teals were killed by Lord Linlithgow, the then Governor-General of India. After India’s independence, the rulers of the princely states were allowed shooting rights until 1972. In 1982, grazing was banned in the park, leading to violent clashes between the local farmer and Gujjar communities and the government.
[edit] Fauna
The sanctuary hosts a small wintering population of the rare Siberian Cranes. Other species include the ruddy shelducks, gulls, northern shovelers, northern pintails, coots, garganey, tufted ducks and common pochard.
[edit] Threats
In late 2004 however, the Rajasthan government led by Vasundhara Raje succumbed to pressure from farmers to prevent water from being diverted to the sanctuary. The water supply to the park dropped from 540,000,000 to 18,000,000 cubic feet (15,000,000 to 510,000 m³). The result was an ecological disaster with the marshlands turning dry and inhospitable. Most of the birds flew off to alternate avenues as far as Garhmukteshwar, Uttar Pradesh (90 km form New Delhi) on the river Ganga for breeding. This resulted in many of the birds being hunted for their meat.
The act was criticised by leading environmentalists, leading to a Public Interest Litigation being filed in court.
The sanctuary was created 250 years ago and is named after a Keoladeo (Shiva) temple within its boundaries. Initially, it was a natural depression; and was flooded after the Ajan Bund was constructed by Maharaja Suraj Mal, the then ruler of the princely state of Bharatpur, between 1726 to 1763. The bund was created at the confluence of two rivers, the Gambhir and Banganga. The park was a hunting ground for the maharajas of Bharatpur, a tradition dating back to 1850, and duck shoots were organised yearly in honor of the British viceroys. In one shoot alone in 1938, over 4,273 birds such as mallards and teals were killed by Lord Linlithgow, the then Governor-General of India. After India’s independence, the rulers of the princely states were allowed shooting rights until 1972. In 1982, grazing was banned in the park, leading to violent clashes between the local farmer and Gujjar communities and the government.
[edit] Fauna
The sanctuary hosts a small wintering population of the rare Siberian Cranes. Other species include the ruddy shelducks, gulls, northern shovelers, northern pintails, coots, garganey, tufted ducks and common pochard.
[edit] Threats
In late 2004 however, the Rajasthan government led by Vasundhara Raje succumbed to pressure from farmers to prevent water from being diverted to the sanctuary. The water supply to the park dropped from 540,000,000 to 18,000,000 cubic feet (15,000,000 to 510,000 m³). The result was an ecological disaster with the marshlands turning dry and inhospitable. Most of the birds flew off to alternate avenues as far as Garhmukteshwar, Uttar Pradesh (90 km form New Delhi) on the river Ganga for breeding. This resulted in many of the birds being hunted for their meat.
The act was criticised by leading environmentalists, leading to a Public Interest Litigation being filed in court.
Parakeets
Birds of Chandigarh
A common bird found visiting gardens and courtyards in homes is the Babbler. A noisy bird that is visible at all times. These are shots taken in the front yard of a chandigarh home.
Babbler Bird
Babbler
Red Vented Bulbul
The Red Vented Bulbul is a common bird that can be seen in the gardens of Delhi and Gurgaon. Small bird of about 20 cms, both the sexes are similar in appearance and have a sooty dark plummage . The head is darket in colour
Red Vented Bulbul
Pair of Bulbuls on the tree in Heritage City
with an almost black neck. A distinctive feature is the red distinctive vent and the tail ending in a white rump. Lives in Trees and bushes in pairs or small flocks, this is a lively bird.
Food : Lives on insects, fruits, kitchen food scraps, flower nectar
Sound : Noisy – screeches and whistles
Habitat : Forests, gardens and Human Habitats
Spread : Across India
Scientific Classification
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Aves
Order : Passeriformes
Family : Pycnonotidae
Genus : Pycnonotus
Species : P. cafer
Kingfishers
The Common Kingfisher
Kingfishers are small brightly coloured birds that feed on fish and are found around the world.
The common Kingfisher is a bright and sparkling blue coloured bird the size of a sparrow. In spite of its size, this small bird is visible from a distance because of it’s startling colour. It has a long strong grey coloured bill and chestnut coloured under parts with large head, short legs and stubby legs. Kingfishers live on trees near water and hunt on fish.
Common Kingfisher
Common Kingfisher
FACTS
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Aves
Order : Coraciiformes
Suborder : Alcedines
Families
Alcedinidae
Halcyonidae
Cerylidae
Painted Storks of Bharatpur
200 Kms south of Delhi is the city of Bharatpur where the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is located. Also known as the Keoladeo National Park, this is a world heritage site that has over 230 species of birds – both residents and winter visitors. The time to visit the sanctuary is the winter months of November to March when along with the local birds, a host of winter visiting birds from places as far away as Siberia come to the park to breed and escape the cold winters of their host countries.
One popular bird in the sanctuary is the Painted Stork. This is a tropical bird which breeds in Asia from India and Sri Lanka to Southeast Asia.
The Painted Stork feeds on fish, frogs and large insects and would normally be found in wet marshlands and shallow waters.
The birds make their nests on trees with dry sticks . The nests are large and usually contain 2 to 5 eggs.
The young juvenile birds are dull in colour – brownish and without the bright colours of the adult bird.
The adult painted stork is a large white bird with black flight feathers. The long slightly curved downwards beak is yellow. The tail and legs are pink. This is a broad winged soaring bird and like all storks flies with its neck outstretched.
