Sarus Crane (Grus antigone)
An all-year resident breeding bird in northern Pakistan and India, reported recently to be resident and breeding in Punjab. It is a very large crane, averaging 156 cm (5 ft) in length, which is found in freshwater marshes and plains. Adults are grey with a bare red head and white crown and a long dark pointed bill. In flight, the long neck is kept straight, unlike herons, and the black wing tips can be seen; their long red or pink legs trail behind them. The sexes do not differ in color, but young birds are duller and browner. On average the male is larger than the female; Indian males can attain a maximum height of approximately 200 cm (6.6 ft), with a wingspan of 250 cm (8.5 ft), making them the worlds tallest living flying bird. The average weight is 7.3 kg (16 lbs), so they are lighter-weight than Red-crowned Cranes.These birds are usually seen in small groups of 2-5 and they forage while walking in shallow water or in fields, sometimes probing with their long bills. They are omnivorous, eating insects, aquatic plants and animals, crustaceans, seeds and berries, small vertebrates, and invertebrates. It nests on the ground, laying two to three eggs in a bulky nest. Unlike many cranes which make long migrations, the Sarus Crane does not; there is some short-distance dispersal however. Both the male and female take turns sitting on the nest, and the male is the main protector. They tend to mate for life. The Sarus crane is classified as Vulnerable. Threats constitute habitat destruction and/or degradation, hunting and collecting, as well as environmental pollution and possibly diseases or competing species. The species is venerated in India and legend has it that Valmiki cursed a hunter for killing a Sarus Crane and was then inspired to write the epic Ramayana.
Red wattled lapwing(Vanellus indicus)
It is a lapwing or large plover, a wader in the family Charadriidae. It is sometimes called the did-ye-do-it bird due to its unmistakable call. The populations are resident. This species is declining in its western range, but is abundant in much of South Asia, being seen at almost any wetland habitat in its range. Red-wattled Lapwings are large waders, about 35cm long (somewhat larger than a Rock Pigeon, with longer legs). The wings and back are light brown, but head and chest and front part of neck are black. Prominently white patch runs between these two colours, from belly and tail, flanking the neck to the sides of crown. Short tail is tipped black. A red fleshy wattle in front of each eye, black-tipped red bill, and the long legs are yellow. In flight, prominent white V-shaped wing bar. It usually keeps in pairs or trios in well-watered open country, ploughed fields, grazing land, and margins and dry beds of tanks and puddles. It is also found in forest clearings around rain-filled depressions. It runs about in short spurts and dips forward obliquely (with unflexed legs) to pick up food in a typical plover manner. Is uncannily and ceaselessly vigilant, day or night, and is the first to detect intrusions and raise an alarm, and therefore a nuisance to hunters. Flight rather slow, with deliberate flaps, but capable of remarkable agility when defending nest or being hunted by a hawk. Its striking appearance is supplemented by its noisy nature, with a loud and scolding did-he-do-it call, often uttered at night. Nesting season is mainly March to August-September. Has a preference for marshes and similar freshwater wetland habitats. Lays eggs in a ground scrape or depression sometimes ringed around with a few goat droppings or pebbles. About 3-4 black-blotched buff eggs shaped a bit like a peg-top (pyriform), 42x30 mm on average. Nests are difficult to find since eggs and nest usually match the ground to perfection. Diet consists of Ants, beetles, caterpillars and other insects, snails and other invertebrates, mostly picked from the ground. Also a quantity of vegetable matter. Feeds in the day as well as night.
Wire tailed swallow(Hirundo smithii)
Swallows have adapted to hunting insects on the wing by developing a slender streamlined body, and long pointed wings, which allows great manoeuvrability and endurance. Their body length ranges from about 10–24 cm (3.9–9.4 in) and their weight from about 10–60 g . The wings are long, pointed, and have nine primary feathers. The tail has 12 feathers and may be deeply forked, somewhat indented, or square-ended. A long tail increases manoeuvrability, and may also function as a sexual adornment, since the tail is frequently longer in males. Female Barn Swallows will select mates on the basis of tail length. The legs are short, and their feet are designed for perching rather than walking, as the front toes are partially joined at the base, causing the bird to display a waddling gait. The sexes show no, or only limited, sexual dimorphism, with longer outer tail feathers in the adult male probably being the commonest distinction where one exists. Fledged juveniles usually appear as duller versions of the adult.
House swift / Little Swift(Apus affinis)
A small bird, superficially similar to a Barn Swallow or House Martin. The eastern race, House Swift, is sometimes considered a separate species, Apus nipalensis.These birds have very short legs which they use only for clinging to vertical surfaces. The scientific name comes from the Greek apous, meaning without feet. They never settle voluntarily on the ground.Little Swifts build their nests in hole in buildings or sometimes on cliffs, laying 1-4 eggs. A swift will return to the same site year after year, rebuilding its nest when necessary. Little Swifts spend most of their lives in the air, living on the insects they catch in their beaks. They drink on the wing, but roost on vertical cliffs or walls. They are notoriously slow risers in the mornings. Little Swifts are readily identified by their small size. Their wingspan is 33cm compared to the 42cm of Common Swift. They are black except for a white rump, the white extending on to the flanks. They have a short square tail. The flight is fluttering like a House Martin.The call is a high twittering.
Common Kingfisher / European Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
This striking blue bird lives primarily near water bodies and is widely distributed over Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is largely a resident species, but may migrate to short distances from northern areas where the water surfaces freeze. It feeds entirely upon aquatic animals. In winter, especially when inland waters are icebound, it may move to tidal marshes and the shore, taking its stand on the mussel or limpet covered rocks and diving into the shallow pools. The bird has regular perches or stands from which it fishes. These may be a few inches or many feet above the water. It sits upright, its tail pointed downwards. It drops suddenly with a splash and usually returns at once with a struggling captive. Large fish are beaten on a bough or rail; small fish and insects are promptly swallowed. A fish is usually lifted and carried by its middle, but its position is changed, sometimes by tossing it into the air, before it is swallowed head downwards. Fish, aquatic insects and crustaceans are eaten. It eats numerous freshwater shrimps Gammarus.
White throated (breasted) kingfisher(Halcyon smyrnensis)
It is a tree kingfisher which is widely distributed in south Asia. This kingfisher is essentially resident over much of its range, apart from seasonal movements. This is a large kingfisher, 28 cm in length. The adult has a bright blue back, wings and tail. Its head, shoulders, flanks and lower belly are chestnut, and the throat and breast are white. The flight is rapid and direct, the short rounded wings whirring. The large bill and legs are bright red. In flight, large white patches are visible on the blue and black wings. Sexes are similar, but juveniles are a duller version of the adult. The call of this noisy kingfisher is a chuckling chake-ake-ake-ake-ake. It is a common species of a variety of habitats with some trees, and its range is expanding. It perches conspicuously on wires or other exposed perches within its territory, and is a frequent sight in south Asia. This species mainly hunts large insects, rodents, snakes, fish and frogs. White-throated Kingfisher has a striking display in which the wings are spread to show the white patches. The nest is a 50cm tunnel in an earth bank. A single clutch of 4-7 round white eggs is typical.
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
It is a member of the starling family. This bird is a common resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from Afghanistan to India and Sri Lanka. It is also known as the Indian Myna and as the Talking Myna for its ability to mimic human speech. This abundant passerine is typically found in open woodland, cultivation and around habitation. The Common Myna builds a nest in hole in a tree or wall. The normal clutch is 4–6 eggs. This 25-cm-long bird has dark brown body and wing plumage, with large white wing patches obvious in flight. The head and throat are dark grey. The bill, bare skin around the eyes and strong legs are bright yellow. The sexes are similar. Mynas mate for life.Like most starlings, the Common Myna is omnivorous. It feeds on insects and fruits and discarded waste from human habitation. It forages on the ground among grass for insects, and especially for grasshoppers, from which it gets the generic name Acridotheres, grasshopper hunter. It walks on the ground with occasional hops. The song includes croaks, squawks, chirps, clicks and whistles, and the bird often fluffs its feathers and bobs its head in singing. The Common Myna screeches warnings to its mate or other birds in cases of predators in proximity.
Jungle Babbler(Turdoides striata)
It is the most common resident breeding bird in India and Pakistan. Popularly known as Seven sisters due to reason of living in flocks of seven to ten or more. The Jungle Babbler habitat is forest and cultivation. It is quite common in Indian forests It builds its nest in a tree, concealed in dense masses of foliage. The normal clutch is two to six deep greenish blue eggs. These birds are grey brown below, with some mottling on the throat and breast. The upperparts are a slightly darker shade. The head is grey, and the bill is yellow. It is a noisy bird, and the presence of a flock may generally be known at some distance by the harsh mewing calls, continual chattering, squeaking and chirping produced by its members. It feeds mainly on insects, but also eats nectar and berries.
Indian Grey Hornbill(Ocyceros birostris)
It is a common hornbill on the Indian subcontinent. It is mostly arboreal and is commonly sighted in pairs. They have grey feathers all over the body with a light grey or dull white belly. The horn is black or dark grey with a casque extending up to the point of curvature in the horn. Indian Grey Hornbills usually form their nest in tree holes. A peculiar characteristic of this bird is that the female stays inside the nest and the male seals the nest hole leaving only a small hole for feeding the female. In this way they safeguard the eggs and hatchlings. While inside the nest, the female will pluck out all her feathers and throw them outside the nest so that it can maintain the required space along with the growing chicks. The regrowth of the feathers in the female coincides with the maturity of the chicks at which point the nest is broken open. These birds usually feeds on fruits including a variety of figs (Ficus spp.) and occasionally on small insects, lizards, small snakes etc.
Common Hoopoe – Upupa epops
They are widespread resident in India. They migrate from all but the southernmost part of their range to the tropics in winter. Their habitat is open cultivated ground with short grass or bare patches. They spend much time on the ground hunting insects and worms. That diet may have been among the reasons. The Hoopoe is 25–29cm long, with a 44–48cm wingspan. This black, white and pink bird is quite unmistakable, especially in its erratic flight, which is like that of a giant butterfly. The crest is erectile, but is mostly kept closed. It walks on the ground like a starling. The song is a trisyllabic oop-oop-oop, which gives rise to its English and scientific names. The nest is in a hole in a tree or wall. Like those of its relatives the kingfishers, the nest tends to contain copious amounts of faeces and smell very foul as a protection against predators. Nesting hoopoes are capable of squirting fecal matter at intruders.
Rose ringed Parakeet(Psittacula krameri)
The Rose-ringed Parakeet is sexually dimorphic and wide spread resident. The adult male sports a black neck-ring and pink nape-band while the hen and immature birds of both sexes either show no neck rings, or display shadow-like pale to dark grey neck-rings and light (lighter coloured than surroundings) nape-bands. In the wild, Rose-ringed Parakeets usually feed on buds, fruits, vegetables, nuts, berries and seeds. Wild flocks also fly several miles to forage in farmlands and orchards causing extensive damage. Most desired cage bird for its ability to speak.
Tawny Owl (Strix aluco)
It is a medium-sized earless owl, 37–43 cm in length with an 81–96 cm wingspan. The Tawny Owl is stocky with a large rounded head and rounded wings. It occurs in two colour phases, rufous brown and greyish brown, with all intermediate forms. The pale underparts are streaked with brown and the facial disc is rather plain. The eyes are dark brown. The Tawny Owl has a strong direct flight. Calls vary a great deal, but the classic and most often heard territorial calls are the quavering hoo ... pause ... hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo by the male and the kew-wick of the female. The Tawny Owl has extremely capable eyes. Its retina has about 56,000 light-sensitive rods per square millimetre, enabling it to pick out prey several metres away by the light of one candle over 500 metres away. In low-level light conditions, this is about 100 times better than the eyes of humans. Inhabits in deciduous and mixed forests and usually nests in holes in trees. Smaller woodland owls such as the Little Owl and the Long-eared Owl cannot usually co-exist with the stronger Tawny, and are found in different habitats. This species is capable of killing prey such as Brown Rats. It is largely nocturnal and very sedentary.
Red Whiskered bulbul(Pycnonotus jocosus)
This is a bird of lightly wooded areas, more open country with bushes and shrubs, and farmland. It is more often heard than seen, but will perch conspicuously on occasions. It builds its nest in a bush, lays two to three eggs is a typical clutch. It is about 20cm (7 inches) in length. It has brown upper-parts and whitish underparts with buff flanks and a dark spur running onto the breast at shoulder level. It has a tall pointed black crest, red face patch and thin black moustachial line. The tail is long and brown with white terminal feather tips, but the vent area is red. Sexes are similar in plumage, but young birds are duller than adults. The flight is bouncing and woodpecker-like. These passerine birds feed on fruit, nectar and insects. The loud and evocative call is a sharp kink-a-joo, and the song is a scolding chatter. Its voice is similar to a cheerful human whistling. In fact: a human whistling into a bulbul nest will provoke a positive reaction from young chicks if present in the nest. Its more noticeable cousin the Red-vented Bulbul is more commonly seen around human habitats. As with most sparrow-size birds in human habitations, its greatest menace are electric wires and cats.
Red Vented Bulbul(Pycnonotus cafer)
This is a bird of scrub, open forest, plains and cultivated lands. It builds its nest in a bush; two or three eggs is a typical clutch. Red-vented Bulbul is about 20cm in length, with a long tail. It has brown or black upperparts, with a white rump. The breast is brown or black, and the rest of the underparts are white apart from the red around the vent. The head and small crest are black. Sexes are similar in plumage, but young birds are duller than adults. The flight is bouncing and woodpecker-like. There are a number of regional variations in plumage, mainly with respect to the upperpart and breast colour. Red-vented Bulbuls feed on fruit, nectar and insects.
Indian Robin (Saxicoloides fulicata)
The Indian Robin is an insectivorous species which is a resident breeder in Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka. It is found in scrub jungle and other open habitats including around habitation. It nests in a hole in a wall, tree-stump or bank, laying 2-3 creamy white eggs on a pad of grass lined with feathers or hair. Only the female incubates the eggs. This species is 19cm long, including the long cocked tail. It is similar in shape to the smaller European Robin, but is longer-tailed. The male of the race found in southern India and Sri Lanka, S. f. fulicata, is completely glossy black apart from a white shoulder patch and a reddish lower belly. Males of the northern race S. f. cambaiensis have a grey back and crown. Females are dark grey above and paler below. This is a common and tame bird. It is terrestrial, hopping along the ground with cocked tail. The male sings a few melodic notes during courtship.
Woodpecker/ Common Flameback (Dinopium javanense)
The woodpecker first locates a tunnel by tapping on the trunk. Once a tunnel is found, the woodpecker chisels out wood until it makes an opening into the tunnel. Then it worms its tongue into the tunnel to try to locate the grub. The tongue of the woodpecker is long and ends in a barb. With its tongue the woodpecker skewers the grub and draws it out of the trunk. Woodpeckers also use their beaks to create larger holes for their nests which are 15–45 cm (6–18 inches) below the opening. These nests are lined only with wood chips and hold 2–8 white eggs laid by the females. Because the nests are out of sight, they are not visible to predators and eggs do not need to be camouflaged. Cavities created by woodpeckers are also reused as nests by other birds, such as grackles, starlings, some ducks and owls, and mammals, such as tree squirrels.
Spotted dove
It is a common and widespread species in open woodland, farmland and habitation over a good deal of its natural range. This species builds a stick nest in a tree and lays two white, glossy eggs. In Southern Australia, they breed mostly from September to January, and in the north in Autumn. Its flight is quick, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings which are characteristic of pigeons in general. Spotted Dove is a long-tailed, slim pigeon, ranging in length from 28 to 32 centimetres (11.2 to 12.8 inches). Its back, wings and tail are pale brown, heavily spotted with buff. In flight, it shows blackish flight feathers bordered on the inner edge with pale grey. Sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller than adults often lacking the patchy neckband when very immature. The head and underparts are pinkish, shading to pale grey on the face and lower belly. There is a black neck patch finely spotted with white. The legs are red. The call is a low and gentle coo-coo-croo, with the emphasis on last note. The call occasionally is coo-coo krrroo, krook. Spotted Doves eat grass seeds, grains and other vegetation. They are fairly terrestrial, foraging on the ground in grasslands and cultivation. It breed all year round with nests commonly found in trees, edge of buildings or even on the ground.
Rock Pigeon(Columba livia)
The Rock Pigeon is 32–37 cm long with a 64–72 cm wingspan. The white lower back of the pure Rock Pigeon is its best identification character, but the two black bars on its pale grey wings are also distinctive. The tail is margined with white. It is strong and quick on the wing, dashing out from sea caves, flying low over the water, its lighter grey rump showing well from above. The head and neck of the mature bird are a darker blue-grey than the back and wings; the lower back is white. The green and lilac or purple patch on the side of the neck is larger than that of the Stock Dove, and the tail is more distinctly banded. Young birds show little lustre and are duller. Eye colour of the pigeon is generally an orange colour but a few pigeons may have white-grey eyes. The eyelids are orange in colour and are encapsulated in a grey-white eye ring. The feet are red to pink. The nest is usually on a ledge in a cave; it is a slight structure of grass, heather, or seaweed. Like most pigeons it lays two white eggs. The eggs are incubated by both parents for about 18 days. The nestling has pale yellow down and a flesh-coloured bill with a dark band. It is tended and fed on crop milk like other doves. The fledging period is 30 days.
Shikra (Accipiter badius)
It is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. The Shikra is a widespread resident breeder throughout south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. It nests in trees, building a new nest each year. It lays 3-7 eggs. This bird is a small raptor (26-30cm) with short broad wings and a long tail, both adaptations to fast manoeuvring. The normal flight of this species is a characteristic flap – flap – glide. The adult Shikra has pale grey upperparts, and is white, finely barred reddish below. Sexes are similar except that female is larger than the male. The juvenile is brown above and white, spotted with brown below. It has a barred tail. Shikra is a bird of open woodland including savannah and cultivation. The prey is lizards, dragonflies, and small birds and mammals.
Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus)
The Black Drongo is a common resident breeder in much of tropical southern Asia from southwest Iran through India and Sri Lanka east to southern China and Indonesia. This species is usually found in open forests and similar lightly wooded habitats, including farmland and habitation. Three or four eggs are laid in a light cup nest placed in a fork often on the bare outer branches of trees. These are aggressive and fearless birds, 28 cm in length, and will attack much larger species if their nest or young are threatened. There are also some cases of Drongos preying on small birds. They have also been on occasion seen feeding on dead fish. The adult Black Drongo is mainly glossy blue-black, although the wings are duller. The tail is long and deeply forked, and there is a white spot in front of the eye. Young birds are dull dark brown. The Black Drongo has short legs and sits very upright whilst perched prominently, like a shrike. It eats insects and other small animals.
Great cormorant(Phalacrocorax carbo)
The Great Cormorant is a large black bird, 77-94 cm in length with a 121-149 cm wingspan. It has a longish tail and yellow throat-patch. Adults have white thigh patches in the breeding season. In European waters it can be distinguished from the Common Shag by its larger size, heavier build, thicker bill, lack of a crest and plumage without any green tinge. Many fishermen see in the Great Cormorant a competitor for fish. Because of this it was nearly hunted to extinction in the past. Thanks to conservation efforts its numbers increased. At the moment there are about 450,000 breeding birds in Western Europe. Chinese fishermen sometimes tie fishing line around the throats of cormorants, tight enough to prevent swallowing, and deploy them from small boats. The cormorants eat fish without being able to fully swallow them, and the fishermen are able to retrieve the fish simply by forcing open the cormorants mouths, apparently engaging the regurgitation reflex.
Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
General appearance of a stoky paddy bird is with stouter bill, Ashy grey above with glistering black back and white below. Sexes alike, seen plenty during season. Resident, common and locally migratory in nature. Largely crepuscular and nocturnal colonies spent the day time resting in some clump of leafy trees, often far from water and fly out their accustomed feeding grounds at dusk in struggling ones and twos uttering a distinctive kwaark from time to time. Feeds on Crabs, fish, frogs, aquatic insects etc.
Grey Heron:(Ardea cinereia)
A lanky stork like bird and grey above with white crown and neck U shaped, grayish white below. A long black occipital crest and elongated white feathers on the breast with some black streaks. Female similar but crest and pectoral plumes less developed. Somewhat crepuscular flies with steady wing beats, neck folded back and head drawn in between the shoulder, the long legs trailing behind. Feeds on Fish, frogs etc., they hunt their prey not in groups but wades slowly through the shallows with neck craned and bill poised units for a fish or frog to blunder within striking range. Nesting season is from November to March.
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
It is a wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, and southern and eastern Asia. The European populations are migratory, wintering in tropical Africa; the more northerly Asian populations also migrate further south within Asia. It is a rare but regular wanderer north of its breeding range. It is a large bird, 80-90 cm tall, with a 120-150 cm wingspan, but slender for its size, weighing only 0.5-1.3 kg. It is somewhat smaller than the Grey Heron, from which it can be distinguishes by its darker reddish-brown plumage, and, in adults, darker grey back. It has a narrower yellow bill, which is brighter in breeding adults.
Painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala)
A typical large wading stork with long heavy, yellow bill slightly de curved near tip and unfettered very yellow face, Plumage white, closely barred and marked with glistering greenish black above and with a black band across breast. Delicate rose pink about the shoulders and on wing. Sexes alike. They are the most attractive and resident bird of the reserve.It is a tropical species which breeds in Asia from India and Sri Lanka to southeast Asia. It is a resident breeder in lowland wetlands with trees. The large stick nest is built in a forest tree, and 2-5 eggs is a typical clutch. The Painted Stork is a broad winged soaring bird. Like all storks, it flies with its neck outstretched. The adult is a large bird, 95-100cm tall, mainly white with black flight feathers. The head is red, and the long downcurved bill is yellow. The tail and legs are pink, and there is dark barring on the breast. Juvenile birds are a duller version of the adult, generally browner and lacking the bright colours of the adult. The Painted Stork walks slowly and steadily in shallow waters or adjacent wet grassland seeking its prey, which, like that of most of its relatives, includes fish, frogs and large insects. It sweeps its head from side to side with its bill half open in water as it hunts for fish.
Common Pochard(Aythya ferina)
It is a medium-sized diving duck. The adult male has a long dark bill with a grey band, a red head and neck, a black breast, red eyes and a grey back. The adult female has a brown head and body and a narrower grey bill band. The triangular head shape is distinctive. Pochards are superficially similar to the closely related North American Redhead and Canvasback. Their breeding habitat is marshes and lakes with a metre or more water depth. Pochards breed in much of temperate and northern Europe into Asia. They are migratory, and winter in the southern and west of Europe. These are gregarious birds, forming large flocks in winter, often mixed with other diving ducks, such as Tufted Duck, which they are known to hybridise with. These birds feed mainly by diving or dabbling. They eat aquatic plants with some molluscs, aquatic insects and small fish. They often feed at night, and will upend for food as well as the more characteristic diving.
Median Egret(Ardea intermedia)
It is a medium-sized heron. It is a resident breeder from east Africa across tropical southern Asia to Australia. It often nests in colonies with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs. Two to five eggs are laid, the clutch size varying with region. This species, as its scientific name implies, is intermediate in size between the Great Egret and smaller white egrets like the Little Egret and Cattle Egret, though nearer to Little than Great. It is about 90 cm tall with all-white plumage, generally dark legs and a thickish yellow bill. Breeding birds may have a reddish or black bill, greenish yellow gape skin, loose filamentous plumes on their breast and back, and dull yellow or pink on their upper legs (regional variations). The sexes are similar. The Intermediate Egret stalks its prey methodically in shallow coastal or fresh water, including flooded fields. It eats fish, crustaceans and insects.
Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus)
The male (peacock) Indian Peafowl has iridescent blue-green or green coloured plumage. The so-called tail of the peacock, also termed the train, is not the tail quill feathers but highly elongated upper tail coverts. The train feathers have a series of eyes that are best seen when the tail is fanned. Both species have a head crest. The female (peahen) Indian Peafowl has a mixture of dull green, brown, and grey in her plumage. She lacks the long upper tail coverts of the male but has a crest. Females can also display their plumage to ward off danger to their young or other female competition.Many of the brilliant colours of the peacock plumage are due to an optical interference phenomenon (Bragg reflection) based on (nearly) periodic nanostructures found in the barbules (fiber-like components) of the feathers. The peafowl are forest birds that nest on the ground. The Pavo peafowl are terrestrial feeders but roost in trees. Both species of Peafowl are believed to be polygamous. Peafowl are omnivorous and eat plant parts, flower petals, seed heads, insects and other arthropods, reptiles, and amphibians. Because of human encroachment into their natural territories, peafowl and humans have come into increasing contact. Because of their natural beauty some are reluctant to classify the birds as pests, but their presence can be disturbing.
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
In non-breeding season, pure white plumage is distinguished from little egret by colour of bill which is yellow not black. Gregarious, mostly seen with grazing cattle, stalking energetically along side the animals running and out between their legs or riding upon their backs and insects disturbed by their movement amongst the grass. Feeds chiefly on grasshoppers, insects, frogs and lizards etc. Nesting season is from November to March.
Pond Hern or Paddy bird(Ardoola grayii)
An egret like marsh bird earthy brown when at rest but with the glistering white wings tail and rump flushing into prominence immediately it flies.Found whenever there is water, river roadside ditch, well, pond. Its normal method of feeding is to stand launched up at the waters edge watching patiently for movement and jabbing at the quarry when opportunity offers. Feeds on Frog, crabs and insects. Nesting season is from November to January.
Dab chick / Little Grebe
A little water bird with silky under parts short pointed bill and no tail. Feeds on Aquatic insects, larva, frogs etc. It is 23 to 29 cm in length. Little Grebe is a small water bird with a pointed bill. The adult is unmistakable in summer, predominantly dark above with its rich rufous colour neck, cheeks and flanks, and bright yellow gape. The rufous is replaced by a dirty brownish grey in non-breeding and juvenile birds. Juvenile birds have a yellow bill with a small black tip, and black and white streaks on the cheeks and sides of the neck as seen below. This yellow bill increasingly darkens, eventually turning black. It is an excellent swimmer and diver, and pursues its fish prey underwater. It uses the vegetation skilfully as a hiding place. It is an excellent swimmer and diver, and pursues its prey such as small fish and aquatic invertebrates underwater. Like all grebes, it nests on the waters edge, since its legs are set very far back and it cannot walk well. Usually four to seven eggs are laid, and the striped young are sometimes carried on the adult back. Most frequently heard call is courtship trill, given singly or in duet, a repeated weet-weet-weet or wee-wee-wee.
Indian Moorhen(Gallinula chloropus)
On land a typical water hen, on water like a small duck. On water its progress is attended by the same characteristic jerky bobbing of head and flicking up of tail when the white under tail converts flush prominently. Flight labored usually low over the water with rapid wing beats, neck stretched in front and legs trailing behind. Feeds on Insects, worms, grains of paddy and marsh plants.
Purple Swamp hen(Porphyrio porphyrio)
African and south Asian birds have a green back, and Australasian and Indonesian birds have black backs and heads. The Philippines subspecies is pale blue with a brown back. This chicken-sized bird, with its huge feet, bright plumage and red bill and frontal shield is unmistakable in its native range.The breeding habitat is warm reed beds across southernmost Europe, Africa, tropical Asia, and Australasia. The male has an elaborate courtship display,holding water weeds in his bill and bowing to the female with loud chuckles. Pairs nest in a large pad of interwoven reed flags, etc., on a mass of floating debris or amongst matted reeds slightly above water level in swamps, clumps of rushes in paddocks or long unkempt grass. Multiple females lay in the one nest and share the incubation duties, the nest is composed of grass or similar materials. Each bird can lay 3-6 speckled eggs - pale yellowish stone to reddish buff, blotched and spotted with reddish brown. A communal nest may contain up to 12 eggs, incubation period is 24 days. The Purple Swamphen prefers wet areas with high rainfall, swamps, lake edges and damp pastures. The birds often live in pairs and larger communities. It clambers through the reeds, eating the tender shoots and vegetable-like matter, they have been known to feed on invertebrates (like snails) and to rob eggs from nests and also eat ducklings. Sometimes they eat small fishes as well. They will often use one foot to bring food to their mouth rather than eat it on the ground. This species has a very loud explosive call, also described as a raucous high-pitched screech, with a subdued musical tuk-tuk. It is particularly noisy during the breeding season. In spite of being clumsy in flight it can fly long distances, and it is also a good swimmer, especially for a bird without webbed feet.
Coot(Fulica atra)
The coots are medium-sized water birds which are members of the rail family. They constitute the genus Fulica. The greatest species variety is in South America, and it is likely that the genus originated there. These rails are all predominantly black in plumage, and, unlike many of the rails, they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water rather than skulking in reedbeds. They have prominent frontal shields or other decoration on the forehead, and coloured bills, and many, but not all, have white on the undertail. Like other rails, they have lobed toes.They tend to have short, rounded wings and be weak fliers, although northern species are nevertheless capable of covering long distances; the American Coot has reached Great Britain and Ireland on rare occasions. Those species that migrate do so at night. Coots can walk and run vigorously on strong legs, and have long toes that are well adapted to soft, uneven surfaces. These birds are omnivorous, taking mainly plant material, but also small animals and eggs. They are aggressively territorial during the breeding season, but are otherwise often found in sizeable flocks on the shallow vegetated lakes they prefer.
White Eyed Buzzard(Butastur teesa)
It is a medium sized hawk found in South Asia. A small greyish brown hawk, about 45cm long, the White-eyed Buzzard has a white throat, two dark cheek stripes, brown and white underparts, and orange-yellow cere. Eyes white or yellowish white, conspicuous at close quarters. A whitish nuchal patch and buffish wing shoulders provide additional clues to its identity. Sexes alike. Singly, in open scrub country. Resides in dry open country and thin deciduous forest; avoids humid and densely-wooded tracts. Rather sluggish. Perches on dry trees, telegraph posts, etc., and swoops down on its prey. Call is not unpleasant, plaintive mewing, usually uttered when pairs soar in circles high up in the air. Often in company with larger birds of prey, silhouette, of the rounded wings reminiscent of the Shikra.The drier parts throughout the India up to about 1000 m in the Himalayas (scarce in the southern peninsula); Pakistan; Bangladesh; Myanmar. Not Sri Lanka. Resident, but also moves locally. Feeds on Locusts, grasshoppers, crickets and other large insects as well as mice, lizards and frogs. A beneficial species, quite wrongly accused of destroying game birds. Nesting Season is principally February to May. Nest: a loose, unlined cup of twigs like that of a crow up in the fork of a thickly foliaged tree such as mango, preferably one in a grove. Eggs-3, greenish white broad ovals of a fairly smooth texture. Both sexes share nest-building and feeding young; female alone incubates.
River tern / Indian River Tern(Sterna aurantia)
It is a bird in the tern family. It is a resident breeder along inland rivers from Iran east through Pakistan into India. Unlike most Sterna terns, it is almost exclusively found on freshwater, rarely venturing even to tidal creeks. This species breeds from March to May in colonies in less accessible areas such as sandbanks in rivers. It nests in a ground scrape, often on bare rock or sand, and lays three greenish-grey to buff eggs, which are blotched and streaked with brown. This is a medium-sized tern, 38-43 cm long with dark grey upperparts, white underparts, a forked tail with long flexible streamers, and long pointed wings. The bill is yellow and the legs red. It has a black cap in breeding plumage. In the winter the cap is greyish white, flecked and streaked with black, there is a dark mask through the eye, and the tip of the bill becomes dusky. The sexes are similar but juveniles have a brown head, brown-marked grey upperparts, grey breast sides and white underparts. The bill is yellowish with a dark tip. As with other Sterna terns, the River Tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, crustaceans, tadpoles and aquatic insects in rivers, lakes, and tanks. Its numbers are decreasing is due to the pollution of their habitat.
Egyptian Vulture(Neophron percnopterus)
They are small vulture with long, pointed wings, small and pointed head, and wedge –shaped tail. Adult mainly dirty white, with bare yellowish face and black flight feathers. Juvenile blackish brown with grey face. With maturity, tail, body and wing coverts become whiter and face yellower. They are normally found around habitations. They are the smallest among Vultures (60-70 cm) and are commonly seen in various parts in India and is common in the Gurdaspur district also.
FLAGSHIP SPECIES - White Rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis)
Vultures are scavenging birds, feeding mostly on the carcasses of dead animals. A particular characteristic of many vultures is a bald head, devoid of feathers. This is likely because a feathered head would become spattered with blood and other fluids, and thus be difficult to keep clean. Vultures seldom attack healthy animals, but may kill the wounded or sick. Vast numbers have been seen upon battlefields. They gorge themselves when prey is abundant, till their crop bulges, and sit, sleepy or half torpid, to digest their food. They do not carry food to their young in their claws, but disgorge it from the crop. These birds are of great value as scavengers, especially in hot regions. They can eat rotten flesh containing anthrax, botulism, and cholera bacteria, which are destroyed in the stomach. The vulture population in India and Pakistan has declined by up to 95% recently in the past decade, and two or three of the species of vulture in South Asia are nearing extinction. This has been caused by the practice of giving working farm animals diclofenac, which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with anti-inflammatory and pain killing actions. Diclofenac administration keeps animals that are ill or in pain working on the land for longer, but, if the ill animals die, their carcasses contain diclofenac. Vultures are very sensitive to diclofenac and suffer kidney failure, visceral gout, and death as a result of diclofenac poisoning. The decline in vultures causes particular problems for certain communities, such as the Parsi, who practice sky burials, where the human dead are put on the top of Towers of Silence and are eaten by vultures, leaving only dry bones. Meloxicam (another NSAID) has been found to be harmless to vultures and should prove an acceptable alternative to diclofenac. The Government of India banned diclofenac, but it continues to be sold over a year later and is still a problem in other parts of the world. Found nesting and breeding in Niari of Dhar Wildlife Range and Kathlour, Naroor Jaimel Singh Villages of Kathlour-Kushlian Wildlife Sanctuary of the district. CITES Appendix II. CMS Appendix II. Wildlife Protection Act – Schedule I, Highly protected bird.
