[sarmarishi]

Ok looks like this thread needs some motivation and hence let me post some predators before we go ahead with the other birds.

Shikra


Shikra at Kipling's Court


White Eyed Buzzard


Pics courtesy Kapil Vardhan (Oriental Honey Buzzard, Serpent Eagle, Changeable Hawk Eagle)
Oriental Honey Buzzard


Oriental Honey Buzzard in-flight


Serpent Eagle (I will post another clearer pic of this soon)


Changeable Hawk Eagle


Changeable Hawk Eagle attacking Parakeets nest




Next Up Owls (3 species)

[sarmarishi]

Time for some owls

Jungle Owlet


Collared Scops owl




Mottled Wood Owl

[mallumowgli]

Vow so many bird snaps
The grey horn bill is actually the Indian grey horn bill. The other very similar bird is the Malabar grey horn bill, which will not have the casque, but looks very much the same otherwise

One question - do any of you guys have a recording of the cry of the mottled wood owl?

[sarmarishi]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Vow so many bird snaps
The grey horn bill is actually the Indian grey horn bill. The other very similar bird is the Malabar grey horn bill, which will not have the casque, but looks very much the same otherwise

One question - do any of you guys have a recording of the cry of the mottled wood owl?

Thanks. Yes that is indeed the Indian grey hornbil. I forgot to mention the Indian bit

As for the recording of the cry, unfortunately, nope we dont have. Abheek may be able to help you out there.

I will be posting some more birds actually lot more Keep checking this thread!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh and here is a better pic of the Serpent Eagle

[Anandg]

Amazing pics guys. I thought we are only left with crows and pigeons. The inflight pics and and pics of Eagles and owls have come out splendid. Hope these birds live forever.

[shankar.balan]

what a lovely thread.
thanks very much for sharing it.
its really nice to stop a moment in this busy mechanical life to appreciate the beauties of nature around us.! 5 star thread!

[gd1418]

Simply an awesome capture...

Originally Posted by abheekg

Malabar Pied hornbills from my end:

Locking males:

Attachment 536233

Dr. A Ghosh

[sarmarishi]

I am glad that there are a few birders on our forum. Thanks for stopping by and commenting on this thread. The photologue continues...

Waterbirds

Painted Storks


Co-ordinated fishing!


Black Headed Ibis courtesy Kapil Vardhan


Woolly-necked Stork (Habitat shot)


Open-billed Stork courtesy Kapil Vardhan


Cormorant drying itself (record shot) courtesy Kapil Vardhan


Grey Heron (Habitat Shot) courtesy Kapil Vardhan


Yellow-billed Egret (already posted but I am posting again under this section)


Sandpiper courtesy Kapil Vardhan


Sandpiper courtesy me (camouflage at its best - Spot the one which is not in the water )

[fazalaliadil]

Sarmarishi,

I didn't know there were this many birds as in your sighted list.

Nice photographs!

This is a thread dedicated mostly to birds of Pench. Prior to this there was one from Coooolcat21 and mine, almost dedicated to habitat there and many on the animals.

Thanks to all and Dr. Ghosh (Brand Ambassador Pench National Park) this park is getting the attention, credit and exposure it grandly deserves.

The park authorities need to be complimented for making this park a modern success story in Indian wildlife conservation, when most parks are struggling to meet their mark and most falling below the expected mark.
Regards,

[abheekg]

A Gree bee eater tossing breakfast:



A bit of wiki on the bird:

The Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis, (sometimes Little Green Bee-eater) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family. It is resident but prone to seasonal movements and is found widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal and The Gambia to Ethiopia, the Nile valley, western Arabia and Asia through India to Vietnam. They are mainly insect eaters and they are found in grassland, thin scrub and forest often quite far from water. Several regional plumage variations are known and several subspecies have been named.

This species 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. The iris is crimson and the bill is black while the legs are dark grey. The feet are weak with the three toes joined at the base. Southeast Asian birds have rufous crown and face, and green underparts, whereas Arabian beludschicus has a green crown, blue face and bluish underparts. The wings are green and the beak is black. The elongated tail feathers are absent in juveniles. Sexes are alike.

The calls is a nasal trill tree-tree-tree-tree, usually given in flight.

Like other species in the genus, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and ants, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. Before swallowing prey, a bee-eater removes stings and breaks the exoskeleton of the prey by repeatedly thrashing it on the perch. Migration is limited to seasonal movements depending on rainfall patterns. These birds are somewhat sluggish in the mornings and may be found huddled next to each other on wires sometimes with their bills tucked in their backs well after sunrise. They sand-bathe more frequently than other bee-eater species and will sometimes bathe in water by dipping into water in flight. They are usually seen in small groups and often roost communally in large numbers (200-300). The birds move excitedly at the roost site and call loudly, often explosively dispersing before settling back to the roost tree. The Little Green Bee-Eater is also becoming common in urban and sub-urban neighborhoods, and has been observed perching on television antennae, only to launch into a brief, zig-zag flight formation to catch an insect, then return to the same perch and consume the meal. This behaviour is generally observed between the hours of 7:00 and 8:00am, and after 4:00pm.

regards,
Dr. A Ghosh

[abheekg]

Morning time 6 am to 8 am is the best time to observe birds when they are busy in their feeding routine. Take your position beside a lake or a fruiting tree or your backyard and sit silently and you will be amazed to see what all you can record.

Here's a Small Blue or Common kingfisher photographed at Beejamatta water hole with a grub for breakfast


Wiki on this bird:
This sparrow-sized bird has the typical short-tailed, large-headed kingfisher profile; it has blue upperparts, orange underparts and a long bill. It feeds mainly on fish, caught by diving, and has special visual adaptions to enable it to see prey under water. The glossy white eggs are laid in a nest at the end of a burrow in a riverbank.

Like all kingfishers, the Common Kingfishers is highly territorial; since it must eat around 60% of its body weight each day, it is essential to have control a suitable stretch of river. It is solitary for most of the year, roosting alone in heavy cover. If another kingfisher enters its territory, both birds display from perches, and fights may occur, where a bird will grab the other's beak and try to hold it under water. Pairs form in the autumn but each bird retains a separate territory, generally at least 1 km (0.62 mi) long, but up to 3.5 km (2.2 mi) and territories are not merged until the spring.

The courtship is initiated by the male chasing the female while calling continually, and later by ritual feeding, copulation usually following.

The Common Kingfisher hunts from a perch 1–2 m (3–6 ft) above the water, on a branch, post or riverbank, bill pointing down as it searches for prey. It bobs its head when food is detected to gauge the distance, and plunges steeply down to seize its prey usually no deeper than 25 cm (19 in) below the surface. The wings are opened under water and the open eyes are protected by the transparent third eyelid. The bird rises beak-first from the surface and flies back to its perch. At the perch the fish is adjusted until it is held near its tail and beaten against the perch several times. Once dead, the fish is positioned lengthways and swallowed head-first. A few times each day, a small greyish pellet of fish bones and other indigestible remains is regurgitated.

The food is mainly fish up to 12.5 cm (4.9 in) long, but the average size is 2.3 cm (0.91 in). Minnows, sticklebacks, small roach and trout are typical prey. About 60% of food items are fish, but this kingfisher also catches aquatic insects such as dragonfly larvae and water beetles, and, in winter, crustaceans including freshwater shrimps.

regards,
Dr. A Ghosh

P.S: Can anyone identify the grub in this fingfisher's beak ?
Here are some closeups of the grub:

[KPS]

Originally Posted by sarmarishi

I was in Pench during the Good Friday weekend (Wednesday - Friday) and had a wonderful time. Abheek was there with us for 2 safaris and I had made up my mind not to start yet another travelogue on the same. Hence we discussed about starting a different kind of photologue.
Thanks.

Thanks sarmarishi for the wonderful photologue. I am so glad that you are documenting the photologue with proper description, it makes a world of difference. There is so much to learn.

Cheers

KPS

[gd1418]

Appears as a praying mantis to me...

Originally Posted by abheekg

P.S: Can anyone identify the grub in this fingfisher's beak ?

Here are some closeups of the grub:

Attachment 538059

[sarmarishi]

I think it is some kind of a small shrimp found in the lakes, etc. Not too sure though.

[sarmarishi]

Black-hooded Oriole

Was one of the most difficult bird to photograph as they never sat at one place!








From Wikipedia:
The Black-hooded Oriole, Oriolus xanthornus, is a member of the oriole family of passerine birds and is a resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia.

It is a bird of open woodland and cultivation. The nest is built in a tree, and contains two eggs. The food is insects and fruit, especially figs, found in the tree canopies where the orioles spend much of their time.

The male is striking, with the typical oriole black and yellow coloration.

The plumage is predominantly yellow, with a solid black hood, and black also in the wings and tail centre.

The female Black-hooded Oriole is a drabber bird with greenish underparts, but still has the black hood. Young birds are like the female, but have dark streaking on the underparts, and their hood is not solidly black, especially on the throat.

The black head of this species is an obvious distinction from Golden Oriole, Oriolus oriolus, which is a summer visitor to northern India. Orioles can be shy, and even the male may be difficult to see in the dappled yellow and green leaves of the canopy.

The Black-hooded Oriole's flight is somewhat like a thrush, strong and direct with some shallow dips over longer distances.

The New World orioles are similar in appearance to the Oriolidae, but are icterids unrelated to the Old World birds.