Balaji PB Photography

So well articulated.

Opinion | When I Became a Birder, Almost Everything Else Fell Into Place To find the birds, you have to know them.

Bronzed Drongo
Dicrurus aeneus
Chinnar WLS, Kerala
31/03/23

The bronzed drongo (Dicrurus aeneus) is a small Indomalayan bird belonging to the drongo group.

The bronzed drongo is found in the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats of India and the lower Himalayas from western Uttaranchal eastwards into Indochina and Hainan, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and northern Borneo. This species is usually found in moist broadleaved forest. This species is exclusively found in forested areas.

They are found singly or in a group of two to three. They actively forage for insects under the forest canopy by making aerial sallies, often returning to their favourite perches. They sometimes join mixed-species foraging flocks. They are very good in mimicking calls of many other bird species which is a trait shared with many Drongo species.

The breeding season is February to July. Three or four pinkish to brownish eggs are laid in a cup nest in a tree. The eggs are darker on the broad end and often have cloudy spots.

Information source: Wikipedia





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Indian Paradise Flycatcher
Terpsiphone paradisi
Coimbatore, Tamilnadu
13/01/23

The Indian paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi) is a medium-sized passerine bird native to Asia, where it is widely distributed. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and Myanmar.

The Indian paradise flycatcher is a migratory bird and spends the winter season in tropical Asia. In southern India and Sri Lanka, both locally breeding populations and visiting migrants occur in winter.

Indian paradise flycatcher's breeding season lasts from May to July. Being socially monogamous both male and female take part in nest-building, incubation, brooding and feeding of the young. The incubation period lasts 14 to 16 days and the nestling period 9 to 12 days. The nest is sometimes built in the vicinity of a breeding pair of drongos, which keep predators away.The female lays up to four eggs in a neat cup nest made with twigs and spider webs on the end of a low branch. Chicks hatch in about 21 to 23 days.

Information source: Wikipedia

Good bye 2022!
Welcome 2023!

2022 was an unforgettable year with many memories. My favourite memory of this year was a trip to sight this beauty (Green Avadavat) in a remote corner of India.

Himalayan Monal (Male)
Lophophorus impejanus
Tungnath temple, Uttrakhand

The Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus), also called Impeyan monal and Impeyan pheasant, is a pheasant native to Himalayan forests and shrublands at elevations of 2,100–4,500 m (6,900–14,800 ft). It is part of the family Phasianidae and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It is the national bird of Nepal, where it is known as the danphe or danfe, and state bird of Uttarakhand, India, where it is known as monal.

The Himalayan monal's native range extends from Afghanistan and Pakistan through the Himalayas in India, Nepal, southern Tibet and Bhutan.

It lives in upper temperate oak-conifer forests interspersed with open grassy slopes, cliffs and alpine meadows between 2,400 and 4,500 m (7,900 and 14,800 ft), where it is most common between 2,700 and 3,700 m (8,900 and 12,100 ft).

The diet of the Himalayan monal consists primarily of tubers, nuts, tender leaves, shoots, insects and other invertebrates. It digs in snow for shoots and invertebrates.

Information source: Wikipedia