The Masters Craftsmen at work!

Master Craftsmen at Work ! 

During the monsoons, in this part of the country and elsewhere, it is a common sight that birds of sparrow-size with bright yellow crowns, dark brown masks, blackish brown bills, upper parts dark brown streaked with yellow, yellow breasts and cream buff below busy weaving beautiful nests. These are the Baya Weavers known for their unique nest-building capabilities that may have taught humans their first lessons on how to weave intricate designs and construct marvels of civil engineering. Weaver birds’ nests demonstrative of their fantastic unmatched skills and the hard work that goes behind them are one of the most sophisticated ones among the bird nests. Amazingly the nests are 100 per cent water proof that can withstand even huge storms as hardly any nest has been seen falling off.

Male Baya weavers elaborately weave nests that hang pendulously from mostly palm trees or thorny Acacias. The nests are retort-shaped, with a central nesting chamber and a long vertical tube that leads to a side entrance to the chamber. The opening is placed on the east side of the tree, proving shelter from South-west monsoons. The nests are woven with long strips of paddy leaves, rough grasses and long strips torn from palm fronds. Each strip can be between 20 and 60 cm in length. It has been estimated that the male bird makes around 500 trips to weave the nest which takes 18 days to complete with about eight days for the intermediate "helmet stage".

The nests are woven with long strips of paddy leaves, rough grasses and long strips torn from palm fronds. Each strip can be between 20 and 60 cm in length. The bird uses its strong conical beak to strip and collect the strands to weave and knot them with its beak and feet while building its nest. Even though isolated nests are not unknown, Baya Weavers mostly build their nests in colonies.

The nest building exercise of Male Baya Weavers is an important and integral step in courtship as the quality and location of the nest determines if the female selects the “builder” or not. The nest is partially built before the male begins to display to passing females by flapping its wings and calling while hanging from its nests. The females inspect the nest and signal its acceptance of a male. Once a male and a female are paired, the male goes on to complete the nest by adding the entrance tunnel. Males are almost solely in charge of nest building, though its female partner may join in giving the finishing touches, especially on the interiors It is believed that the female gives due importance to the location, even more than the structure. They prefer nests high in trees near water and food source rather than those over dry land and on thin branches. If even after few days, if no female occupies the nest, the male weaver will itself destroy the nest and start all over again. It is believed that a single bird may build up to 50 nests in a single mating season before eventually making the perfect one for the female to reside. Once the nest is occupied by the female, the male baya weaver rejoices merrily as if it is on the top of the world. Why not? After all, its labour has been well recognized and appreciated.

Since so much labour goes into building the nest, it would be cruel if we pluck these intricate structures to decorate our own homes with them as some people just do it that way or even just for a thrill. Please do not. Have a heart for these beautiful little birds that have taught mankind the art of weaving, civil engineering and quality and safety consciousness.

Pictures were taken in Thapli, Haryana, India on 19 August 2018 from a distance taking the necessary precautions not to disturb or distract the birds.

The Family of Barbets !

The family of Barbets!

Barbets get their name from the fine bristles at the bases of their stout sharp bills. According to S. Dillon Ripley,  there are sixty six species of Barbets found from Central America to Northern Southern America , Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia eastward only to Borneo and Bali. They belong to the family of Capitonidae (order Piciformes).  There are about a dozen species in India. However, I have so far been able to click only four of them in the Chandigarh Region (Punjab, Haryana and Himachal). These are the Great Barbet, Brown-headed Barbet, the Blue-throated and the Coppersmith Barbet.

Common attributes of Barbets include their big-head with short tails, measuring from 9 to 30 cms, their posture of sitting stolidly on treetops, their loud continuous repetitive calls jerking their heads and tails,  and their food habits  primarily include fruits and berries with  insects mostly winged termites, lizards and birds’ eggs during the breeding season providing proteins for their chicks  and their building of nests in cavities of trees chiseled with their stout and sharp beaks similar to woodpeckers.  (However, one genus, Caloramphus, is said to excavate nesting holes out of termite nests, and an African form is reported to nest in holes in the ground--(T. margaritatus) vide Friedmann (1930: 463)).  They are either green or brownish with splashes of bright colours or white and their eggs are white and rounded, thin-shelled and rather glossy. The flight of these non-migratory birds is fluttering, often appearing clumsy, and not long sustained.

The Great Barbet

The great Barbet is the largest of all. Plump with a short neck, large head and short tail, Great Barbet has a blue head, large yellow bill, brown back and breast, green-streaked yellow belly and red vent while rest of the plumage is green.  It is found in lower-to-middle altitudes of the Himalayas ranging across Northern India, Nepal and Bhutan, Bangladesh, and some parts of South East Asia as far as Laos. The accompanying photograph was clicked in Chaki Mod in Himachal Pradesh where they are found in plenty. I have also observed this bird in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Thapli Village. Its calls include “key-oh”, “keeab” and a repetitive “piou- piou- piou- piou”.

The Brown-headed Barbet

The brown-headed barbet also known as the Green Barbet measures 25 to 30 cms and weighs 100 to 140 grams. Its overall plumage is green, while its head, throat, neck and breast are brownish with prominent pale streaks on head, mantle and breast. There is distinctive large yellowish orange patch surrounding the eyes. The feet are grayish yellow. Its call is either twice repeated ‘pro-kok’ or repeated “kutroo-kuttroo” sound. It is wide-spread in the Indian sub-continent and is found both in urban gardens and countryside being fairly tolerant of humans. .  It is closely related to the  White-cheeked Barbet  that has prominent white cheek patch and white spots on the under parts and is  familiar to bird-watchers from South India and the Lineated Barbet  found in  the Himalayas, E and NE  bold white streaking on head, upper mantle and breast extending to the centre of the belly

 The accompanying photograph was clicked from my balcony in Modern Housing Complex, Manimajra, and Chandgarh

Blue-throated Barbet

The Blue-throated barbets have blue, green and red plumage and measure 23 to 28 cms weighing 78 to 103 grams. They are widespread residents of hills of Himalayas, Thailand, Central Laos and Vietnam.  They frequent evergreen forest and deciduous forests, gardens, orchids, teak forests and cities with fruiting trees.

The accompanying photograph was clicked in Chaki Mor in Himachal Pradesh.

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Coppersmith Barbet

The Coppersmith Barbet is the tiniest of the Barbets in India. It is a short, stocky bird, with a leaf-green about the size of a fat sparrow with a crimson breast and forehead, a lemon-yellow throat that allows it to remain well-camouflaged in the canopy of a tree. The bird gets its name from its distinctive call which is said to resemble the sound that a coppersmith makes by beating sheets of copper with a mallet. This barbet makes this sound – a rather monotonous one that only varies in loudness and tempo – by inflating a patch of bare skin on both sides of its throat, with the beak remaining shut.

The accompanying photograph was clicked in Thapli, Haryana.

'Hidhud' of Culture

'Hudhud' of Culture

Ever since my childhood, I have been fascinated by the “crown of feathers’ of  Hoopoe   with its long tapering bill, foraying for insects and seeds in our school ground with its distinct call that gave its nomenclature. Little I knew that this bird was centre-piece of cultural ethos spanning across continents of Asia, Africa and Europe , with number of folktales woven around it.  

Hoopoe  is distinguished by its colorful complexion, its long, swooping beak and slicked back tuft of hair. The bird builds its nest in tree holes and has a notoriously fetid odor, keeping excrement in its lair to ward off intruders. To protect the nest from predators, the hoopoes use a wide variety of defenses. The female produces a foul-smelling secretion from her glands, and coats the plumage of the chicks with it. This smell keeps predators and parasites away, while also acting as an antibacterial agent. Also, a week after hatching, the babies can shoot streams of their feces towards predators, while hissing loudly like a snake to scare them away. The birds may also stab with their sharp bills, and hit out with their wings, when threatened.

In Islamic tradition , it is believed that Hoopoe obtained its golden crest from King Solomon for “not paying homage to women.” As the story goes, Hoopoe was hunted for the golden crest and finally pleaded with the King to remove its Golden Crest. The king turned that golden crest into fine feathers. The relationship of the bird does find reference in the holy book, the Quran. When the King declared publically to punish Hoopoe for its absence in the court, Hoopoe who was eavesdropping returned to tell the King that he found a thing that the King had not comprehended. It said that he has come from Sheba with some happy “tidings.” Sheba later became the Kings Queen. The saying, “ A little bird told me….”  probably originated from this event.  Unsure about the queen's purity and motives, Solomon confided in the bird and trusted its advice. The king also praised the hoopoe's observation techniques and called it "wise." In Quran , it is called “Hudhud”.

There is an interesting  though infamous tale in “Metamophese” by Ovid. King Terus of Thrace rapes the sister named Philomela of his wife Procene and cuts off her tongue. Procene as a revenge kills their son Itys and serves as a stew to his father. When Terus sees the head of the boy, he picks up the sword to kill the sisters but they turn into birds, Philomela into a nightingale , Procene into a swallow while he himself becomes a hoopoe. The bird’s crest is believed to project his royal status and its long sharp beak is a indicative of the violent nature.

In Oriental-Semitic traditions, the hoopoe is considered as a waterfinder, a natural “opener”. The hoopoe is said to be able to see through the earth and reveal hidden springs, endearing it to those living in desert areas. In Persian culture, it is seen as a bird of virtue.

In the epic Persian poem “The Conference of Birds” or “the Speech of Birds” by Attar of Nishapur, birds from across the world gather to decide who shall be their leader. Hoopoe, being wisest of all, suggest that they need to find the legendary bird Simrogh for which they will have to cross the seven valleys of Quest, Love, Knowledge, Detachment, Unity,  Wonderment, Poverty and Annihilation. On hearing the description of these valleys, they bow their heads in distress; some even die of fright right then and there. But despite their trepidations, they begin the great journey with Hoopoe leading the journey. On the way, many perish of thirst, heat or illness, while others fall prey to wild beasts, panic, and violence. Finally, only thirty birds make it to the abode of Simorgh where they see their own reflection in a lake. They eventually understand that they themselves are the Simorgh; the name “Simorgh” in Persian means thirty (si) birds (morgh).

 In Egypt, during the time of the Pharaohs, it was regarded as sacred. The same applied in Minoan Crete, where it was depicted on wall paintings in temples and tombs.  Even today it remains a popular status symbol, being chosen in 2008 as the national bird of Israel .

Seek the bird, the bird seeks you

An internal debate had been going on within me for quite some time whether I should be contend with bird photography or be a serious birder. Is birding different from bird photography? Can both be relative to each other? Why take all the risk of going deep into the forest area when one can see all these birds in zoo and click as many pictures as one wants on a single day? Or am I inflicted by Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD)  that seeks approval and praise in the form of positive comments and ‘likes’ on the facebook and elsewhere? And the top one, why take the pains at all when photographs of all the birds, including those that do not exist today , are available on the internet along with their description like their structure,  colour, behaviour, nesting practices, distribution and their food habits?

There are no easy answers. However, the clue perhaps lie in a well-intended statement from a friend, Arvind Syal who says “ Birding is a spiritual journey that lets you get connected with nature and brings you inner joy when you find a bird in its natural habitat. The joy is enhanced when you share that joy with others what you saw.”   You can be a good birder without being a photographer as birding is all about observing and studying the behaviour of the birds, their habitat, their distribution, food etc. However, you cannot be a good bird photographer without being a good birder. If you know when and where the bird will perch and how will it fly away , be rest assured you will be able to take your dream shot.   If you know the bird, you will be able to click it.

Well then both birding and bird photography are serious subjects and need to be practiced within some sort of framework. Let me leave the finer aspects of photography to those who understand the intricacies of equipments such as exposure, light compensation, f-stops , shutter speed, ISO and post processing softwares such as photoshop and lightroom . Enough manuals on that are available and the skills can be honed with self-experimentation, experience and practice. Let me just share few general does and don’ts of birding and bird photography. The list is not exhaustive.

1.      Seek the bird. The bird seeks you !

Birding is all about connecting your inner-self with the bird. You are into birding because you love these beautiful creatures on the wings. If you want to be a good birder, you got to love the birds.

Think deeply about the bird you intend to see and the bird shall appear from nowhere provided, of course, that that bird belongs to that area. Sounds philosophical? Try it and you will not be disappointed. Many a times, I have practiced this principle and many of my birding colleagues have experienced the same.

You need to observe and study the bird very minutely with focused attention. So what if you are not able to take a photograph this time, there will always be a next time. It is not the end of the world, it is only a beginning to a beautiful journey. Observing the bird, its perching habit, its flying mode, and its courtship are wonderful and part and parcel of the journey of birding. Enjoy the moments and in the process you become acquainted with its world. Once acquainted, clicking a good picture is not a big deal. Trust me.

Patience is the key to successful birding. Do not expect every time you go you will find a bird in a whiff. You need to be patient

2.     Everyone loves privacy!

You have every right to maintain your privacy so does everyone else. The birds also have the right to their privacy. Do not be too invasive. If you invade their privacy, they just fly away and even desert the place for all times to come. Maintain a safe distance. Make the bird feel comfortable and then slowly move to a manageable distance but certainly not too close that gives the bird a feeling that you are a danger to it.

3.     Dress up for the occasion!

We are talking about a framework. A framework requires some sort of discipline. No?  Do not wear colourful clothes that distract the birds. Camouflage is the best choice.  . You are there for a purpose and a proper uniform will lend credence to that purpose and also make you responsible. Take pride in your birding uniform.  By the way, take care of your feet with proper shoes. You will get so engrossed in observing the birds that there are chances you slip if your soles are not gripping types. Wear trekking or adventure shoes that have fine grip on the soil and the rocks and mind you if you are in the mountain forest area, the fallen pine needles  are very oily and  slippery even though they look dry. Develop the habit of watching your steps without losing an eye on the bird. Sounds difficult?  I know but then you don’t have to step on some reptile and get bitten. That could be dangerous.

4.     Do not be a babbler!

Even a slight sound can distract the bird. They intercept the sound waves more efficiently than we humans. Control your excitement. Hurray can wait for another day and certainly no hurray while birding.

5.      Keep your eyes and ears open but do not lose them!

Have you heard about Eric John Hosking?  He was a fine bird photographer  who lost one of his eyes in an attack by Tawny owl that he was trying to photograph. After the surgery , he again went and photographed the same bird. What a  commitment !

However, what I meant by keeping your eyes and ears open is to have strong eyesight to find the birds that hide so well among the tree branches and also be familiar with their sounds and calls. In your free time do some eye exercises and familiarize with bird sounds available on audio books and YouTube. Ideally, you should be equipped with binoculars.

6.     Control your mind and your limbs !

Birding is a form of meditation. Control your mind and sit still. Even a faint flicker of your arms will warn the bird. They have perfect eyesight. Some birds can watch 360 degrees. Sounds fantastic? But it is a fact.  From a great distance they can detect an insect or a caterpillar.

If you are in a group and have seen a bird, do not point a finger at it to focus attention of your birding colleagues. Just tell them the place in as soft tone as possible.

7.     Do not be an invader!

You are birder and not a member of a hunting gang that is out there to corner the bird from all sides.  If you cannot go solo,  ideally you should have two to three to accompany you for birding. If your group is large, divide it into small teams that go in different spots but do not gang up at the same spot.

8.     It is not your call . If you love mimicry, go the theatre!

There is a huge ethical issue that needs to be addressed. Some  have learnt the birding calls and employ this “art” to attract the birds. Some even play audio tapes to attract the birds. Please do not do it. You are confusing the birds and leaving them disappointed. If you find someone doing it, restrain him or her and if does not mend, part ways. Probably societal isolation will do the trick.

9.     Do not starve them to death after you leave!

Bird tourism is on the rise and with it all kinds of corrupt practices.  Hides have propped up where the organizer places all kinds of food stuff to attract the birds. At times, the food kept there is not the birds’ natural food. The result is that the birds develop the habit of taking that and do not relish their natural food. Ultimately, diseases strike them and they die. I am not against hides or bird tourism.  We can plant fruit bearing  trees or make the natural  habitat healthier to attract the birds in a better manner. Some kind of regulation by the forest department would help but as birders, we need to discourage the hides that follow this practice by not patronizing them.

10.  It is not party time!

Agreed  that you had a fruitful day and you were able to see some unique bird or a bird that you were seeing for the first time. Every success needs to be celebrated. Fine ! but not at the birding site with glaring music , winning and dancing. Celebrations may be done in the comfort of you homes or at some restaurant. And please for heaven sake, do not litter the place with water bottles and snack packets that you may have brought with you for your birding trip. Clean the mess up before you leave

11.  Log it. Share it!

Share your sightings and observations on sites like ebird . For all you know you may have sighted a rare bird. Even otherwise such data will come handy for study of conservation and migration of birds.

As I said earlier, the list is not exhaustive. Leave your feedback and further suggestions  at jatindervijh@gmail.com .

Our birding guide, the man from the Himalayas !

Our birding guide, the man from the Himalayas !

Neer is the birding guide provided to us by Strabo Pixel Club during our three day visit to Sattal. In his early twenties, Neer has been a birding guide for the last six years. Over the years, Neer keenly observed the behavior of birds, listened to their calls, learnt their breeding habits and had insights into their habitat and could tell with precision where one could see a particular bird.

Neer lives in the forest area of Sattal in a secluded area all by himself as he says that being alone in the lap of nature gives him an advantage of remaining focussed and concentrated on his passion which he does not consider just merely a job.

Neer on the right 

Neer says that he wants to do something for the himalayas during his lifetime. He says with a glint in his eyes that he was born for the himalayas, he lives for the himalayas and will die for the himalayas. He indeed has grand plans which includes involving the local community in improving the natural biodiversity in the area. According to him, birding tourism in the area has a vast potential and needs to be exploited in a manner that it does not exploit the natural environment. He laments that some people come and throw garbage in the area spoiling the beauty of the forests and the mountains.Many a times he had to face their wrath for pointing it out to them but he boldly tells them to clean up or leave the place.

Coming back to birding, Neer says that he prefers serious birders and that too in small numbers. He says that the birds need to be observed from a distance as they too want their privacy to be maintained. According to him, birding is all about observing with patience.

Neer has been a birding guide to many including birders from Germany, Denmark and USA with whom he has been in constant touch. Besides birding, Neer is into adventure sports including trekking. He also has interest in metaphysics and philosophy.

Thank you Neer for being an excellent birding guide to us during our stay in Sattal and showing us exotic birds and thank you Strabo Pixel Club for getting Neer on board for us.

Being at Sattal, the Birders' Paradise, Courtesy #StraboPixelClub

Being at Sattal, the Birders' Paradise, Courtesy #StraboPixelClub

Twenty Seven Birding enthusiasts from across the country

were at Sattal in Uttrakhand at the invitation of Strabo Pixel Club from November 24 to November 26, 2017. During their three day stay, the birders scouted for birds in Sattal,Chafi  and
Pangot and were able to identify more than 130 different birds. The most sought after were the Brown Fish Owl, the Colloared Owlet, the Flower Peckers, the Leafbirds, the Common Green Magpies, the Crested Kingfishers, the Nut Hatchers, the Laughing Thrushes, the Woodpeckers and Himalayan Bulbuls. The rare finds included Eurasian Wren or the Nepal Wren Babbler and the Brown Dipper.

The commitment of Arvind Syal

With Hemant Bishnoi and Subroto Chatterjee 

The highlight of the event was an exhibition of photographs of birds held at the iheart Cafe which was inaugurated by the Divisional Forest Officer, Mr D.S.Meena,IFS. In his address, Mr Meena highlighted various steps being taken by the Uttrakhand Government to preserve and improve the rich biodiversity of the state. He said that the steps being taken by the Forest Department need to be supplemented by people at the grassroot level.

Collared Owlet

On each of the three days, the birds would get ready for their exploration early morning, equipped with their heavy camera equipment and embark in different directions accompanied by guides, deep into the thick forest area in their camouflages that included a jacket gifted by Strabo Pixel Club. Whenever, anyone spotted a bird, he would signal to the others to come and click. The spirit of comradeship was indeed evident.

Brown Fish Owl

After a hectic day of  birding, it was time for relaxing around the bonfire. It was time for sharing experiences, the day's findings, some singing and dancing. Amit Sharma, Preity Chaturvedi and Anupreet  Kaur Mavi were the main singers while Hemant Bishnoi played the guitar.

Strabo Pixel Club he brainchild of  Hemant Bishnoi and  his wife Anu , supported by Puneet Virmani and Subroto Chatterjee. The club has been named after Strabo who was one of the earlier Geographer who is credited with drawing probably the first world map. Strabo Pixel Club has a vast membership base of 1.56 Lakhs  at this moment and is getting enlarged with each day. It is a unique platform that networks birders not only across the country but also globally.

The event was sponsored by Discover India magazine, DTDC and  iheart Cafe with active support of the Uttrakhand Forest Department. All the participants were given  Participation Certificates, Mementoes , Camouflage jackets and a Coffee mug with a photograph clicked by the birder himself/herself. The entire arrangements for stay, boarding, local transport and hospitality was made by the Strabo Pixel Club personally supervised by Hemant Bishnoi and Anu Bishnoi.

The event was given wide media coverage by India News in its prime time news as well as in a dedicated feature.

They come from across the Himalayas……flying high

They come from across the Himalayas……flying high

These days , hundreds of Ruddy Shelducks are flocking to Sukhna Lake, Chandigarh and other water bodies in the region for their wintry sojourn. Have you wondered from how far they come from and how?

Well they fly at altitudes, more than eight times higher than the tallest building on the earth so far i.e . Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Burj Khalifa is 829.8-metre-tall (2,722 ft). With the help of satellite tracking a team from the University of Exeter has claimed that ruddy shelducks fly as high as 6,800 meters (about 22,000 feet), allowing them to fly across some of the highest mountains, but certainly short of Mount Everest whose official height has been determined as 8,848 m (29,029 ft). However, studies are being conducted to determine if they can fly even more higher. They rank only next to Bar-headed Geese in the flight.

Strictly speaking, ruddy shelducks aren't really ducks, they can best be described as duck-like waterfowls that share characteristics of both ducks and geese. This translates into that they live on the water's edge and tip over in the water like ducks do, yet they also feed on grass like geese. Even though they look more like ducks, but are actually slightly larger than them having longer legs.

There are many other incredible things that are attributed to this wonderful bird besides their remarkable cruising altitudes abilities, they can easily adjust to thin mountain air as they breed on plateaus that are as high as 5000 meters. Another unique aspect of this bird, unlike their relatives, is that they lay eggs in rock cavities and caves. They even move their young ones to abandoned foxholes for raising them up.

Even their courtship is equally unique. The males impress their chosen ones by nose-diving through the air while emitting noisy screams with nasal trumpet tone being the most common. Being monogamous , the relationship is a lasting one as the couple remain faithful to each other. It is said that the couple meets only during the day time and remain separated during the night. Some people claim that this is because of the curse of a sage who felt disturbed by their screams. Many folklores , stories and even songs have been woven on this. 
In Tibetan culture, Ruddy Shelduck is considered as a scared bird. It is a symbol of love. In a local legend, Ruddy Shelducks move always in pairs, one male with one female. If one of a pair died, the other would look for the partner with lament. If it couldn’t find the partner in the end, it would bury its head in a cave and hunger to death. The outlook of Ruddy Shelducks is yellow which is a symbol of dignity and luck. 
In the Jataka Tales, there is a story of it conversing with the crow conveying :

“When leading a homeless life, one must do with affection
Without a good character, on must do without companions
When one commits offence with women, one must do 
without capacity for deeds of lasting worth.”

In Sanskrit, it is called Chakravaka and finds numerous references in ancient Sanskrit Literature, being an embodiment of eternal love, nocturnal separation and then union. In Ramayana too , the bird is mentioned as that it beautifies the rivers such as the Ganges, Godawari and Pampa. There are references in Rigveda as well as Mahabharata where Chakravakas denotes the two- wheels of the chariot, one cannot do without the other.

In a stub published by Indianetzone, Chakravaka is a Brahmani goose and the name of a wise counselor in the Pancha Tantra. Hiranyagarbha, the king of the water-fowl was anxious to make war, when his minister, Chakravaka made many speeches to prevent it, suggesting that victory was ever doubtful.

While searching for inputs, I came across a beautiful song , “ Chakravaka Pakshi Viyogi” sung by Suman Kalyanpur. Even though I do not know Marathi, the song had a very soothing effect. 
These migratory birds come from Southeast Europe and Central Asia . In India it is also called Brahminy duck. It is called Chakkva in Punjabi and Surkhaab in Faarsi

The tale of two owls !

the Asian Barred owlet 

Spotted Owlet 

When it comes to photographing birds, my all time favourite is the spotted owlet. Rather, when I started the hobby of photography, the second bird that I clicked was a spotted owlet which I vividly remember was sitting still on the branch of a tree in the Sukhna Forest Trail in Chandigarh on a particular day. Whenever I visit the place, the same owlet is found at the same place and I have stopped counting how many photographs I have taken of it but trust me every time I go there, I do click it. The same is the case with yet another owlet that resides in Thappli village. The reason for my liking spotted owlet is that they sit still to enable me as an amateur to click its photographs to my heart’s content and of course I find them to be lovely with their with spots and plumage and wide open eyes. Recently, one owlet was also spotted near my flat in the evening to give me a decent click even though it was dark.

On a trip to Chaki Mod in Distt. Solan , a birding paradise in this part of the country, I saw another owlet which I thought was again a spotted owlet or probably my thinking was constrained by my preference for spotted owlet and I believed it was it only even though it looked slightly different. I posted it on a group and immediately Dr Gurpartap Singh, an authority on birds, corrected me that it was an Asian Barred Owlet. There is so much to learn any time and Dr. Gurpartap Singh is more than willing to come to my rescue. So many times I have faltered and so many times he has corrected me. He has always cautioned me that do not post pictures if you are not sure of its identity but then old habits do not die easily .
Coming back to the spotted owlet, it is small and stocky bird, less than 21 centimetres in size. The upperparts are grey-brown, heavily spotted with white. The underparts are white, streaked with brown. While the facial disc is pale and the iris is yellow. There is a white neckband and supercilium. The flight is deeply undulating.

On the other hand , Asian Barred Owlet , as I have found out when corrected, has white eyebrows that extend to the rear of the eyes and a white moustachial streak. Eyes are lemon-yellow while its bill is yellowish-green. The head and nape are finely spotted pale buff, while the mantle is plain or only weakly barred. The upperside, sides of the head and neck and wing-coverts are dull brown or olive-brown, or faintly tinged rufous, closely barred fulvous-white or dull rufous-white. It has a distinct white patch on its throat, while the breast is barred dark brown and dull fulvous-white. The upper breast has paler brown and pure white bars, the lower part being more streaked than barred. The tail is blackish with about six whitish or pure white, widely spaced bars.

Learning is an unending process and it is even more stimulating when it comes to your passion. However, sharing your passion with others is equally joyful and my journey to explore more, to know more and share more shall continue……….

Indian Muntjac , commonly known as Barking Deer !
Chaki Mor
June 25, 2017

Fact sheet
The Indian Muntjac is also known as the red muntjac due to the rusty colour of its coat.
*The name Muntjac originates from the Sudanese “mencek”, which means small deer.
* Though barking deer is one of the oldest known species of deer, it is also one of least studied species.
*They are one of the smallest species of deer on the planet.
*They can reproduce any time of the year.
* Females can mate in a few days after giving birth.
* They shed their antlers every year.
*Barking deer's unique cry resembles the bark of a dog . Its bark is often misunderstood by locals. The groaning sound gives rise to many paranormal stories around the region.
*Though herbivorous in nature, their long canine teeth may cause serious damage in case of fighting.
* It has eyes placed on the sides of its skull, giving it a wide range of vision to spot predators.
*Along with all the basic senses, it also uses a special sixth sense, known as the vomeronasal organ that is located in the upper side of its mouth to detect chemical scents left by other animals
* Though they are hunted by top predators like tigers, pythons, leopards and humans, they have survived for over 25 million years on our planet.

Nature and Photo Walk by Natural Biodiversity Group !

The Natural Biodiversity Group

July 9, 2017. The nature and photo walk organized by the Natural Biodiversity Group brought us to the rural setting of Sector 39 West of Chandigarh, the city beautiful. Present were about 20 nature lovers belonging to diverse fields but with a unifying thread that of appreciating nature with all its bio-diversity.

We reached the spot at around 06 30 hrs in the morning, driving through the thin lanes of Jujhar Nagar Road of Village Malloa. The  area was under cultivation of variety of crops including maize , corn and rice.  As soon as we reached the place, the cameras came out and the clicking session began. While most of us were clicking photographs of birds nipping on the corns and maize buds, Sonaika Sharma and her lovely daughter who came all the way from Gurugaon were seen clicking tiny creatures on the leafy plants as they specialize in macro photography. Arvind Syal of course was seen busy making videos of the birds and the walk. Sharan Lally , an ace bird photographer known for his vivid photographs of birds was present with his beautiful daughter who looked as enthusiastic as every one else.

Red adavat or the red munia couple 

Most sought after were the Red adavats or the red munia or the red strawberry finches. The birds did not disappoint even though they do shy away , only to return to their favourite plants to nip at the corn buds. This small finch is easily identified by the rounded black tail and the bill that is seasonally red. The rump is red and the breeding male is red on most of the upper parts except for a black eye-stripe, lower belly and wings. There are white spots on the red body and wing feathers. The non-breeding male is duller but has the red-rump while the female is duller with less of the white spotting on the feathers.

The place was full of Baya Weavers and the Black-breasted Weavers who had built their intricate nests in the  fronds of palm trees. The nests are solely built by the males in order to attract their chosen mates. Hanging like a pendulum, the nests are woven from thin shreds of leaves and grass , representing not only the skill but the hard work of these tiny winged creatures. It is said that after the initial structure is built , the female inspects it minutely. If accepted , chambers are added and if not, either the nest is deserted or torn apart by the male itself to build a new one. However, there have been instances reported where the old nests have been repaired and improved upon. Even when the nesting takes place and eggs are laid, the male bird dutifully keeps on strengthening the nest.

Besides the drongos and the shallows, the wire tailed ones and the Indian Roller and scaly breasted munia in dozens, we spotted the Knob-billed Duck on the periphery of a small water body at a distance besides the red-naped Ibis perched on a tree .

Knob-billed duck 

Knob-billed Duck gets its common name from the large, fleshy, dark grey growth or ‘comb’ on the top of the male’s black beak. This unusual and distinctive structure enlarges during the breeding season . The male is a large duck with a glossy blue-black or green-black upper parts, tail and wings, white underparts and pale grey or black flanks. The top of the head and back of the neck are black, and the rest of the head is white, speckled black, with yellow tinges on the sides and on the neck during the breeding season. Narrow black bands run along the sides of the upper breast. Females may appear almost white, and also lack the male’s ‘comb’ and are much smaller than males, with less glossy plumage, less well-defined black breast bands, more speckling on the head, lacking any yellowish tinge, and sometimes with brownish mottling on the underparts.

The red-naped Ibis

The Lizard with its various hues.

Not solely dependent on water bodies always, unlike other Ibis, Red-naped Ibis is distinguished by the nearly all dark body with a white patch on the shoulder and a bare dark head with a patch of crimson red warty skin on the crown and nape. The white patch stands it out from the Glossy Ibis with which they are at times confused with.Mostly silent, they call at dawn and dusk and more often when nesting. The calls are a series of loud braying, squealing screams that descend in loudness. They build their nests often on the top of tress.In Hindi , it is referred as 'Kala Buza'.

The participants were amused by a Lizard that had mounted itself on one of the binding logs of a make shift canopy , changing its colours every now and then, giving enough opportunity to all to click it .

The four hour walk concluded with the participants sharing their experiences with Mr Arun Bansal , the main driving force of the group coordinating the intros lamenting that how natural biodiversity wasv on the decline in the name of development.  Mr Sanjay Barar gave useful tips on how to photograph flowers.

As an icing to the cake, Dr Guruprtap Singh, an educationist and bird researcher and Mr Kulbhushan Kanwar , the Chairman of the Natural Biodiversity Group rendered beautiful gazals to the delight and joy of every one present.

The journey shall continue…………

Indian Pitta

Bird of many hues !

While scouting for birds early morning today i.e. June 17 near the Parch Dam ( few Kilometres away from Chandigarh), I heard a clear short double whistle. The sound led me to a branch on which an amazing beautiful bird was perching and whistling. While making the sound, the bird’s head was thrown back and the bill was pointing skywards. It was the Indian Pitta.

Indian Pitta is a colourful bird that contains numerous colours and hence it is locally called ‘Navrang’ or ‘Nawarang’. It is a small stocky bird that is mostly seen on the ground level of forests or under dense undergrowth, foraging on insects and small invertebrates in leaf litter. It has long, strong legs, a very short tail and stout bill, with a buff coloured crown stripe, black coronal stripes, a thick black eye stripe and white throat and neck. The upperparts are green, with a blue tail, the underparts buff, with bright red on the lower belly and vent. The orange or brownish-orange beak has a black tip. Its legs and feet are pink and the nails are brown.

Normally it breeds in the sub-himalayan region but migrates to warmer areas in South India and Sri-Lanka during the winters. Being a slow flier, it normally gets fatigued or exhausted when it reaches its destination in the south. .

The name Pitta is derived from Telegu which means a small bird and is also referred in Tamil as Arumani kuruvi which means 6 ‘o clock bird as it is best seen then.

Location courtesy : Arvind Syal.

Coppersmith Barbet

Even though Coppersmith  Barbet is only a tiny bird measuring between 15 cm. to 18 cm. and weighing between 30 to 50 g. , its robust and loud  ‘tuk-tuk-tuk’  sound  can lead you to the branches of the cluster fig tree that it loves to perch on. The bird gets its name from its distinctive call which resembles the sound that a coppersmith makes by beating sheets of copper with a mallet. The  coppersmith barbet makes the sound which is monotonous  but varies in loudness and tempo  by inflating a patch of bare skin on both sides of its throat while the  beak remains shut. Locally it is called chhota vasant and even tuktukiya.

Resident of Indian-subcontinent and other South Asian countries, it is a pretty colourful  bird with its distinctive red cap and red throat. Its body is leaf-green  which helps it to  camouflage itself successfully. It has  yellow patches above and below the eye. Both males and females look alike but juveniles are duller in colour with red colour missing.It has a large head with a stout and dark beak as a robust feature that it employs to peck holes in trees where it nests. Its beak is  bordered with conspicuous bristles. The tail is , however, short and triangular, which is observed as distinctively  truncated when it is in flight. However, the bird hardly comes to the ground.

Found in deciduous forests, open woodlands, countries with thickets, urban parks and in mangroves’ edges , Coppersmith Barbets like to live either alone or in pairs. However, large groups could be seen on fruit trees  for feeding purpose only.

Coppersmith Barbet feeds on various fruits such as figs, berries and mangoes and petals of flowers, but occasionally, it also consumes small insects. On average, they need to eat  about three times their own body weight daily.

Coppersmith Barbet is smallest one in the barbet family that in the region includes the Great Barbet, the Brown-headed Barbet and the Blue-throated Barbet.

The pictures were clicked in Thappli Forest Area (Haryana) on 15^th June 2017.

Do birds recognize human faces?

Do birds recognize human faces?

Experts have been pondering on this question for quite some time and numerous studies and experiments have been conducted over the years.  Research has suggested that some birds indeed do know who their human friends are, as they are able to recognize people's faces and differentiate between human voices.

Two major studies were conducted separately by University of Lincoln and the University of Vienna on pigeons and crows. The research on pigeons pointed out that pigeons can reliably differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar faces. They rely on facial features to discriminate people apart.

Research published in Avian Biology Research shows that pigeons can reliably discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar humans, and that they use facial features to tell people apart.

Lincoln's lead researcher on the project, Dr Anna Wilkinson, from the School of Life states, "Such advanced cognitive processes have rarely been observed in pigeons and suggest that they not only recognize individual humans but also know who they know -- something which could be very important for survival. Some humans feed pigeons, others chase them”.   The bird’s survival perhaps depends on its able to identify a friend or potential foe.

In the other study, published in the journal Animal Cognition, the team inferred that the crows respond significantly more often to unfamiliar than familiar human.  The research points out the evidence that birds can discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar individuals using auditory stimuli.

Christine Stracey, a researcher from the University of Florida has been invading the mocking birds' nests in her neighborhood, counting eggs and banding chicks for a research project. Over time, she noticed that the birds were getting aggressive with her: They would squawk and swoop toward her as soon as they saw her coming.  While they reacted for Stracey whenever she approached them, they ignored passersby and even gardeners working right beneath their nests. "By the end of the summer, I was absolutely convinced that the birds knew me and did not like me!" she says.

Ask any parrot owner, a parrot knows the difference between the owner and a stranger.  Parrots respond quickly to owners while they shy away from strangers.

John Fitzpatrick, an ornithologist at Cornell University says “It's amazing what a bird brain can do." He says there is subtle interplay between the natural and human world. Most people assume that birds are minding their own business, he says, when in reality they are quite in tune with the people passing by.

I have been frequenting the Thappli forest area in Haryana. On a particular tree, I spotted a spotted owlet.  For the first few days, on seeing me, the owlet would either fly away or hide itself behind the branches. It was difficult to click it. However, days passed and I continued to frequent the area. Every time I stopped near the tree and looked for the owlet. Now the owlet does not fly away or hide itself. Rather it would make familiar sounds to perhaps tell me where it is. I have clicked numerous photographs of the bird to my heart’s content. On any particular day, if I do not stop near the tree, the owlet would swap its wings perhaps to remind me why I am ignoring it. Perhaps, some bonding has been achieved.

The cognitive behavior of the birds and their ability to identify human faces and voices provides a useful tip for bird photographers. Give some space to the birds that they intend to click so that they get familiarize with you and conclude that you are a friend and not a foe. Once they are comfortable with you, I assure you they will give you a perfect pose. Patience is perhaps the most important ingredient to bird photography.