Mysore/Mysuru: Tomorrow is World Sparrow Day-2020. It is a day for the house sparrow — to convey the message of conservation of sparrows and other common birds and also is a day of celebration to appreciate the beauty of the common biodiversity which we take so much for granted. The house sparrow was once the…
By Ragoo Rao, Ethologist Next time you go out birding, watch for Pelicans, the pirates. They may not brandish knives, cutlasses, ropes or guzzle liquor. But they’re out there, lounging in the leafy shade or plying the winds, just waiting to pounce on passing treasures. Piracy or ‘kleptoparasitism’ — to use the technical term —…
Oriental White Eye (Zosterops Palpebrosus) is a tiny greenish yellow bird with a prominent white ring around its eye, thus gaining its name. These are generally seen in a flock of five or more birds actively hunting for tiny insects on the shrubs, bushes and foliage of trees. They subsist largely on flower nectar and…
The Pied Kingfisher – Ceryle rudis, as it is called in Ornithology, is a Real King of all the Kingfishers. As the name suggests, Kingfishers are masters at hunting fish. There are in all about 90 species of Kingfishers, out of which 12 are found in India and 8 are found in South India and…
This is an Intermediate Egret – Mesophoyx intermedia, a member of the Ardeidae family of Egrets. The bird is in breeding plumage, with flowing Mantle Plumes. The Feathery Plumes give it the name Egret — “Aigrettes” meaning flowing soft feathers in French and Old English. These birds were hunted down in this plumage, to get…
These are Malabar Pied Hornbills – Anthracoceros coronatus — One of the ten Horn-bill species of the country, captured at Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, a birdwatchers paradise in Uttara Kannada district, by one of SOM readers Naveen Raja from Vidyashankar Nagar, Mysuru. Large birds with disproportionately large beaks with a Cascade over the beak, hence the…
A pair of Red Avadavat, also known as Red Munia or Strawberry Finch (Amandava Amandava), seen fighting for a feather. This moment was captured by city lensman G.S. Ravishankar near the Outer Ring Road in Mysuru.
By Ragoo Rao, Ethologist Bird-brained. Calling someone bird-brained is an insult as it refers to the person as a dunce or a dimwit. The size of the brain of birds is likened to the brains of a dimwit. This might have been true until now as we were ignorant of the capabilities of small-brained birds….
By Ragoo Rao, Ethologist The Purple Swamp Hen is a large water hen with a distinctive heavy red bill and forehead shield. It has red eyes and a deep blue head and breast with black upper parts and wings. In bright sunlight the plumage shines with an intense blue sheen. These birds use a variety…
Pelicans are large squat birds of the water bodies. Of the three Species of Pelicans in the Indian Region, the Great White Pelican – Pelicanus onocotalus; The Dalmatian Pelican – Pelicanus crispus, and the third Spot-billed Pelican – Pelicanus philippensis, the third Spot-billed Pelican – Pelicanus philippensis, is the most widespread resident bird. It is…
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