Bird Watching - House Sparrow

House Sparrow

House Sparrow is one of most widespread  and abundant bird in cities, neighborhoods and farms.

Local Names

Hindi - Gauriya
Malayalam - Narayana pakshi, Angadi Kuruvi

Tamil - Ur kuruvi, Adaikalang Kuruvi

The male and female are easily distinguishable, not in size but in coloration. 

Male with grey crown, black lores and around eyes, chestnut on back. White shoulder patch on rufous wing. tail dark brown.
Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey.

I think I spot the male one. It was hopping on ground rather than walking. later I learned that its a characteristic of this bird, :) By the time I took my camera out it was about to leave,  I must say that getting good pictures of these beautiful creatures is not so easy... it need more patience and experience.

Interesting facts about House Sparrow is
It is Often found in the neighborhood of towns and villages, a confirmed hanger-on of man.
House Sparrows eat grains, insects, fruit buds, seeds, flower nectar and kitchen scraps.
Nest - Usually in an enclosed niche a hole in ceiling, niche in wall, inverted lamp shade, cavity in tree, rain gutter, birdhouse, nests of other birds. Nest (built by both parents) is made of material such as grass, a collection of straw, rubbish and feathers.
Eggs - Pale greenish white, stippled and blotched with brown
Both parents feed the nestlings. Young leave nest about 2 weeks after hatching.

 Pictures:

TVH Taus, Chennai (2020)

Bird Watching- Red Vented Bulbul

Red-Vented Bulbul

The red-vented bulbul is easily identified by its short crest giving the head a squarish appearance. The body is dark brown with a scaly pattern while the head is darker or black. A conspicuous crimson patch below root of the tail, and a white rump, the last particularly noticeable in flight. 

Local names

Hindi - Kala bulbul, Bulbuli, Guldum

Tamil - Kondanchiradi, Kondai kuruvi

Malayalam - Nattu bulbul

This beautiful bird visited my garden last week just for a few seconds, this is the best i could capture in this short span. 

It is always interesting to know more about the birds you see in your neighborhood.

THE BOOK OF INDIAN BIRDS by Salim Ali, is my guide to the name of these beautiful creatures, then searching the internet to know more about them. 

Some of the common facts i learned about the Red-vented bulbuls  is they feed on fruits, petals of flowers, nectar and insects .

The eggs are pale-pinkish with spots of darker red more dense at the broad end. The eggs hatch after about 14 days. Both parents feed the chicks

The red-vented bulbul was among the first animals other than humans that was found to be incapable of synthesizing vitamin C. However a large number of birds were later found to likewise lack the ability to synthesize vitamin C.

 Pictures:

Chettikulangara, Kerala (2019)

TVH Taus, Chennai (2020)

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Bird Watching - Spotted Munia

Spotted Munia

As the name suggest, this beautiful bird is recognized by the distinct scale-like feather markings on the breast and belly. The adult is brown above and has a dark conical bill. Back of the bird and the wings are having reddish brown color, Near the throat and around the beak the color is much brighter then the back.

Local Names: Telia Munia, seenabaz (Hindi)
                    Chuttiatta (Malayalam)
                    Nellu Kuruvi, Tinna Kuruvi (Tamil)

Spotted Munia is a small bird of around 11cm with a big head, a large conical bill, and the striking brown ‘scale' pattern on a white breast and flanks, which gives it its unusual name. Its upper parts are a plain brown, the rump often has a greyish tinge and the face and throat is a lovely chocolate brown. They have a seed diet and their conical beaks and thick tongues help in de-husking seeds from heads of grass. (“Birds of Western Ghats, Konkan and Malabar” -Satish Pande)

I am enjoying the sight of Munia in our garden nowadays. Its lock down time for the rest of the world and the birds are happily enjoying their freedom. :)

It is such a joy to watch them building their nest. it took more than a week for this tiny creature to built its nest, flying briskly to pick the materials and fly back in seconds, working non stop for hours. it was a pleasure watching them. 

I was so excited with all the bird activity around and got some nice pictures.

The lovely, intricate, lacy pattern of feathers is so beautiful, but the bird is extremely restless and for that reason it was very difficult to capture it..

Luckily they were on the mission of building their nest, so i could observe them and had more chances to try my luck on getting the perfect  picture.

 Pictures:

TVH Taus, Chennai (2020)