Oriental Magpie-Robin
Oriental Magpie-Robins are distinctive black and white birds with a long
tail that is held upright as they forage on the ground or perch
conspicuously. They are common birds in urban gardens as well as
forests.
The oriental magpie-robin is the national bird of
Bangladesh.
Local Names : Dhaiyal(Hindi)
Mannathipullu (Malayalam)
The male has black upperparts, head and throat apart from a white
shoulder patch. The underparts and the sides of the long tail are white.
Females are greyish black above and greyish white. Young birds have scaly
brown upperparts and head. It is mostly seen close to the ground, hopping
along branches.
The diet of magpie robins includes mainly insects and other
invertebrates. Although mainly insectivorous, they are known to
occasionally take flower nectar, centipedes and even fish.
They nest in tree hollows or niches in walls or building, They line the cavity with grass. The female is involved in most of the
nest building, which happens about a week before the eggs are laid. Four
or five eggs are laid at intervals of 24 hours and these are oval and
usually pale blue green with brownish speckles that match the color of
hay. The eggs are incubated by the female alone for 8 to 14 days.
Females spend more effort on feeding the young than males. Males spend
more time on nest defense.
References
The Book of Indian Birds (Salim Ali)
Wikipedia
Pictures:
Thoovampallil house, Chettikulangara, Kerala(2019)
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