Wild Bird Wednesday 721 - Grey Treepie

To continue my celebration of all grey, this week's bird in the Grey Treepie (Dendrocitta formosae).  As far as I can tell, the second part of the common name of this bird is pronounced 'Tree-pea' not 'Tree-pie'.

The Grey Treepie is a member of the crow family. The species is widely distributed along the foothills of the Himalayas in the Indian subcontinent and extends into much of South-East Asia, as well as Nepal, southern mainland China, and Taiwan. 

Fitting this distribution perfectly, this bird was seen on the lower slopes of the Himalayas in the state of Uttarakhand.  This wonderful birding location is about 6 hours East and North of Delhi, not that far from the Western boarder of Nepal.

This bird is about 36-40 cm long and is described 'as the dullest of the treepies'. Now this may be true, but it does seem to underplay this rather splendid bird.

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Cheers  SM

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Wild Bird Wednesday 720 - Indian Grey Hornbill

The Indian Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros birostris) can be seen over much of India, as well as parts of Pakistan and Bangladesh.

There harsh voices, described as a series of short “kek-kek-kek” calls when flying and a squealing, high-pitched “kieeeeu” when perched, were a common part of the sound scape of my Indian trip.

The most prominent feature of this species is the horn or casque which form part of the beak and gives this type of bird its name.

The Indian Grey Hornbill is a medium-sized hornbill, measuring around 61 cm in length, the sexes are similar in size and build, although females have a less prominent horn.

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Hope all is well, cheers  SM.

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Mammals On Monday 18 - Indian Grey Mongoose

The Indian Grey Mongoose (Urva edwardsii) is a mongoose species found throughout the Indian subcontinent and much of West Asia. 

The Indian Grey Mongoose can be found in open forests, scrublands and cultivated fields. It can also be found close to settled areas, where its rat hunting ability is appreciated. It lives in burrows, hedgerows and thickets, among groves of trees, and takes shelter under rocks or bushes. It is reputed to be bold and inquisitive but can also be rather wary, seldom venturing far from cover. It is an excellent climber and usually lives singly or in pairs. Its diet famously includes snakes, but they with also take rodents, birds' eggs and hatchlings, lizards and a range of invertebrates.  Basically, if it is the correct size a mongoose will eat it.

These two animals (I never got a decent shot of both of them together) were moving along a river bank in the Ranthambore National Park.  They were very fast moving, and if ever an animal could be said to flow along, it was this species.

The body of the Indian Grey Mongoose is about 36 to 45 cm long, and the tail is a similar length.

Given that their diet includes snakes, it is no surprise to find out that they are immune or at least resistant to snake venom.

Just like the Gray Langurs last week, tail maintenance seems to be an important aspect of this animals life!

Hope all is well.  Cheers  SM.

Wild Bird Wednesday 719 - Common Kingfisher

One of the unexpected highlights of my recent Indian trip was catching up with a number of birds  that were familiar to me from the UK but are absent from Australia.

One of these birds was the Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis).  This is the species of kingfisher that I saw (not that frequently) in the UK.  

It's a wide spread species, with its range covering all of Europe, large parts of Asia and the Middle East and even extending into North Africa.  

Its high pitched call and lightning blue flight make a distinctive species.  As a kid I used to delight in seeing them - often around the 14th Century Bishop's Palace Moat in Wells, Somerset.  Seeing this species in the busy area around an Indian  national park visitors centre was a bit of a contrast!

This species has the typical short-tailed, dumpy-bodied, large-headed, and long-billed shape of many other kingfishers.  Fully grown adults are about 16 cm long with a wingspan of 25 cm.  Males have an all black beak, while the beak of the female is orange below.  (First image is a male bird, all others are a female)

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Cheers, SM

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Mammals on Monday 17 - Gray Langur

The Gray Langur (Semnopithecus entellus) is the most widespread of all the Langur species found in India.  In what is becoming a predictable theme, the classification of all of the types of Langur found in India is highly complex, apparently changeable almost by the day, and deeply confusing!

The Gray Langur found across northern and central India. They are highly adaptable, living in forests, dry grasslands, and even cities. 

The fur of adults is mostly light coloured, with darker fur on the back and limbs, and the face, ears, hands and feet are all black. Very young individuals are brown. Body size excluding the very impressive tail varies from about 45 cm to 78 cm.  The tail length varies between 80 and 110 cm (44.0 in). Adult males are generally larger than the females.  This species tends to live in groups, with groups sizes in excess of 100 often being found. 

The Gray Langur can often be found with Chital Deer.  Both species seem to benefit from the vigilance of the other in detecting predators.  I first saw this species in Ranthambore National Park, where tigers are a distinct risk to both species!

I'm rather fond of the sequence of images showing an individual, presumably a female, involved in a bit of tail maintenance! 

Hope all is well.  SM

Wild Bird Wednesday 718 - Asian Green Bee-Eater

The Asian Green Bee-Eater (Merops orientalis) is a widespread Bee-eater that occurs over a wide area of Asia, and can be found in all areas of India.  These birds were part of a group of about 20 birds that had congregated in a tree next to a service station on a main road!  The views of the bids were excellent, although the birds were not very active.  I think most of them were have a big of a wash and brush up before starting the days business!

Asian Green Bee-Eater is a slender, richly coloured bird. It is between 16–18 centimetres long excluding the elongated central tail-feathers, which adds about 7 cm to the total length of the bird.  Unsurprisingly, the plumage is bright green, tinged with blue especially on the chin and throat, while the crown and upper back are tinged with golden rufous.  Like other bee-eaters, they are a gorgeous looking bird.

Later in my India trip I had great, but distant views of this species hunting for insects.  Unfortunately, those views did not yield any decent pictures!

I rather like the picture that shows both birds looking skyward.  I think it shows that while preening was the main task, breakfast was not far away!

As ever, to join in with WBW click on the link below.  Cheers  SM

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