Wild Bird Wednesday 731 - Rainbow Bee-Eater

I've just come back from a trip to walk the Jatbula Trail in the Northern Territory.  I had a single day (well, long morning really) around Darwin prior to the walk and was able to see a number of northern species, that I don't generally see in Victoria.  When I retired late in 2022 I decided to 'blank' my bird list and start again, as retirement felt (and still feels) like the start of a new life!  So over 30 'new' birds were added to my list that morning!

The Rainbow Bee-Eater (Merops ornatus) does occur in Victoria, but only during the summer and even then I would have to actively seek it out.  So it was pleasing to have a number of encounters with this colourful species.

The Rainbow Bee-Eater is Australia's only Bee-eater, so with its distinctive behaviour, shape and colour it is pretty easy to identify.  I think the most distinctive thing about this species - at least when seen at a distance - is its nearly triangular wing shape.  I can't help but think it looks a bit like a paper plane, although such descriptions never make it into the bird guides.

The Rainbow Bee-Eater has a wing span of about 100mm, and despite its name generally shows as being green in colour.  It has a distinct eye stripe, and adults have a clear black band on the 'neck' called a gorget.

As their name suggests, they feed mainly on insects which they catch on the wing.  None of the birds I saw on this trip was polite enough to catch any insects when they were in camera range, but this one did sit nicely on some sticks!

It always surprises me that these birds nest in holes in the ground rather than in trees.  

Wonderful birds.

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Wild Bird Wednesday 730 - Garganey

One of the things that surprised me during my recent trip was seeing a  number of birds that I recognised.  These species included ducks, waders, birds of prey, and some wagtails.  New species outnumbered familiar ones many times over, but seeing some old friends that don't make it to Australia was rather good value.

One of the duck species that I saw was the Garganey (Spatula querquedula).  This is not an easy bird to see in either the UK or Australia so I was pleased to bump into some at the Bharatpur bird sanctuary - or the Keoladeo National Park as it is now formally known - in the state of Rajasthan.

This species was once considered to be very closely related to the familiar Mallard - but (and this is a recouping theme in this blog), more detailed study has revealed that this is not the case, and the species was reclassified into a genus that contains species such as the Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata).

Garganey are reasonably small ducks - smaller than Mallard - and the males have a very distinctive white stripe behind the eye.The females of this species lack this clear feature, but still have a clear head pattern.  The Garganey is a widespread and common winter visitor to India.

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

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Wild Bird Wednesday 729 - Purple Heron

The Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) is a large but rather slim looking heron.  It is rather more colourful than the Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) which is the 'default' heron for much of Europe.  In adult plumage, and with decent views, this difference in colour is easily seen in the field.

As a pleasant surprise, that 'scientific name' of this species and the common name agree, with the full translation (if that is the correct term) of the scientific name meaning 'heron coloured purple'.

All of the sources I have consulted suggest that the Purple Heron is rather shy and likely to prefer dense vegetation to open spaces.  Maybe this individual has not read the same books as I have.

From bill tip to tail this species is just under 90cm long, but it rarely weighs more than 1.3kg.  I think this long, thin structure is shown well by at least one of these shots.

These pictures were taken in Northern India, although this species can be found through out much of India.

As ever to join in with WBW, click on the link below.  When this post publishes I will be half way through a remote walk in the Northern Territory, so I won't be able to view blogs or comments straight away.

Cheers  SM

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Wild Bird Wednesday 728 - Chestnut-Bellied Nuthatch

There are 29 species of Nuthatch in the world, all of which are classified as being in the genus Sitta.  As a kid, I always though seeing a Nuthatch was a great thing - and the species I saw in the UK would have been the Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea), although I would have never used the first part of that name.

It was just a Nuthatch.  I remember ringing / banding one in a country park in the North East of England, and that day was a bit of a highlight.   You may be able to tell that I am rather fond of this sort of bird.

As a result, I think that seeing new 'versions' of birds that I really like excites me even more than seeing completely new species.

So, when I was in India I was very pleased to meet the Chestnut-Bellied Nuthatch (Sitta cinnamoventris).  This is by no means an uncommon bird in India and it is found in subtropical or tropical forest and in montane and lowland forests.  The familiar structure of the bird - and its even more characteristic behaviour marked this bird out as a nuthatch even before I worked out which species it was.

Nuthatches behave a lot like woodpeckers, but they are not closely related to them.  In fact Nuthatches have the classic songbird 3 forward, 1 backwards toe  arrangement that is found in songbirds.  Woodpeckers have a 2 and 2 argument of toes.

This bird came into feeding station in from of a hide and give excellent views - most other views I had of nuthatches in India were rather more distance and often in the tops of trees.

All in all, this is an excellent bird!

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

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Wild Bird Wednesday 727 - Kalij Pheasant

The Kalij Pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos) is a pheasant found in forests and wooded areas, in the Himalayan foothills, from Nepal, Pakistan to western Thailand. 

Males are rather variable depending on the subspecies involved, but all have at least partially glossy bluish-black plumage, while females are overall brownish.  These birds seem to be of the sub-species that are known as the White-Crested Kalij Pheasant (for reasonably obvious reasons!)

If people are familiar with the more common (and widely introduced) Common or Ring Necked pheasants, these birds are just a little larger, but seem no wiser!

The first birds we found - the ones on the stone pile - were photographed in early morning light through a dirty window!

Remarkable birds.

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Passing Clouds at The Prom.

I arrived at the top of cloud covered Mount Oberon earlier this week and watched as the clouds changed and passed, opening up wonderful views back over Tidal River and beyond.

These are three of the pictures I took as I sipped my tea and drank in the views.

Cheers - Stewart M