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!

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Wild Bird Wednesday 717 - Grey Francolin

The Grey Francolin (Ortygornis pondicerianus) is a bird the resembles a partridge, and has a convoluted and difficult taxonomic history.  Many studies have been made of the relationship of species of Francolin  to each other and to other 'game birds'.  It's probably beyond the scope of this post, and definitely outside the scope of my understanding to clearly explain this aspect of Grey Francolin's biology!

The Grey Francolin is a medium-sized Francolin, with males averaging around 30 cm and females being a little smaller, it is barred throughout and the face is pale with a thin, black border to the pale throat. 

The Grey Francolin is a ground dwelling bird and is normally found in bare or low grass-covered areas of scrub and open country.  The Grey Francolin is widespread in south Asia.  The majority of times I saw this birds in India, they were feeding in the vegetation by the sides of roads.  Of course, those observations are biased by the fact we spent a lot of time birding from vehicles!  But it was clear that this species seemed to like open, sparse areas.

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Wild Bird Wednesday 716 - Ibisbill

The Ibisbill (Ibidorhyncha struthersii) is a form of wader with a rather uncertain set of relationships to other wading birds.  It has a huge range, covering the high plateaux of central Asia and the Himalayas where it can be found on shingle riverbanks.  The Ibisbill breeds across southern Central Asia along these stony riverbeds typically between 1,700 and 4,400 m.  They are a rare breeding bird in India.

It is rare in India, and we were fortunate to get great views of a single bird.  As can be seen from the pictures (and this is noted in many field guides) that this bird is both striking and extremely well camouflaged.  It does not take much distance to be put between you and this bird before it simply blends into the rocky rivers on which it lives, and basically disappear from view.  I am even tempted to think that the dark chest band has evolved to mimic the dark shadows that form around the edges of the rocks in its habitat.

For all its rarity, this bird was feeding directly across the river from a group of women who were washing clothes.  It was only a far more intrusive group of bird watchers who seemed to elevate its stress levels a little (but not elevate them too much I hope)

The Ibisbill is about 38–41 cm long and is quite unmistakable given both its appearance and its choice of habitat. The adult is grey with a white belly, a crimson, long down-curved bill, a black face and a black breast band. The sexes are similar.

This species feeds on aquatic invertebrates and we watched it probing for food and turning over small rocks and pebbles.

In the way it behaved, it sort of looked like a wader trying to be a Dipper!  

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Mammals on Monday 16 - Five-Striped Palm Squirrel

The Five-Striped or Northern Palm Squirrel (Funambulus pennantii) is an abundant small rodent found in the Northern areas of India.  I suspect we saw it almost every day during my recent trip.  

Those lucky few (!) who have traveled with me in areas that posses squirrels will already know that I am very fond of then, even when they are abundant.  So it will be know surprise to find out that I really enjoyed watching them, and was even distracted by them when other, somewhat rarer wildlife was about!

The Five-Striped Palm Squirrel are typically 225 to 400mm long (including their tail) and weigh between  60 and 200g. They are excellent climbers and in a should be described as deeply good value!

Strangely, I have just discovered that there are some feral populations of this species in Australia, and are considered a pest here as a result.

Hope all is well, and may your week be filled with squirrels!

SM

Wild Bird Wednesday 715 - Red-Billed Blue Magpie

To say that the Red-Billed Blue Magpie (Urocissa erythroryncha) is a spectacular bird is a bit on an understatement.

The head, neck, and chest are black with blue and white spotting on the crown. The shoulders and rump are a duller violet-blue, and the underparts are a greyish cream. The long tail is a brighter violet-blue with a broad, white tip. The bill is a bright orange-red, as are the legs and feet.

The body of the bird is about the same size as an Eurasian Magpie - but has a significantly longer tail.  This species is found in a broad area of Northern India, and extends into South East Asia and China.

These individuals - which provided the best opportunity to photograph this species during my Indian trip - were seen from the hide at the Birders Den in Sattal in Uttarakhand.

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Cheers and best wishes to all of you.  SM

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