Some more Birding..

Only these 2 can give me precise info about the birds I’ve recently spotted through my camera lens, Dr. Ajay Pradhan & Wikipedia.  And this is what I’ve learnt the second time around…

The Greater Coucal or the Crow Pheasant (Centropus sinensis) is a non-parasitic member of the cuckoo order,  the Cuculiformes. It is a widespread resident in India.

The Coucal or the Crow Pheasant is colloquially referred to as the Bharadwaj bird or Kumbhar kaola in Marathi.  There are mainly too varieties- The Greater & the Lesser, informs Dr. Ajay  and what I’ve clicked here is the Greater Coucal. It is considered lucky to have spotted one!

With a purplish black body and rust coloured wings it is a large bird at 48 cm. The play of sunlight on its wings when in flight makes it appear golden! An extremely handsome bird it is.

This pair is the Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oriolus Oriolus). As the name clearly suggests, these birds are found in Europe and Asia except for the northern regions. Mostly flying in pairs, the female of the couple (seen to your left) is recognized by the greenish-yellow coloration on the chest. The male has black coloration under the wings, between the eyes and on the yellow bill.

These migratory birds return to Eurasia by March.

The call is a screech like a  jay, but the song is a beautiful fluting weela-wee-ooo or or-iii-ole, unmistakable once heard.

The Small Minivet, Pericrocotus cinnamomeus is found in tropical southern Asia. The Small Minivet is 16 cm long with a strong dark beak and long wings. The Small Minivet feeds on insects, forms small flocks and its call is a high, thin swee swee swee.

Quite a handsome bird this little male is with its chest fading from a bright red down to yellow and white.