Anu Kusumakar Kadri

Tag: Bangalore birding

  • Leafbirds in India Jerdon’s leaf bird

    The leafbirds (Chloropseidae) are a family of small passerine bird species found in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. As presently defined, the leafbird family is monogeneric, with all species placed in the genus Chloropsis.

    leafbirds are brightly plumaged, with the predominant green over the body giving rise to their common name. The family is mostly sexually dimorphic in their plumage, this can vary from the highly dimorphic orange-bellied leafbird to the Philippine leafbird, which exhibits no sexual dimorphism. Most of the differences between the sexes are in the extent of the other colours in the plumage, particularly in the colours around the head and the blue or black face mask, with females have less colour and a less extensive (or absent) mask. Some species have blue on the wings and tail. The plumage of juvenile birds is a duller version of the female’s.

    Most are restricted to evergreen forests except the golden-fronted leafbird and Jerdon’s leafbird which live in deciduous monsoon forests, and the orange-bellied leafbird, which occurs in deciduous forests. Within this requirement, they occupy all broadleaf forest types in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. 

    To human ears, their songs are melodious, and several species are good mimics. The calls include whistles and chatters.
    Leafbirds are always found in trees and shrubs.

    They feed on fruits, insects and even nectar.

    Jerdon’s leaf bird male – PC Devadatha Kumar SR

    There are four species of leafbirds (also known as chloropsis) found in India and they never fail to enthral a birder. Each of them is largely green, slender in build, with a medium-length tail and the habit of dwelling in the top or mid-canopy.

    *The Orange-bellied Leafbird Chloropsis hardwickii is restricted to the lower and middle Himalayas.
    *The Blue-winged Leafbird Chloropsis cochinchinensis is found in the North-eastern lowlands (and further up in the Cachar Hills as well), while the very similar (and recently split from Blue-winged). 
    *Jerdon’s Leafbird Chloropsis jerdoni is found throughout much of the peninsula.
    *The Golden-fronted Leafbird Chloropsis aurifrons is widespread across the entire region, overlapping in range with all the other subcontinental leafbirds.

    Jerdon’s leaf bird male – PC Devadatha Kumar SR

    Calls

    All leafbirds may sounds extremely similar to the untrained ear. Most calls are a mixture of harsh and sweet notes with some differences in quality. Leafbirds are also excellent mimics and often have an impressive repertoire of sounds that may cause confusion amongst several birders!

    Jerdon’s leaf bird male – PC Devadatha Kumar SR

    Jerdon’s leafbird (Chloropsis jerdoni) is a species of leafbird found in forest and woodland in India and Sri Lanka. Its name honours Thomas C. Jerdon. It has traditionally been considered a subspecies of the blue-winged leafbird (C. cochinchinensis), but differ in measurements and morphology, it lacking the blue flight feathers for which the blue-winged leafbird was named.

    • PC Devadatha Kumar SR
    • PC Devadatha Kumar SR
    • PC Devadatha Kumar SR

    It builds its nest in a tree, and lays 2–3 eggs. This species eats insects, fruit and nectar.

    Jerdon’s leaf bird male – PC Devadatha Kumar SR

    The male is green-bodied with a yellow-tinged head, black face and throat. It has a blue moustachial line.

    Jerdon’s leaf bird female – PC. Devadatha Kumar SR

    The female differs in that it has a greener head and blue throat.

    Jerdon’s leaf bird juvenile- PC. Devadatha Kumar SR

    young birds are like the female but without the blue throat patch.

    Like other leafbirds, the call of Jerdon’s leafbird consists of a rich mixture of imitations of the calls of various other species of birds.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leafbird
    Ramit Singal
    https://birdcount.in/leafbirds/

    Birds of the Indian Subcontinent Grimmett *Inskipp*Inskipp

    Devadatha Kumar SR photography – facebook.com/dath36

  • Into the wild life of Amandava amandava

    • Male Amandava Bird
    • Female Amandava Bird
    Photo Courtesy: Devadatha Kumar SR

    This beautiful bird is Red Avadavat, a sparrow sized bird, native to South East Asia. Often kept as a cage bird. The name Amandava or Avadavat are derived from the city of Ahamadabad in Gujarat, India.

    My encountering these birds, and all my observations are purely from the wild and each film recording spontaneous, directly from nature during 2017 – 2020 in my Sunday birding trips in outskirts of Bangalore.

    To make this article more distinct and meticulous, i will be adding Photographs clicked and shared by my batch mate and birding guide, Mr Devadatha Kumar SR. Again, all these photos are captured in the wild nature, outskirts of Bangalore.



    Calling of Red Avadavat- mind blowing….

    In 2017 when i started birding, i asumed like many other birders, that male Amandava is only in scarlet colour, later now i know that it changes plumage in different stages.

    • Male and Female at non breeding stage
    • Female at non breeding stage
    • Male at molting stage
    • Male at Breeding plumage
    Photos courtesy: Mr Devadatha Kumar SR

    It is very interesting to learn and observe these birds.

    A brief introduction about this bird:
    Amandava – It is also called by many other names. Red Avadavat,Tiger Finch, Amandavade, Red waxbill Avadavat, Indian Strawberry, Scarlet Amandava, Avadavat red Munia, Estrilda Amandava.

    Origin of this Bird:
    They are native to South East Asia
    Their natural range stretches from the Indus Valley of Pakistan to the plains of the Brahmaputra extending south to the peninsula of India.

    Red Avadavat are about 3-4 inches in length. Average wingspan is around 49 mm.

    Red Avadavat at breeding plumage.

    Both male and females moult into breeding plumage each year. During the breeding season, males have a deep red crown and back and there are white streaks under the eyes. The sides of the head, down the breast and the undersides are scarlet. The wings tail or feathers and flanks are dark red with white spots. The tail feathers are black. The beaks of the males are red. When females go into the breeding season, the often moult and the chest and the underbelly becomes brighter yellow orange.

    Courtship, Male inviting female with the feather and acceptance from female.
    Lovely ????

    At the end of the breeding season males begin to moult to plumage that resembles the a coloration of females. The colour of the underbelly ranges from a creamy tan to creamy yellow and there are black streaks under the eyes. The crown, back wings and tail are dark brown with fewer white spots than male in breeding season.

    Juveniles of their species are dull- greyish brown all over. This is the first moult from the nesting stage. Nestlings are marked by dark skin down and have markings around the mouth.

    They habitat in open bush, sugarcane fields, open woodlands, tall and grassy areas alongside bodies of water, edges of cultivation.

    Flocks of Red Avadavat Munia birds under morning sunshine.


    Photos courtesy: Mr Devadatha Kumar SR

    They feed on variety of food sources. They are known mainly as ground feeders. Plant diet includes seeds, grains, nuts, millets. These are omnivorous. Feeds on insects too. When feeding young, they prefer larvae and pupae, centipedes and caterpillars

    Red Avadavat Munia bird flocks together, eat together. Happy hours.
    These were very precious moments of my life too? Loved them watching them enjoying having fun.

    Red Avadavat are monogamous species within a breeding season. They breed once a year. Breeding can occur from January to April. They lay 4 to 6 eggs. Average time for hatching is 11 days. Average fledging age is 20 days.

    • Female at breeding plumage
    • Male with a nesting material
    Photos courtesy: Mr Devadatha Kumar SR

    Male Red Avadavat use their bright red plumage in addition to mating dance to attract females. The grass stem or feathers in their mouth, deeply bowing with feathers erect. Both male and female display. When the birds have paired, they separate from the larger group to build a nest.

    Male and female nesting behaviour, building a family

    I am Bird watcher, and I’m birding on sundays, what I observed is that as urbanaization taking place rapidly, we are loosing the green patches drastically. Comparatively numbers of birds species have reduced. As lakes around the Bangalore are drying, and land encroachment is increasing rapidly.

    I feel sad that what all these birds I saw within 40-50 Kms distance are no longer there. All the lake beds have turned into housing layouts and high rise buildings. All the natural vegetation have become concrete parks. Only artificial flowers are to be seen.

    All my records of them have been saved in my YouTube channel. If you’re interested to see still more , please check my YouTube channel, and contact me for feedback.

    Follow Devadatha at https://www.facebook.com/dath36

    Information Source : Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_avadavat