Anu Kusumakar Kadri

Tag: birding trip

  • Yellow-wattled lapwing Vanellus malabaricus Endemic Bird Photos and notes.

    • Yellow-wattled lapwing Photo by Devadatha Kumar SR
    • Yellow-wattled lapwing Photo by Devadatha Kumar SR
    • Yellow-wattled lapwing Photo by Devadatha Kumar SR

    The yellow-wattled lapwing (Vanellus malabaricus) belongs to the family of plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, Charadriidae.

    The yellow-wattled lapwing species are distributed in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. These lapwing species are endemic to Indian subcontinent. These lapwings are monotypic species.

    Appearance, physical description and identification

    • Yellow-wattled lapwing Photo by Devadatha Kumar SR
    • Yellow-wattled lapwing Photo by Devadatha Kumar SR
    • Yellow-wattled lapwing Photo by Devadatha Kumar SR

    Appearance, physical description and identification
    The yellow-wattled lapwing (Vanellus malabaricus)
    is a medium-sized wader, measuring 25 to 30 cm in length and weighing 100 to 200 grams. The wingspan is 65 to 70 cm.

    • Yellow-wattled lapwing  Photo by Devadatha Kumar SR

    The yellow-wattled lapwing species have the characteristic, prominent triangular yellow facial wattles at the base of the bill and forehead. There is a black or brownish black crown, separated by a border of thin white band. Excited bird can raise crown feathers.

    In these lapwings, the neck and the upperparts are sandy brown. The rump and the tail are white. Excluding the outer tail feathers, there is a subterminal black band on the tail feathers. The breeding yellow-wattled lapwings have black patch on the chin and throat.

    Yellow-wattled lapwing Photo by Devadatha Kumar SR

    The flight feathers are black and there is a white wing bar on the inner half of the wing. The throat and the upper breast are buff brown. In breeding lapwings, the breast is separated from the white belly by a diffuse blackish band. The rest of the underparts are white.

    The lapwing bill is short and dark gray with yellowish base. The irises are pale brown. The long legs are yellow. The feet extend well beyond the tail while flying. These species do not have hind toes.k

    The juvenile wattled lapwing is a dull version of the adult. The wattle appears small and dull. The chin is white. The cap is pale brown with dark striation. The upperparts may have dark markings.

    The call of these yellow-wattled lapwing species is a descending “ke-oo..ke-oo”, a high pitched repeated “twit.twit.twit” or a sharp “tchee-it” sound.

    • Yellow-wattled lapwing Photo by Devadatha Kumar SR
    • Yellow-wattled lapwing Photo by Devadatha Kumar SR
    • Yellow-wattled lapwing Photo by Devadatha Kumar SR

    Diet and feeding behavior

    The diet of the yellow-wattled lapwing consists mainly of insects. Grasshoppers, crickets, locust, beetles, caterpillars, grubs, mantids, stick insects, spiders, macrobenthic fauna, macrophytes, cereals and grains are their primary food.

    The yellow-wattled lapwing species are mainly terrestrial birds and obligate visual foragers, catching prey from the surface of the ground or from low vegetative cover. The chicks feed on small insects, annelids, cereal, spiders, small frogs, millipedes and small toads.

    Reproduction and breeding habits

    The breeding season of these yellow-wattled lapwing species is from March to May in India. The laying season in Sri Lanka is from March to August. The breeding season is from April to June in Pakistan.

    During courtship, the yellow-wattled lapwing male produces high frequency notes with fully puffed breast. The female in the vicinity responds by repeated short calls. They make fly and dive display, which culminates in mating on the ground.

    These wattled lapwings are monogamous. The male selects the breeding site. The site is usually located on open sparsely vegetated ground in the vicinity of water body. Both the male and female build the nest. The nest is a slight depression on the ground.

    These wattled lapwings are monogamous. The male selects the breeding site. The site is usually located on open sparsely vegetated ground in the vicinity of water body. Both the male and female build the nest. The nest is a slight depression on the ground.

    The typical wattled lapwing clutch contains 3-4 eggs. The eggs are soil-brown with black and creamy blotches. Pebbles and soil balls are accumulated from nearby areas and placed in the nest to provide camouflage to the eggs.

    The yellow-wattled lapwing pair take turns to incubate the eggs for about 28 days. Though the eggs are laid with a difference of a few days, hatching is synchronous. The hatchlings are covered with brown black down feathers, providing perfect camouflage.

    The yellow-wattled lapwing hatchlings are nidifugous and leave the nest soon after hatching. The parents feed the chicks with small insects, spiders, millipedes and earthworms. Parental care goes on for nearly one month.

    The breeding yellow-wattled lapwing pair actively defends its territory from other birds. The parents distract the intruders away from the nest. They also defend their nest from stray dogs, shikra and crows. On warning call from parents, the chicks squat and freeze.

    The parent lapwings may soak their breast feathers at the watering hole and, returning to nest, brood to cool the eggs and chicks with water. A second brood may be raised, particularly when the first fails.

    Migration and movement patterns

    The yellow-wattled lapwing species are non-migratory resident birds. They make short distance movements in rainy season. The movement pattern is not clear.

    Watch video on Yellow-wattled lapwing Vanellus malabaricus in YouTube

    Reference links:

    1.Wikipedia : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-wattled_lapwing

    2. Indian birds : https://indianbirds.thedynamicnature.com/2017/08/yellow-wattled-lapwing-vanellus-malabaricus.html?m=1

    3. Photos courtesy : Devadattha Kumar SR https://m.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

  • My quest of Meeting Egyptian Vultures and expiscation of Haddina Kallu Hanumantharaya betta temple.

    My quest of Meeting Egyptian Vultures and expiscation of Haddina Kallu Hanumantharaya betta temple.

    Haddina Kallu Betta ( Eagle stone hill) view from the national highway 75.

    For many years,while traveling From Bangalore to Mangalore (my home town) my eyes would start searching for this huge Arch on the right side after crossing Yadiyur which is the entrance of Haddina kallu betta.

    I heard lots about Egyptian vultures dwelling in Haddina kallu Betta before I had seriously thought of birding, and wanted to see them myself. My birding friends had already visited those places and not keen on visiting again because of the distance to reach there and the amount of hardship to climb the steps-less hill with barefoot. ( you are not supposed to wear footwear because its a temple premisses)

    The urge of meeting the vultures encouraged me to drive a distance of about 100 Km away from Bangalore on my own, one fine Sunday along with my son and that was really an adventurous trip of my life.

    After crossing the flyover at Yediyur, we had to drive for about 7 KMs and look out the signage of “Byrasandra” on the left and for a lovely arch on to the right.

    Beautiful welcoming Arch on the highway, at the entrance

    Taking U-turn We entered  the village road.  A huge arch written “Haddina Kallu Hanumantharaya Swamy Temple”. A arch with figurines of Lord Hanuman and Lord Rama were sculpted on it welcomed you.
    The Byrasandra village was at a distance of four kilometers.
    Driving through the fields, you can see the hill from distance.
    The moment we entered the village road we were greeted by coppersmith barbet, magpie robin,  Indian roller red vented bulbul, Whiskered bulbul, prinia birds, Orange eyed babler, jungle babbler
    bush chats, pied bush chats, indian robin, Brahminy starling, Asian koel, eastern warbler, sunbirds, mynas, parakeet,
    capturing them on my camera and recording the video of them., took more than hour to reach the village.
    As we proceeded, we saw lots of painted storks, grey pelicans, redwattled lapwings, sandpipers, in either side of the road.
    Lush of greenery and vegetation is an ideal place for birds to breed as well.
    The village entrance was very calm and peaceful very clean.
    The black winged kite perched on the wire stopped us abruptly and the background of the hill gave such a classy look. Saw lots of black kites, and brahminy kites.

    Vehicle had to be parked on foothill and walk. First you see the Shrine of Indrajit, the son of Ravana, who’s small statue adorns to the shrine on the right side of the arch. Here, people who have taken a vow sacrifice chicken to the god and cook food from the offering.

    The board at the arch says that we need to leave our footwear at the foothill and climb barefoot.
    Barefoot walking and climbing was challenging. Some stretches of the climb were very steep.
    Climbing the hill in the morning sun was quite a task. No option but to climb in the sun.
    I’m a videographer, and i also click few photos, I had my tripod, Nikon Coolpix B 700 and Cannon DSLR, to click stills, and a bottle of water, with all these started climbing the hill slowly.
    Breath taking scenery all around, stops you often and prompts to capture the beauty of nature.
    One has to  climb about 1050 steep steps to get to the top of Haddina Kallu hill.
    At the top there is a holy pond where pilgrims take a dip before offering prayers to the god.

    Temple was under a shed.

    The temple is dedicated to Lord Hanuman. It is a powerful god for believers. A priest comes from the village to offer pooja everyday. On Saturday and Sunday there are special pooja.
    The atmosphere was calm and peaceful. We sat down on the floor in the temple, after offering our prayers. The sound of the Temple bells ringing was mesmerizing.

    After spending a while we came out and started watching the sky and the surrounding area. The view from the top iwas breathtaking.

    Now all needed was only Egyptian Vulture!!!!!!!
    As a birder I knew this one place I really had to encounter with Egyptian Vulture.
    My prayers were heard. I saw the Vulturesl flying very high in the sky, after a while they landed on a huge rock. Though it was a quite a distance I was happy that I could see them in my camera, and record them. It was a thrilling moment to watch the family. Juvenile vulture with parents. My wishes were fulfilled.


    The heat on the rock was unbearable to stand on, and the Vultures wont come any closer. They vanished in the sky far away. I slowly started to climb down, it was not easy to get down from the hill.
    It took around 1.30 hours to climb  and 30 minutes to come down. Should be more careful while coming down.

    When i Started from home in the morning, only Egyptian Vulture was in front of my mind.  Now i knew it was the whole lot of stories i’was coming back with.