If you’re a bird lover and are looking for birds of India to add to your list, then read this article! It contains information about the Red-whiskered Bulbul, Indian peafowl, Nicobar scrubfowl, and woodswallows.
You’ll learn more about these interesting birds than you ever dreamed possible. Also read our other articles for more information! We hope you enjoy reading about these interesting birds!
What will I learn?
Red-whiskered Bulbul
The Red-whiskered Bulbul is largely a passerine bird native to tropical Asia. Part of the bulbul family, it is a resident frugivore in tropical Asia.
Nevertheless, the red-whiskered bulbul has spread to many tropical regions of the world. Fortunately, these exotic birds do not have a reputation for being difficult to get along with!
This vulture has a very striking appearance. Its body is a dark grey with white underparts and a red “whisker” feather on the cheeks.
Its head is distinctively patterned, with a black crest and a whitish patch behind the eye. The tail is also red with brown tips, which is why it’s often mistaken for a pigeon.
The Red-whiskered Bulbul breeds in March and August and fledges at fourteen to eighteen days. The young fledge a few days after hatching and remain dependent on their parents for a short time.
The Red-whiskered Bulbul roosts in communal trees. They also roost on power lines. The Red-whiskered Bulbul is a popular cagebird in parts of Southeast Asia.
Indian peafowl
The Indian peafowl is also known as the common peafowl or the bluepeafowl. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, but has since been introduced to many other countries.
The peafowl can live in both wild and domestic environments. Its blue plumage makes it a popular pet bird in many countries. This bird is easy to care for and can tolerate harsh winters.
Female peafowl get quite possessive after choosing a mate. Once they choose a mate, they do not allow other peahens near them. They think that their chicks should be the best! They continue mating until their eggs are laid.
Indian peafowl lay eggs between four and eight eggs. They remain with their parents for about seven to ten weeks and then become independent.
Despite being an ornamental bird, Indian peafowl are not migratory birds. These birds live in the same general location their whole lives. They forage for food during the day and rest in trees at night.
They lay one egg every 28 days, and the chicks are usually well-developed. They can jump several meters and become quite attached to their caretakers. A female Indian peafowl can easily reach over three metres high.
Nicobar scrubfowl
The Nicobar megapode is a megapode in the genus Megapoda. It is the only omnivorous megapode in India. This megapode builds a mound in which its eggs are laid.
The heat produced during decomposition helps the eggs hatch. This megapode also builds large burrows, which serve as nests for other megapodes.
The Nicobar megapode, or Nicobar scrubfowl, is a species of Megapoda that lives in tropical lowlands. It is a large, gray-colored bird with massive legs and a short head.
It forages on the ground, digging its nest mound in coastal forests. The chicks emerge from the mound and become self-sufficient soon after hatching. It sings at night and calls to its mate. Its low-pitched wails are soothing to human ears.
The Nicobar scrubfowl is a medium-sized bird with a reddish facial skin and a rufous crest. Males are smaller than females, but both species are very similar.
They live in dense forest undergrowth and feed on seeds, insects, crustaceans, and snails. They build large mound nests and are capable of laying up to four eggs in a single season.
Woodswallows
Woodswallows are native to the Indian subcontinent and can be found in both urban and rural areas. Ashy woodswallows are distinctive in appearance, with ashy grey upperparts and pale rump and underparts.
They can be difficult to differentiate in the field, but are characterized by their similarity to other woodswallow species. Their distributions also vary considerably, ranging from cultivated areas to dense forest clearings.
Ashy woodswallows can be found in semi-urban areas, but they are absent from arid regions of western India. However, the species has also been recorded on the Maldives.
Ashy woodswallows breed from March to June. The clutch contains two or three blotched white eggs. During the breeding season, the Ashy woodswallow often engages in mobbing behavior to hunt larger birds of prey.
These birds are not known to nest in trees, but they do build shallow cups for their eggs. The nests themselves are a shallow cup, and the birds lay two to three eggs. The chicks hatch after about 13-15 days.
Ashy woodswallows are among the most widespread and widely distributed woodswallow species, from India to Australia. Ashy woodswallows, also known as white-breasted woodswallows, glide like chunky swallows with a thick-winged flight.
The genus Artamus, which means “butcher” or “murderer” in Greek, includes all woodswallow species. Originally, they were considered a distant cousin of shrikes, but genetic evidence shows a close relationship to butcherbirds.
Common Tailorbird
The Common Tailorbird of India is a songbird that is found throughout tropical Asia.
The common tailorbird makes its nests from leaves that have been sewn together. Famously immortalized by Rudyard Kipling as the character Darzee in the Jungle Book, this bird is often seen in gardens and urban areas.
Its song makes it a perfect choice for attracting hummingbirds and other passersby.
The common tailorbird is a small bird with a long tail. Its plumage is olive-green with buff underparts. It has three central tail feathers and a rufous centre on its crown.
The Common Tailorbird has a white face and a black patch on its neck. It has a long bill and brown eyes. Most species of this bird spend their days in trees or other dense undergrowth.
The Common Tailorbird of India is a common bird and is quite comfortable in urban areas. It prefers trees with large leaves to build its nest.
Its Latin name, Orthotomus sutorius, means’straight-cutting cobbler’. The nest is constructed of two large leaves stuffed with soft materials. This method of construction enables tailorbirds to nest in urban areas without being noticed.
Northern storm petrel
The storm-petrel is a small seabird that breeds throughout the world, but it is especially plentiful in the vast Southern Ocean.
There are several different species, and they are commonly found near the coasts of Australia and New Zealand. Five species breed around the islands of Mexico and California.
Although they are found in all oceans, storm-petrels do not venture as far north as they do in the north Atlantic.
The diet of the storm-petrel varies widely, but most species concentrate on crustaceans, small fish, oil droplets, and mollusks. Some species of storm-petrel are specialized, and eat only goose barnacle larvae.
Despite their varied diets, both Northern and Southern Storm Petrels are considered part of the same family. They have a similar wing pattern, but the Northern storm-petrel is a more distinctive species.
Storm-petrels are monogamous, with males laying a single egg in each nest. They are monogamous, and have low infidelity rates, as studies of paternity have shown.
These birds lay a single egg during a breeding season, incubating it in shifts of about six days. The eggs hatch after forty to fifty days. The young are brooded continuously for seven days, and are fed by regurgitation at night.
Flamingos
A recent genetic study in Gujarat by the Anand Agricultural University suggests that the Lesser Flamingos are largely not genetically isolated from their African cousins.
This finding will be compared with the results of studies conducted by European scientists in Madagascar, South Africa, and the Rift valley in East Africa. A similar study was also recently completed in South Africa by Dr David Harper, Professor Crosa, and Dr Zaccara.
The lesser flamingo is the most common flamingo, found in sub-Saharan Africa, southern Europe, and the Middle East. It lives in lagoons and salt pans in India, where it can be seen at Flamingo City.
These pink-and-white birds weigh between two and four kilograms. Their plumage is made up of red wing covers and black primary flight feathers.
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