FAUNA OF INDIA : BIRDS
Phalacrocorax
fuscicollis Stephens
(Indian shag)
Size
and Form : 63 cm., duck.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike. A black water
bird with blue-green eyes; dark brown bill; purplish-black gular pouch edged
with yellow; white speckled throat; black legs and feet.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Throughout India.
Habitat
: Lakes, rivers, irrigation tanks.
Food
: Mainly fish.
Breeding
: August-October.
(Little cormorant)
Size
and Form : 51 cm; jungle crow.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike, smaller size,
shorter bill, longer tail, rectangular shaped head (with steep forehead) and
shorter, thicker neck. Lacks yellow gular pouch.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Throughout India.
Habitat
: Lakes, rivers, canals, village tanks.
Food
: Mainly fish; to a lesser extent also frogs, tadpoles and crustaceans.
Breeding
: July-September.
(Darter
or Snake bird)
Size
and Form : 85-97 cm.; duck.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike. A black water
bird, with long, slender, snake like neck, narrow head, and straight, pointed
stiletto shaped bill. Tail long, stiff, fan shaped.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Throughout India.
Habitat
: Lakes, rivers, irrigation reservoirs.
Food
: Mainly fish.
Breeding
: July-September.
(Eastern
grey heron)
Size
and Form : 90-98 cm.; heron.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike. Female
smaller. A long legged, long necked marsh bird with yellow bill. Elongated black
streaked white feathers on breast. Rest of underparts greyish-white.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Throughout India.
Habitat
: Lakes, marshes, rivers, mangroves, swamps, coastal backwaters and rocky
offshore islets.
Food
: Fish, frogs, molluscs, crustaceans, aquatic insects, young birds.
Breeding
: July to October in North India; nests among reeds.
(Large
egret or Great white heron)
Size
and Form : 96 cm.; heron.
Field
Identification : A large snow-white heron
like marsh bird with bare blackish legs, long slender neck and head and pointed
black and yellow or yellow bill. In the breeding season, a bunch of ornamental
filamentous plumes develop on the back.
Status
: Winter migrant.
Distribution
: Throughout India.
Habitat
: Lakes, marshes.
Food
: Fishes, frogs, aquatic insects, crustaceans.
Breeding
: July-September in North India.
(Indian
pond heron)
Size
and Form : 42-46 cm.; hen.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike. An egret like
waterside bird, largely snow-white and prominent, when in flight; effectively
earthy brown, when at rest.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Throughout India, up to 1500 m. in Himalayas.
Habitat
: Lakes, streams, marshes, paddy fields, village tanks, ditches, wells and
mudflats.
Food
: Frogs, fishes, crustaceans, aquatic insects.
Breeding
: Almost throughout the year.
(Cattle
egret)
Size
and Form : 48-51 cm.; egret.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike. During
non-breeding time, always identified by yellow bill, shorter legs and short,
stouter neck. Adult breeding has orange-buff colouration to much of head, neck
and breast, and elongated orange-buff mantle plumes.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Common throughout India up to 1500 m. in Himalayas.
Habitat
: Almost invariably in attendance on grazing animals, domestic and wild.
Food
: Mainly insects, to a minor extent tadpoles, frogs and lizards.
Breeding
: Almost all the year, though mainly from June to August in North India.
(Little
egret)
Size
and Form : 55-65 cm.; heron.
Field
Identification : A snow-white waterside
bird, distinguished from other egrets by thin black bill, longer black legs with
yellow feet, and longer and thinner neck. Lores generally blue-grey, but in
adult breeding, become reddish during courtship.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Throughout India up to 900 m.
Habitat
: Lakes, rivers, marshes, paddy fields, mudflats.
Food
: Fishes, frogs, crustaceans, aquatic insects.
Breeding
: July-September in North India.
(Indian
reef heron)
Size
and Form : 55-65 cm.; duck.
Field
Identification : A coastal-dwelling heron,
occurring in dark grey, intermediate and white colour morphs. Intermediate
morphs are very variable, but often have pale grey upper parts and whitish under
parts. Distinguished from little egret by slightly longer stouter bill and
proportionately longer and thinner neck.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Common on the Northwest coast, occasionally recorded farther south on the West
coast and a few kilometres inland.
Habitat
: Seashores, estuaries, mangroves
and tidal lagoons and creeks, occasionally at fresh waters.
Food
: Fishes, crustaceans.
Breeding
: Late March to August, varying locally.
(Night
heron)
Size
and Form : 58-65 cm.; duck.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike. A stocky,
grey, white and black heron with stout, blackish bill. Adult has striking red
eye, narrow white supercilium extending across forehead, black crown, mantle and
scapulars, grey wings and greyish-white under parts.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Throughout India up to 1700 m.
Habitat
: Reservoirs, lakes, tanks, streams and rivers.
Food
: Mainly fish, frogs, aquatic insects.
Breeding
: April-May in Kashmir and June-July to September in North India.
(Painted
stork)
Size
and Form : 93-100 cm., large duck.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike. A long
legged, long necked marsh bird with long, heavy yellow bill, slightly decurved
at tip and unfeathered waxy yellow face. Plumage white, delicate, rose pink,
near the tail. Wing and tail quills black.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Throughout the plains of India, Pakistan, Nepal Terai.
Habitat
: Marshes, inundated fields, lakes, reservoirs, river tanks.
Food
: Mainly fish, also reptiles, frogs, crustaceans and insects.
Breeding
: August-October.
(Openbill
stork)
Size
and Form : 68-81 cm.; large duck.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike. A small
stork, chiefly white with glistening purplish-black or greenish-black mantle,
wings and tail. Distinguished by its bill, with arching mandibles, leaving a
narrow open gap between them.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Throughout India.
Habitat
: Lakes and marshes, rarely river banks and tidal mud flats.
Food
: Molluscs, frogs, fishes and other small animals.
(Whitenecked
stork)
Size
and Form : 92-106 cm.; large duck.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike. A red legged,
black and white stork with white neck and black crown. Bill black, tinged
crimson red at tip and gape. Rest of plumage black, glossed with greenish-blue,
purple and copper.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Sparsely distributed throughout the well watered parts of India, Pakistan and
Nepal.
Habitat
: Flooded grasslands, fallow, rain filled ponds.
Food
: Frogs, reptiles, crabs, molluscs and large insects.
Breeding
: July-September in North India.
(White
stork)
Size
and Form : 100-125 cm.; large duck.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike. Adult is
mainly white, with long legs and long neck, black feathers, greater coverts and
tertials and striking red bill and legs.
Status
: Winter visitor.
Distribution
: Fairly common in Northwestern Indian, West Pakistan and Nepal Terai.
Habitat
: Lakes, marshes, wet grasslands, damp ploughed or fallow fields.
Food
: Frogs, reptiles, crustaceans, young rodents, occasionally fish but mostly
orthopteran insects.
Breeding
: March-May.
(Black
necked stork)
Size
and Form : 135-150 cm.; large duck.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike, except for
the colour of eyes which are brown in male and conspicuous bright lemon yellow
in female. A handsome black and white stork with massive black bill and long
coral red legs.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Throughout plains in much of the Indian subcontinent.
Habitat
: Lowland freshwater marshes, lakes, large rivers, mangroves and mudflats.
Food
: Mainly fish, but also frogs, reptiles, crabs and any other small animals.
Breeding
: September-December in Northern India.
(Adjutant
stork)
Size
and Form : 120-150 cm.; stork.
Field
Identification : Largest storks, black,
grey and dirty white with naked reddish and yellowish neck and head and a huge
four sided, wedge shaped bill, a naked pinkish gular pouch, 25-35 cm. long.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Endangered species, breeds only in Assam, rare elsewhere, though, once not
uncommon in Northern India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh.
Habitat
: Lakes, marshes and agricultural fields.
Food
: Mainly fishes, frogs, reptiles, crustaceans.
Breeding
: October-January.
(White
ibis)
Size
and Form : 75 cm.; large domestic hen.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike. A stocky,
mainly white ibis with stout downcurved black bill and black legs. Adult
breeding has naked black head, variable yellow to white feathers of mantle and
breast, grey on scapulars and elongated tertials, white plumes extending from
lower neck and all-white wings.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Generally in plains of India, except Northwest and East India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, China and Japan.
Habitat
: Rivers, lakes, freshwater marshes, tanks, paddy fields.
Food
: Mainly fish, frogs, molluscs, aquatic insects.
Breeding
: June/July-October in North India.
(Indian
black ibis)
Size
and Form : 68 cm.; duck.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike. Adult has
relatively stout, downcurved, dark greenish bill, naked black head with red
patch on rear crown and nape, dark brown neck and body glossed with green on
scapulars, black wings strongly glossed with green and purple, distinguished by
white shoulder patch and red legs.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Throughout India.
Habitat
: Lakes, marshes, river beds, dry plains, cultivated agricultural fields.
Food
: Mainly fishes, frogs and aquatic insects, occasionally lizards and scorpions.
Breeding
: March-October.
(Spoonbill)
Size
and Form : 80-90 cm.; large duck.
Field
Identification : Largely white, with
extraordinary spatulate bill and stout black legs. Adult breeding has yellow tip
to black bill, bare orange-yellow skin on throat, prominent crest, and yellow
wash to breast. Non-breeding adult lacks crest and yellow wash to breast.
Status
: Resident and winter visitor.
Distribution
: Almost all through the plains, except Central and East India.
Habitat
: Lakes, reservoirs, swamps and rivers.
Food
: Mainly small fishes, frogs, aquatic invertebrates, occasionally plankton.
Breeding
: July-October.
(Bar-headed
goose)
Size
and Form : 71-76 cm.; duck.
Field
Identification : Adult distinguished by
black-banded white head, white line down dark grey neck, and paler steel grey
upper parts. Further, it has black-tipped yellow bill and orange-yellow legs and
feet. Sexes alike.
Status
: Winter migrant.
Distribution
: Common throughout North India by October/November and present up to April.
Habitat
: Large lakes and rivers.
Food
: Exclusively vegetarian.
Breeding
: May-June.
(Lesser
whistling teal)
Size
and Form : 42 cm.; domestic duck.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike. Relatively
smaller, grayish-buff head and fore neck; lack of well defined dark line down
hind neck, and darker brown crown. In flight, appears very dark on the upper and
under wings.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Throughout India.
Habitat
: Flooded grassland and paddy-fields, freshwater marshes and shallow pools and
lakes.
Food
: Largely vegetarian, also small fish, frogs, snails and worms.
Breeding
: June-October.
(Brahminy
duck/Ruddy shell duck)
Size
and Form : 61-67cm.; large domestic hen.
Field
Identification : Rusty orange, goose-like
duck, with buff to orange-buff head. Breeding male has black neck collar, which
is less distinct or absent in non-breeding plumage. Female similar to male but
lacks neck collar and often has diffuse whitish face patch.
Status
: Winter visitor.
Distribution
: Throughout India.
Habitat
: Open lakes and rivers with extensive shingle banks and mud flats.
Food
: Omnivorous, takes grains, tender shoots and tubers, crustaceans and molluscs,
aquatic insects, reptiles etc.
Breeding
: Around May and June.
(Pintail)
Size
and Form : 56-75 cm.; domestic duck.
Field
Identification : A large, elegant dabbling
duck with long, slender neck, long grey bill and pointed tail which is held
cocked when swimming. Breeding male has chocolate-brown head, with white stripe
down sides of neck joining white fore neck and breasts. Female distinguished by
long neck, comparatively uniform buffish head lacking any eye stripe or
supercilium.
Status
: Winter visitor.
Distribution
: Throughout India.
Habitat
: Lakes, marshes, reedy and vegetation covered lakes, wet paddy fields and
rivers.
Food
: Mainly vegetarian but also feed on molluscs, worms, water insects.
Breeding
: September/October to March.
(Common
teal)
Size
and Form : 34-38 cm.; half grown domestic
duck.
Field
Identification : A very small duck. Male
has dark chestnut head, bottle-green band behind eye, white stripe along
scapulars and yellowish patch on undertail-coverts. Female lacks prominent
supercilium, lacks prominent whitish loral spots and dark horizontal
cheek-stripes.
Status
: Winter visitor.
Distribution
: Throughout India.
Habitat
: Tanks, lakes and marshes.
Food
: Entirely vegetarian; shoots, tubers and seeds of aquatic plants and grains of
wild and cultivated rice.
Breeding
: August-March.
(Mallard)
Size
and Form : 50-65 cm.; domestic duck.
Field
Identification : A large, heavily built
dabbling duck. Breeding male has bottle-green head, purplish-chestnut breast,
mainly grey body and black rear end. Female is pale brown with darker crown and
eye-stripe, has diffusely spotted or mottled breast.
Status
: Winter visitor.
Distribution
: Throughout India, rare in peninsula; Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
Habitat
: Shallow reedy marshes, lakes, rarely rivers and ponds.
Food
: Mainly vegetarian, to a lesser extent also molluscs, tadpoles, fish spawn,
worms.
Breeding
: Late April, May and June.
(Gadwall)
Size
and Form : 39-43 cm.; domestic duck.
Field
Identification : Male is mainly grey,
finely vermiculated with black and white; has black rear end, dark grey bill and
white patch on secondaries. Female with duller and greyer general colouration
and with a finer bill which is dark grey with orange sides.
Status
: Winter visitor.
Distribution
: Common in North India.
Habitat
: Reedy marshes and lakes.
Food
: Mainly seeds, shoots, tubers of marsh plants, occasionally insects, worms,
molluscs, etc.
Breeding
: Breeds in Eurasia and North America.
(Wigeon)
Size
and Form : 45-51 cm.; domestic duck.
Field
Identification : Male has yellow forehead
and fore crown on bright chestnut head, pinkish breast, grey mantle and flanks
and white band at rear end contrasting with black vent. Female is uniform brown
on head, becoming more chestnut-brown on breast and flanks.
Status
: Winter visitor.
Distribution
: Common in North India.
Habitat
: Shallow reedy lakes, marshes, reservoirs and rivers.
Food
: Mainly vegetarian, also water insects and their larvae, molluscs etc.
Breeding
: Breeds in Eurasia in temperate regions, North of Arctic circle and beyond.
(Shoveller)
Size
and Form : 44-52 cm.; domestic duck.
Field
Identification : Medium-sized dabbling duck
with long spatulate bill. Breeding male has bottle-green head, white breast
contrasting with chestnut flanks, black rear end and long downcurving black and
white scapulars. Female has brownish plumage, greyish-blue forewing and very
dull speculum.
Status
: Winter visitor.
Distribution
: Throughout India.
Habitat
: Shallow lakes, irrigation tanks and reservoirs, small pools, flooded ditches
and rivers.
Food
: Crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic insects and larvae.
Breeding
: Palaearctic region (North Europe), April to June.
(Common
pochard)
Size
and Form : 42-49 cm.; domestic duck.
Field
Identification : Largest of the Aythya
ducks, with large dome-shaped head, flight feathers silvery-grey, without white
wing bar. Breeding male has chestnut head, silvery-grey upper parts and flanks,
which contrast with black breast and ventral region. Female has dull cinnamon to
chestnut-brown head, neck and breast contrasting with paler brownish-grey upper
parts and flanks.
Status
: Winter visitor.
Distribution
: Widespread in India.
Habitat
: Lakes and reservoirs with large areas of open water deep enough to allow
diving, occasionally on rivers.
Food
: Largely vegetarians, occasionally molluscs, aquatic insects and crustaceans.
Breeding
: Breeds from West Europe to East Siberia.
(White-eyed
pochard)
Size
and Form : 38-42 cm.; duck.
Field
Identification : Smallest of the Aythya
species, with dome-shaped chestnut-brown head, neck, breast and flanks, dark
brown upper parts and prominent white undertail-coverts. Female similar and has
dark iris.
Status
: Winter visitor.
Distribution
: Throughout India.
Habitat
: Freshwater pools and irrigation tanks with extensive marginal and submerged
aquatic vegetation, also coastal backwaters and lagoons.
Food
: Vegetarian as well as aquatic insects and crustaceans.
(Common
teal)
Size
and Form : 30-37 cm.; small duck.
Field
Identification : A very small duck. Male
has white head with black cap, white neck and under parts (flanks washed with
grey), black breast-band and greenish-black upper parts. It has white band
across primaries and along secondaries. Female duller, with dark eye-stripe,
duller brownish-black upper parts with just a faint greenish gloss.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Throughout India.
Habitat
: Vegetation covered pools, irrigation tanks, channels and shallow lagoons.
Food
: Mainly vegetarian but also crustaceans and insect larvae.
Breeding
: May-September, varying locally.
(Comb
duck/Nakta)
Size
and Form : 56-76 cm.; domestic hen.
Field
Identification : Male is a large, stocky
duck with white speckled black head and neck, blackish upper parts glossed with
bronze, blue and green, white breast with incomplete narrow black breast band,
white belly and undertail-coverts and grey wash to flanks. It has gross, fleshy
comb, at base of bill in summer, which is much reduced in winter. Female lacks
comb and is much smaller, duller on the upper parts.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Widespread but generally uncommon resident in India.
Habitat
: Lowland pools, lakes and irrigation tanks with plentiful aquatic vegetation.
Food
: Mainly vegetarian, also aquatic insects.
Breeding
: July-September.
(Black
winged kite)
Size
and Form : 31-35 cm.; crow.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike. Adult has
grey upper parts and upper wing, with black lesser and median coverts forming
prominent patch on forewing, whitish head and under parts, and white under wing
except for black underside to primaries. It possesses striking red iris and fine
black line through eye.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Widespread in India, common in plains and hills.
Habitat
: Grassland interspersed with cultivation or with scattered trees, open dry
scrub and scrub desert.
Food
: Mainly large insects and reptiles.
Breeding
: Nearly all year, varying locally.
(Honey
buzzard)
Size
and Form : 57-60 cm.; kite.
Field
Identification : Male has grey face,
greyish-brown upper parts, two black bands on tail (tail appears black with
broad white central band), usually three black bands across primaries/outer
secondaries, and a dark brown iris. Female has browner face, browner upper
parts, three black bands on tail, four narrower black bands across
primaries/outer secondaries and a yellow iris.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Throughout the Indian plains, up to 1800 m. in the Himalayas.
Habitat
: Well wooded country, also groves in villages, towns and cultivation.
Food
: Mainly honey and larvae of bees.
Breeding
: February-July.
(Pariah
kite)
Size
and Form : 55-68 cm.; large crow.
Field
Identification : Adult is fairly uniform
dark rufous-brown, with shallow fork to tail. Shows variable pale crescent at
base of primaries on under wing and pale band across median coverts on upper
wing. Sexes alike.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Throughout India and Pakistan.
Habitat
: Around human habitation, mainly in cities, towns and villages, also mountains.
Food
: Feeds mainly on refuse and offal, but is omnivorous.
Breeding
: September-May.
(Shikra)
Size
and Form : 30-36 cm.; house crow.
Field
Identification : Adult male has pale blue-grey
upper parts with contrasting dark grey primaries, fine and rather indistinct
grey gular stripe, pale and fine brownish-orange barring on under parts,
unbarred white thighs, and unbarred or only lightly barred central tail
feathers. Adult female is similar, but upper parts are pale brownish-grey.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Throughout India.
Habitat
: Open wooded country and groves around villages and cultivation.
Food
: Small mammals, birds, lizards, frogs and large insects.
Breeding
: January-June.
(Crested
hawk)
Size
and Form : 61-72 cm.; kite.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike. A large,
broad winged eagle with long and broad tail. Occurs in two morphs. The pale
morph is best told from mountain by lack of prominent crest, boldly streaked
under parts, lack of barring on rump.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Uncommon and widespread in India, up to 1900 m. in Himalayas.
Habitat
: Broad leaved forest, open well wooded country and villages and cultivation in
or near forests in foothills and lowlands.
Food
: Game birds, small mammals and lizards.
Breeding
: November-June.
(Rufous-bellied
hawk eagle)
Size
and Form : 53-61 cm.; kite.
Field
Identification : Small-sized, with
buzzard-shaped wings and tail. At rest, wing-tips extend well down tail. Glides
and soars with wings flat. Adult has blackish hood and upper parts, white throat
and breast and (black-streaked) rufous rest of under parts.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Himalayas, hills of Northeast and Southwest India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Habitat
: Moist broadleaved forest.
Food
: Birds, small mammals.
Breeding
: December-March.
(Imperial
eagle)
Size
and Form : 72-83 cm.; kite.
Field
Identification : A large, stout-bodied
eagle with long and broad wings, longish tail and distinctly protruding head and
neck. Crown and nape are golden-buff, tail two-toned with greyish base and
darker terminal band.
Status
: Winter visitor.
Distribution
: Mainly Northwestern India and Pakistan.
Habitat
: Open country in plains, deserts and around wetlands.
Food
: Carrion, rodents, reptiles and birds.
Breeding
: November-April.
(Tawny
eagle)
Size
and Form : 63-71 cm.; kite.
Field
Identification : Sexes alike. Adult is
extremely variable, from dark brown, through rufous to pale cream, and may be
unstreaked or streaked with rufous or dark brown, with baggy trousers, all the
way to the feet, yellow iris and oval nostril.
Status
: Resident.
Distribution
: Widespread, locally common in Northwest India.
Habitat
: Desert, semi-desert and cultivation in lowlands.
Food
: Carrion and refuse, also small mammals, birds and reptiles.
Breeding : November-April.