FAUNA OF INDIA : BIRDS

Burhinus oedicnemus indicus Linnaeus

(Stone curlew)

Size and Form : 40-44 cm.;  plover.

Field Identification : Mainly sandy-brown in colouration, strongly streaked with dark brown. It has very large yellow eye, short black and yellow bill and long, stout yellowish legs.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout much of the Indian subcontinent.

Habitat : Desert, stony hills, open dry forest and fields.

Food : Insects, worms, small reptiles and mice.

Breeding : February-August.

Cursorius coromandelicus Gmelin

(Indian courser)

Size and Form : 23 cm.; myna.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. Adult, with rich orange under parts contrasting with grey-brown upper parts and distinguished by blackish centre of belly, chestnut crown and black lores.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout India.

Habitat : Dry fallow fields, wilderness, stony plains, dry river beds.

Food : Insects and insect larvae.

Breeding : March-August.

Sterna aurantia Gray

(Indian river tern)

Size and Form : 38-46 cm.; tern.

Field Identification : Large-sized, with longer and stouter bill. Adult breeding has large orange-yellow bill, black cap and nape, and red legs and feet. Adult non-breeding lacks long tail-streamers and bill is yellower with variable dark tip.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout the Indian subcontinent except the Himalayas, parts of Northwest and Northeast; Sri Lanka.

Habitat : Large inland waters.

Food : Mostly fish.

Breeding : November-August.

Treron bicincta Jerdon

(Orange-breasted green pigeon)

Size and Form : 29 cm.; blue rock pigeon.

Field Identification : Male has orange breast, bordered above by lilac band and green mantle. Female has yellow cast to breast and belly, and grey hind crown and nape. In both sexes, the central tail feathers are grey.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Himalayas, hills of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Habitat : Subtropical moist broadleaved forest.

Food : Ripe wild figs, other fruits and berries.

Breeding : December-September.

Treron phoenicoptera Latham

(Green pigeon)

Size and Form : 33 cm.; blue rock pigeon.

Field Identification : Sexes alike, although female is duller. A large green pigeon, with grey cap and pale greenish-yellow forehead and throat, broad olive-yellow band around neck, narrow grey band across upper mantle, pale greyish-green upper parts, olive-yellow band across base of grey tail, mauve shoulder patch and yellow legs and feet.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout India except much of the northwest, Himalayas and extreme of E. India.

Habitat : Fig and other fruiting trees in deciduous forest, groves around villages and cultivation and overgrown gardens.

Food : Wild figs, other fruits and berries.

Breeding : March-June.

Columba livia Gmelin

(Blue rock pigeon)

Size and Form : 33 cm.; green pigeon.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. Adult is greyish, with metallic green and purple sheen on neck, blackish terminal band on grey tail and short, broad black bars across inner wing.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout India.

Habitat : Feral birds inhabit villages, towns and cities; wild birds frequent cliffs, gorges and ruins.

Food : Mainly seeds, also green shoots.

Breeding : Almost all year.

Streptopelia decaocto Frivaldszky

(Ring dove)

Size and Form : 32 cm.; blue rock pigeon.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. A sandy-brown dove with black half-collar, white sides to tail and white underwing-coverts, with paler fawn upper parts; paler pinkish-grey under parts with grey undertail-coverts, more white at tip of tail and white underwing.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout India.

Habitat : Open dry country with cultivation and groves of deciduous trees.

Food : Mainly grain, also grass, bamboo and weed seeds.

Breeding : Throughout the year.

Streptopelia tranquebarica Hermann

(Red turtle dove)

Size and Form : 23 cm.; blue rock pigeon.

Field Identification : A small, stocky dove with black half-collar and striking greyish-white sides to tail. Male has blue-grey head, pinkish-maroon mantle and wing-coverts, and deep pink under parts. Female has darker buffish-grey under parts and slightly darker fawn-brown upper parts.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout India.

Habitat : Open country and cultivation with some trees, scrub jungle and light woodland.

Food : Mainly grain, also seeds of grasses and weeds.

Breeding : All year.

Streptopelia chinensis Scopoli

(Spotted dove)

Size and Form : 30 cm.; blue rock pigeon.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. Adult scaled or spotted with pinkish-buff; with extensive black and white chequered patches on sides of neck which meet on nape, grey cast to crown and ear-coverts contrasting with strongly vinaceous-pink tinged upper nape and neck sides, throat and breast and darker grey-brown rump and tail with blackish base to outer tail feathers.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout India.

Habitat : Gardens, cultivation around villages and towns, open moist deciduous forests.

Food : Mainly grain, also grass, bamboo and weed seeds.

Breeding : Almost all year.

Psittacula eupatria Linnaeus

(Alexandrine parakeet)

Size and Form : 53 cm.; rose-ringed parakeet.

Field Identification : A very large, all green parakeet, with huge red bill and maroon shoulder patch. Male has black chin stripe joining pink and turquoise hind collar, both of which are lacking on female and immature.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Common and widespread in N. India, sporadic south of 18*N; plains up to 1600 m. in Himalayas and up to 900 m. in peninsular hills.

Habitat : Moist and dry deciduous forest and well wooded areas; parks, gardens and trees around habitation.

Food : Fruits and seeds.

Breeding : December-May.

Psittacula krameri Scopoli

(Rose-ringed parakeet)

Size and Form : 42 cm.; blossom-headed parakeet.

Field Identification : An all green parakeet with bright red bill. Male has black chin stripe joining pink hind collar. Female lacks the chin stripe and collar and is all green.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout India.

Habitat : Deciduous forest, open woodland, cultivation, gardens and vicinity of habitation.

Food : Fruits and seeds.

Breeding : December-July.

Psittacula cyanocephala Linnaeus

(Blossom-headed parakeet)

Size and Form : 36 cm.; rose-ringed parakeet.

Field Identification : A small bodied, long-tailed parakeet. Adult male has plum-red and purplish-blue head, yellow upper mandible and white tipped blue-green tail. Adult female has greyish head.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Himalayas from NE Pakistan east to Bangladesh, south through much of the peninsula, except parts of the northwest and northeast; Sri Lanka.

Habitat : Moist deciduous forest, well wooded areas and cultivation in forest clearings and at forest edges.

Food : Fruits and seeds.

Breeding : December-June.

Loriculus vernalis Sparrman

(Indian lorikeet)

Size and Form : 14 cm.; sparrow.

Field Identification : A small, stocky green parrot with red rump and uppertail-coverts and red bill. Adult has yellowish-white iris. Male has turquoise throat patch. Female has much reduced or completely lacks turquoise throat patch.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Mainly NE India and Bangladesh, Western ghats and E. India from Orissa south to Tamil Nadu.

Habitat : Broadleaved evergreen and moist deciduous forest.

Food : Fruits and seeds.

Breeding : January-May.

Clamator jacobinus Boddaert

(Pied crested cuckoo)

Size and Form : 33 cm.; myna.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. A medium-sized pied cuckoo with prominent crest. Adult has black wings with white patch at base of primaries, all white under parts (with faint buffish wash) and prominent white tips to tail feathers.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout much of the Indian subcontinent, except parts of the northwest and Himalayas.

Habitat : Forests, groves and well wooded country, including gardens and cultivation.

Food : Fruits, seeds and caterpillars.

Breeding : All year.

Cuculus varius Vahl

(Common hawk cuckoo)

Size and Form : 34 cm.; myna.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. A medium-sized cuckoo, with greyish upper parts, whitish throat, variably mottled with grey, rufous under parts; breast, belly and flanks have faint dark barring.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout much of the Indian subcontinent, except parts of the northwest.

Habitat : Well wooded deciduous and semi-evergreen country, favouring groves, mangroves, orchards, gardens, cultivation.

Food : Fruits and insects.

Breeding : January-June.

Cuculus micropterus Gould

(Indian cuckoo)

Size and Form : 33 cm.; myna.

Field Identification : Brown colouration to upper parts and tail, broad barring on under parts, and pronounced white barring and spotting on tail. Female is similar to male, but has rufous-buff wash to base of grey breast.

Status : Resident and summer visitor.

Distribution : Breeds in Himalayas and eastern subcontinent.

Habitat : Forest and well wooded country.

Food : Insects.

Breeding : April-June.

Cuculus canorus Linnaeus

(Cuckoo)

Size and Form : 32-34 cm.; myna.

Field Identification : A medium-sized, mainly grey cuckoo with white under parts barred with black. Male has uniform grey head, mantle and wing-coverts, yellow iris, more uniform dark grey tail. Female is similar to male, although usually has rufous wash to lower body of grey breast.

Status : Summer visitor.

Distribution : Breeds in hills of Pakistan, Himalayas, and North, Northeast and Central India.

Habitat : Forest and well-wooded country.

Food : Insects.

Breeding : March-September.

Cacomantis passerinus Vahl

(Indian plaintive cuckoo)

Size and Form : 23 cm.; cuckoo.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. Adult is a small, mainly grey cuckoo with grey belly and flanks, and white vent and undertail-coverts. Lack of supercilium, largely unbarred tail and less regularly barred upper parts and under parts are best distinctive features.

Status : Resident and winter visitor.

Distribution : Summers in Himalayas in N. Pakistan and from Himachal Pradesh east to Bhutan.

Habitat : Open forest, groves, wooded gardens, plantations.

Food : Insects.

Breeding : May-September.

Cacomantis merulinus

(Rufousbellied plaintive cuckoo)

Size and Form : 23 cm.; myna.

Field Identification : A small, mainly grey cuckoo with orange on under parts. Sexes alike, but female frequently occurs as a hepatic morph, in which, base colour of under parts is pale rufous and underparts and tail are strongly barred.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Northeast India and Bangladesh.

Habitat : Forest and wooded country.

Food : Insects and caterpillars.

Breeding : March-August.

Eudynamys scolopacea Linnaeus

(Cuckoo/Koel)

Size and Form : 43 cm.; cuckoo.

Field Identification : A very large, long tailed cuckoo. Male is glossy black all over (with green irridescence), with a dull lime-green bill and brilliant red eye. Female is brown above (with faint green gloss), spotted and barred with white and buff, and white below, strongly barred with dark brown.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout India.

Habitat : Open woodland, gardens, orchards, groves around cultivation and villages, parks and areas with scattered trees in towns and cities.

Food : Mainly fruits and berries, also invertebrates and bird eggs.

Breeding : March-October.

Taccocua leschenaulti Lesson

(Sirkeer cuckoo)

Size and Form : 42 cm. crow.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. Adult has fine white line above and below dark facial skin, resulting in masked appearance and yellow-tipped red bill. Mainly sandy grey-brown in colouration, with black shaft streaking on crown, mantle and breast; throat is buff and belly is rufous-buff; with long, graduated, white-tipped tail.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout much of the subcontinent, except parts of the northeast, most of the northwest and extreme E. India.

Habitat : Thorn scrub and acacia bushes in stony places, also semi-desert.

Food : Insects and caterpillars.

Breeding : March-September.

Centropus sinensis Stephens

(Crow pheasant/Coucal)

Size and Form : 48 cm.; crow.

Field Identification : Large, with glossy black head, body and tail, contrasting chestnut wings and red eyes. Sexes alike.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout India.

Habitat : Tall grasslands, bamboo or scrub jungle, shrubberies in cultivation and gardens, orchards, groves and thick cover adjacent to wetlands.

Food : Wide variety of small animal prey, also eggs and nestlings.

Breeding : Almost all year.

Centropus toulou Muller

(Lesser coucal)

Size and Form : 33 cm.; crow.

Field Identification : Adult breeding with chestnut mantle and wings contrasting with glossy black head, under parts and tail. Adult non-breeding has dark brown head and mantle with prominent buff shaft steaks, dark brown and rufous barring on rump and very long uppertail-coverts contrasting with blackish tail.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Himalayas, Northeast, East and Southwest India; Bangladesh.

Habitat : Tall grassland, reedbeds and shrubberies.

Food : Mostly grasshoppers.

Breeding : March-October.

Bubo nipalensis Hodgson

(Forest eagle owl)

Size and Form : 63 cm.; common owl.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. A very large owl, easily distinguished by large, chevron-shaped spots on whitish under parts, buff-barred dark brown upper parts and all-brown eyes.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Locally in Himalayas, mainly from N. Uttar Pradesh east to Arunachal Pradesh; NE India, Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu; Bangladesh, Sri Lanka.

Habitat : Heavy evergreen and moist deciduous tropical and sub-tropical broadleaved forests.

Food : Pheasants, hares, jackals, fawns, lizards and snakes.

Breeding : December-May.

Bubo zeylonensis Gmelin

(Brown fish owl)

Size and Form : 56 cm.; common owl.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. A large brownish fish owl with stubby ear-tufts, duller brown upper parts, finer dark brown streaking on crown, mantle and scapulars, finer streaking on dull buff under parts.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Mainly from E. Gujarat and NW Uttar Pradesh east to Arunachal Pradesh and Bangladesh and south through the subcontinent.

Habitat : Forest and well-wooded areas near water in tropical and subtropical zone.

Food : Mainly fish, frog and crabs.

Breeding : November-May.

Glaucidium radiatum Tickell

(Jungle owlett)

Size and Form : 20 cm.; spotted owl.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. A small owl, heavily barred on the upper parts and under parts, with rufous barring on wing-coverts and flight feathers contrasting with buff barring on mantle.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : In India, common in plains and hills below 2000 m.

Habitat : Open broadleaved forest and secondary growth, mainly in tropical and subtropical zones.

Food : Mainly insects.

Breeding : March-May.

Athene brama Temminck

(Spotted owlett)

Size and Form : 21 cm.; jungle owlet.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. A small owl, with white spotting on upper parts, including crown and diffuse brown spotting on under parts; pale facial discs and nuchal collar.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout India except parts of the northeast and Himalayas.

Habitat : Villages, towns, cities, ruins, cultivation, groves of old trees.

Food : Mainly insects.

Breeding : November-April.

Caprimulgus asiaticus Latham

(Indian nightjar)

Size and Form : 24 cm.; myna.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. A small, generally grey nightjar, with relatively short wings and tail, boldly streaked crown, rufous-buff markings on nape forming distinct collar, bold black centers and broad buff edges to scapulars, relatively unmarked central tail feathers.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Widespread in India, foothills up to 1500 m.

Habitat : Thinly wooded and scrub country, fallow cultivation with thickets, young plantations and overgrown gardens in rural areas in dry plains and foothills.

Food : Mainly flying insects.

Breeding : January-October.

Caprimulgus affinis Horsfield

(Franklin’s nightjar)

Size and Form : 23 cm.; myna.

Field Identification : A medium-sized, dark brownish-grey nightjar. Male has white spots on first four primaries and outer tail feathers are all white except for greyish tips. Female has rufous-buff primary spots and lacks white in tail.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout India.

Habitat : Open forest, grassland with rocky out-crops, stony hillsides and ravines with scattered scrub.

Food : Mainly flying insects.

Breeding : March-August.

Collocalia unicolor Jerdon

(Indian swiftlet)

Size and Form : 12 cm.; sparrow.

Field Identification : Small and slender brown swift with a slightly forked tail, blackish, and bat-like fluttering flight. Sexes alike.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Along coastal area and Western Ghats from South Konkan to Kerala. Also Sri Lanka.

Habitat : Hills.

Food : Insects.

Breeding : March-September.

Apus affinis affinis Gray

(Indian house swift)

Size and Form : 15 cm.; sparrow.

Field Identification : A small, stocky, blackish swift with a broad white rump and blackish under parts. Tail is either square-ended or has shallow fork. Sexes alike.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout the Indian subcontinent except parts of the Northeast.

Habitat : Habitation, cliffs and ruins.

Food : Insects.

Breeding : Almost all year.

Hemiprocne longipennis Rafinesque

(Crested swift)

Size and Form : 23 cm.; myna.

Field Identification : A large swift with long, narrow, sickle-shaped wings and long, deeply forked tail which is usually held closed in flight. Adult has dark green-blue crest and wing-coverts are glossed with blue. Male has dull orange ear-coverts. Female has dark grey ear-coverts.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout the Indian subcontinent except parts of the northwest.

Habitat : Villages, towns, cities, cliffs, forts and ruins.

Food : Insects.

Breeding : Almost all year.

Ceryle rudis Linnaeus

(Lesser pied kingfisher)

Size and Form : 31 cm.; myna.

Field Identification : A large, crested, black and white kingfisher, with black streaked white crown and crest, white supercilium contrasting with broad black eye-stripe and finely white-streaked black ear-coverts, white under parts with black breast band and black and white patterning of wings and tail. Female same as male but has single, usually broken, breast band.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout India, common below 1800 m.

Habitat : Slow-moving streams and rivers, ponds, lakes, canals, irrigation tanks, ditches.

Food : Mainly fish.

Breeding : Almost all years.

Alcedo atthis Linnaeus

(Eurasian kingfisher)

Size and Form : 16 cm.; sparrow.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. A small, brilliant turquoise-blue and orange kingfisher, with orange ear-coverts, paler greenish-blue upper parts (crown, scapulars and wings) with pale turquoise-blue line down back and pale orange under parts.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout India.

Habitat : Streams, rivers, canals, ditches, ponds and lakes; also mangrove swamps and the seashore in winter.

Food : Mainly fish, tadpoles and invertebrates.

Breeding : November-June.

Ceyx erithacus Linnaeus

(Three-toed kingfisher)

Size and Form : 13 cm.; sparrow.

Field Identification : A tiny forest kingfisher with coral-red bill, orange head with variable violet iridescence on crown and nape, black mantle, back, scapulars and wings, with the coverts and scapulars boldly marked with blue, pale orange under parts, and orange rump and tail also with violet iridescence. Sexes alike.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Himalayan foothills from Sikkim east to Arunachal Pradesh, NE India and Bangladesh, SW India and Sri Lanka.

Habitat : Shady streams in moist broadleaved forest.

Food : Fishes, also insects.

Breeding : February-September.

Pelargopsis capensis Linnaeus

(Stork-billed kingfisher)

Size and Form : 38 cm.; crow.

Field Identification : A very large, predominantly fresh-water kingfisher, with huge coral-red bill, brownish cap, pale orange-buff collar and under parts and blue-green upper parts. Sexes alike.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : From Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat east through much of the subcontinent.

Habitat : Deeply shaded lakes, slow moving rivers, streams and irrigation channels in well-wooded country.

Food : Mainly fish.

Breeding : January-September.

Halcyon smyrnensis Linnaeus

(White-breasted kingfisher)

Size and Form : 28 cm.; myna.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. A large, cosmopolitan kingfisher with large red bill, chocolate-brown head and most of under parts, white throat and centre of breast, and brilliant turquoise-blue upper parts including rump and tail.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout India.

Habitat : Wide-ranging, often far from water, cultivation, forest-edge, gardens, dry deciduous forest, streams, rivers, pools, canals, village tanks, coasts.

Food : Mainly fish.

Breeding : January-August.

Merops leschenaulti Vieillot

(Chestnut-headed bee-eater)

Size and Form : 18-20 cm.; sparrow.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. A small chestnut and green bee-eater, with bright chestnut crown, nape and mantle, yellow throat with rufous on lower throat and diffuse black gorget and turquoise rump. Tail broadens noticeably towards tip and has a shallow fork.

Status : Resident and partial migrant.

Distribution : Himalayas from Uttar Pradesh east to Arunachal Pradesh; from NE India south to Orissa and Bangladesh; SW and SE India and Sri Lanka.

Habitat : Vicinity of water in deciduous forest.

Food : Flying insects, mainly hymenoptera.

Breeding : February-June.

Merops orientalis Latham

(Green bee-eater)

Size and Form : 16-18 cm.; sparrow.

Field Identification : Sexes alike. A small green bee-eater, with blue or green throat with black gorget and variable golden-brown to rufous colouration to crown and nape. Green tail with elongated central tail feathers.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout India.

Habitat : Open country with scattered trees, cultivation; on coasts, favours sandy areas above high-water mark; also semi-desert and grazing land.

Food : Mainly flying insects.

Breeding : March-July.

Coracias benghalensis Linnaeus

(Northern roller/Blue jay)

Size and Form : 33 cm.; crow.

Field Identification : Adult has rufous-brown on nape and under parts, white streaking on ear-coverts and throat and greenish mantle. It has turquoise band across primaries and dark blue terminal band to tail. Sexes alike.

Status : Resident.

Distribution : Throughout India.

Habitat : Cultivation, open woodlands, gardens.

Food : Insects.

Breeding : January-July.

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