:: arunsnap.blogspot.in ::: April 2014

27 April, 2014

2014 | 117 | 27Apr14 | Hesaraghatta

01. Booted Warbler (Iduna caligata)
ID by Richard Grimmett : Small, with square-ended tail, and short undertail-coverts. Often shows faint whitish edges and tip to tail and fringe to tertials. Supercilium usually reasonably distinct and square-ended behind the eye, and can be bordered above by a diffuse dark line. Typically shorter- and finer-billed than Sykes's, with more prominent supercilium, and upperparts are warmer brown; it usually appears more Phylloscopus-like, owingto shorter bill, and more frequently feeds on the ground. Possibly confusable with Common Chiffchaff, but lacks any greenish or olive tones, and has pale base to lower mandible and pale legs.

02. Purple Sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus) - Male
ID by Richard Grimmett : Has shorter and less down curved bill than Loten's. Male is metallic blue-green and purple becoming blacker on belly and vent. Female has uniform yellowish underparts, with faint supercilium and darker mask (whiter below in worn plumage). Eclipse male is as female, but has a broad blackish stripe down centre of throat and breast, metallic blue wing coverts and glossy black wings and tail. Juvenile is brighter yellow on entire underparts than female.

03. Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) - Adult
ID by Richard Grimmett : Small size and kite-like flight. Wings usually angled at carpals. Tail rounded. Adult mainly chestnut, with white head, neck and breast. Juvenile mainly brown, with pale streaking on head, mantle and breast, large pale patch at base of primaries on underwing, and pale brown and unmarked underside to tail.

04. Indian Silverbill or White-throated Munia
(Lonchura malabarica) - Male
ID by Richard Grimmett : Male has fawn brown upperparts, whitish face and underparts with barred flanks, long and pointed black tail, and white rump and uppertail-coverts. Female is duller with plainer face, and flanks are less barred. Juvenile lacks barring on flanks, has dark mottling on rump, and tail is shorter and more rounded.
ID by Wikipedia : The adult Indian Silverbill is 11–11.5 cm long and has a conical silver-grey bill, buff-brown upperparts, white underparts, buffy flanks and dark wings. The tail is black and the wings are dark contrasting with a white rump. The sexes are similar.

05. Purple-rumped Sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) - Male
ID by Richard Grimmett : Male has narrow maroon breast-band, maroon head sides and mantle, metallic green shoulder patch, and yellow lower breast and belly with distinctive greyish-white flanks. Does not have eclipse plumage.

06. Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) - Adult
ID by Richard Grimmett : Small with elongated central tail feathers, blue or green throat with black gorget, variable golden-brown to rufous crown and nape, and green tail.
ID by Wikipedia: Like other bee-eaters, this species is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is about 9 inches (16–18 cm) long with about 2 inches made up by the elongated central tail-feathers. The sexes are not visually distinguishable. The entire plumage is bright green and tinged with blue especially on the chin and throat. The crown and upper back are tinged with golden rufous. The flight feathers are rufous washed with green and tipped with blackish. A fine black line runs in front of and behind the eye.

07. Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus) - Female
ID by Richard Grimmett : Typically has darker and more uniform rufous-brown upperparts, and warmer rufous flanks. Also thicker bill, more graduated tail and lacks white patch at base of primaries (apparent in male and some female Red-tailed). Female has paler lores and faint dark scaling on breast and flanks.

08. Crimson Rose (Pachliopta hector) - Male
ID by Wikipedia: Male Upperside black. Fore wing with a broad white interrupted band from the subcostal nervure opposite the origin of veins 10 and 11, extended obliquely to the tornus, and a second short pre-apical similar band; both bands composed of detached irregularly indented broad streaks in the interspaces. Hind wing with a diseal posteriorly strongly curved series of seven crimson spots followed by a subterminal series of crimson lunules. Cilia black alternated with white. Underside: fore whig dull brownish black, hind wing black; markings as on the npporsido, but the crimson spots and crescentic markings on the hind wing larger. Antennae, thorax and abdomen abovo at base, black; head and rest of the abdomen bright crimson; beneath: iho palpi, the sides of the thorax and abdomen crimson.
Female. Similar, the discal series of spots and subterminal lunules much duller, pale crimson irrorated with black scales; in some specimens the anterior spots and lunules almost white barely tinged with crimson; abdomen above with the black colour extended further towards the apex.

20 April, 2014

2014 | 110 | 20Apr14 | Hulimangala

01. Shikra (Accipiter badius) - Male
ID by Richard Grimmett : Under wing pale, with fine barring on remiges, and slightly darker wing-tips. Head
cuckoo-like compared with other Accipiter. Male has pale blue-grey upperparts with contrasting dark grey primaries, indistinct grey gular stripe, fine brownish-orange barring on underparts, unbarred white thighs, and unbarred or lightly barred central tail feathers.

Oriental Honey-buzzard, OHB, Pigeon Head, Raptor

02. Oriental Honey-buzzard
(Perm's ptilorhynchus) - Female
ID by Richard Grimmett : Tail long and broad, and has narrow neck, small head and bill, and short bare tarsi. Soars with wings flat. Has small crest. Underparts and underwing-coverts range from dark brown through rufous to white, and unmarked, streaked or barred; often shows dark moustachial stripe and gular stripe, and gorget of streaking across lower throat. Lacks dark carpal patch. Male has grey face, two black tail-bands, usually three black under wing bands, and brown iris. Female has browner face and upper parts, three black tail-bands, four narrower black under wing bands, and yellow iris.

03. Paddyfield Pipit (Anthus rufulus) - Adult
ID by Richard Grimmett : Lores is often pale (but can be dark), and shows warm ginger buff wash
across breast and down flanks (underparts more uniform cream-white on Tawny)

04. Indian Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros birostris) - Adult
ID by Richard Grimmett : Broad greyish-white supercilium with dark grey ear-coverts, white tips to primaries and secondaries, and white-tipped tail. Has prominent blackish casque, and more extensive black at base of bill compared with Malabar. Further, lacks pale streaking on head, neck and breast, has paler sandy brownish-grey coloration to upper parts, and white trailing edge to secondaries. Tail is also longer than on Malabar Grey, and paler brown with dark grey sub terminal band and elongated central feathers. Female is similar to male, but has smaller casque with less pronounced tip. Immature has bill as female's, but smaller and with smaller casque; lacks white wing-tips.

05. Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) - Adult
ID by Richard Grimmett : Adult has downcurved yellow bill, bare orange head (redder in breeding season), and pinkish legs; white barring on mainly black upperwing-coverts, pinkish tertials, and black barring across breast. Juvenile dirty greyish-white, with grey-brown (feathered) head and neck and brown lesser coverts; bill and legs duller than adult's.

06. Yellow-billed Babbler (Turdoides affinis) - Adult
ID by Richard Grimmett : Have creamy-white lores, forehead and crown, dark mottling on throat and breast (diffusely streaked on most similar Jungle races), pale grey panel on wings, and also (in some birds) pale bluish-white iris.


07. Wood Sandpiper (Tringa Glareola) Adult Non-Breeding Plumage ID by Richard Grimmett : From Green by longer, yellowish legs and slimmer appearance, heavily speckled upper parts, and prominent super-cilium behind eye. Adult breeding has heavily streaked breast and barred flanks; upper parts barred and spotted pale grey-brown and white. Adult non-breeding has more uniform grey-brown upper parts, spotted whitish, and breast brownish and lightly streaked. Juvenile has warm brown upper parts speckled warm buff, and lightly streaked buff breast.

08. Small Minivet (Pericrocotus cinnamomeus)
- Male & Female
ID by Wikipedia : Strong dark beak and long wings. The male differs from most other common minivets by having grey, not glossy black, upper parts and head, and orange underparts, fading to yellow on the belly, orange tail edges, rump and wing patches. The female is grey above, with yellow underparts (including the face), tail edges, rump and wing patches.

09. Pied Bush Chat (Saxicola caprata) - Female
ID by Wikipedia : Similar to Siberian Stonechat dumpy structure and upright stance, but slightly smaller. The male is black except for a white rump, wing patch and lower belly. The iris is dark brown, the bill and legs black. The female is drab brown and slightly streaked. Juveniles have a scaly appearance on the underside but dark above like the females.

10. Black-rumped Flameback
(Dinopium benghalense) - Male
ID by Wikipedia : Typical woodpecker shape, and the golden yellow wing coverts are distinctive. The rump is black. The underparts are white with dark chevron markings. The black throat finely marked with white. The head is whitish with a black nape and throat, and there is a greyish eye patch. It has no dark moustachial stripes.The adult male has a red crown and crest. Females have a black forecrown spotted with white, with red only on the rear crest. Young birds are like the female, but duller.Has a straight pointed bill, a stiff tail to provide support against tree trunks, and zygodactyl feet, with two toes pointing forward, and two backward. The long tongue can be darted forward to capture insects.

10. Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) - Male
ID by Wikipedia : Plumage is largely grey above, and off-white below. Adults have a white head with a broad black supercilium and slender crest, while immatures have a dull grey head. It has a powerful, pinkish-yellow bill, which is brighter in breeding adults. It has a slow flight, with its long neck retracted (S-shaped). This is characteristic of herons and bitterns, and distinguishes them from storks, cranes and spoonbills, which extend their necks.

11. Common Skittering Frog - Euphlyctis Cyanophlyctis
ID by Wikipedia : This species have the remarkable ability to leap from a floating position out of the water.

12. Common Skittering Frog - Euphlyctis Cyanophlyctis
ID by Wikipedia : This species have the remarkable ability to leap from a floating position out of the water.

13. Common Skittering Frog - Euphlyctis Cyanophlyctis
ID by Wikipedia : This species have the remarkable ability to leap from a floating position out of the water.