Bird watching can be quite contagious. I find my friends asking me whether I can introduce a few really common birds, so that they can identify them when they sight any of them....So here it is, a really amateur and beginner-level introduction to our most common denizens of the sky in Bangalore.
I will begin with the most common birds, and then come down to some not-so-common but resident ones.
Our Commonest Bird, Surprisingly...
The commonest bird in our cities these days is, surprisingly, not the House Crow or the Black Kite.....but an urban, synthetic, "semi-feral" (as Salim Ali puts it) breed of the Blue Rock Pigeon.
The ancestor of this urban breed inhabits quite a different habitat - lonely rock faces, abandoned buildings out in the countryside. The urban breed, however, is more at home in the concrete-choked, dusty, polluted city streets. Indeed, the only birds you might get to see in many corners of our cities where no trees exist are the Blue Rock Pigeons - only they can survive there. Even the hardy House Crows and Black Kites are not as well-adapted.
For the total beginner, here's how to find them:
Where to look for them:
Almost anywhere actually, but specifically:
I will begin with the most common birds, and then come down to some not-so-common but resident ones.
Our Commonest Bird, Surprisingly...
The commonest bird in our cities these days is, surprisingly, not the House Crow or the Black Kite.....but an urban, synthetic, "semi-feral" (as Salim Ali puts it) breed of the Blue Rock Pigeon.
The ancestor of this urban breed inhabits quite a different habitat - lonely rock faces, abandoned buildings out in the countryside. The urban breed, however, is more at home in the concrete-choked, dusty, polluted city streets. Indeed, the only birds you might get to see in many corners of our cities where no trees exist are the Blue Rock Pigeons - only they can survive there. Even the hardy House Crows and Black Kites are not as well-adapted.
For the total beginner, here's how to find them:
Where to look for them:
Almost anywhere actually, but specifically:
- Niches of any building, new or old
- Top-most branches in the tree canopies
- On the ground in shady verandahs or gardens
- In the skies, there's always some flying about all day long
- Heavy built, about a foot-or-so long. Fan-like tails.
- Slaty grey all over. Couple of black wing bars. Darker tails. A purple-blue-green shiny colour around the neck.
- A deep, low, mournful gurgle, almost like a person in pain. The gurgle sounds like blowing through a hukka.
- Sound of rapid wing beats in flight.
Here's a picture:
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