Birdielog - August - September 2007

I know what you must be thinking - these birdie logs used to be daily, then they changed to weekly, then bi-monthly and now once every two months!

I guess I have no excuse to make - time is a premium commodity in this day and age.

To offset the situation, I decided to construct another list over and above the Cold Reading roster - a list of birds that CAN be found within Bangalore's crowded streets, if we look for them. These birdies are not as intrusive as those on the Cold Reading list, but their presence is every bit as real. The only difference is that whereas those on the Cold Reading list are easily evident without effort, these birds have to be sought out and treasured if sighted. Some of them are rarer than others but the list is predictable, as you can well tell from the lists I've been putting out from my sightings. So here goes, from the smallest to the tallest:

• Tickell's Flowerpecker


• Purple-Rumped Sunbird


• Greenish Leaf-Warbler (winter)


• Oriental White-Eye


• Booted Warbler (winter)


• Common Tailorbird


• Great Tit


• Blyth's Reed Warbler (winter)


• House Swift


• House Sparrow (you need to know where to go to look for these - there aren't too many areas left that still have these.)


• Red-Whiskered Bulbul


• Oriental Magpie-Robin (conspicuous only in breeding season February/March to June/July, otherwise rare, heard rather than seen)


• Grey-Headed Starling (winter)


• Rosy Starling (winter)


• Black Drongo


• Eurasian Golden Oriole (not always migratory in all areas but only evident in winter)
• White-Breasted Kingfisher


• Spotted Dove


• Spotted Owlet


• Shikra ( a bit rare)


• Barn Owl


• Brahminy Kite

I'll still record these as and when I can, but they can be assumed to be present, unless I do report not having seen them for FAR TOO LONG, or they are UNUSUALLY ABSENT.