Coppersmith Barbet

With its favorite food

Coppersmith Barbets look more like colorful variants of house sparrows, whom they resemble in terms of size. Strikingly green with red-and-yellow face, it can be somewhat hard to see in the backdrop of bright green leaves, which is its favorite haunt. But definitely much more attractive!!

Most likely places to see these are Banyan and Peepul trees, whose fruits these birds enjoy a lot. They make a lot of noise when they get together, so take a second look if you hear anything. Apart from fruits, Salim Ali mentions that these birds also eat termites occasionally, but I have only seen these on fruit-bearing trees.

Close cousins of White-cheeked Barbets, these tend to be smaller, about the same size as sparrows, but stockier and generally looking stronger, with a marked difference in bills.

Scientific name for this bird is Megalaima haemacephala. 

Pheasant-tailed Jacana

Shot at Gudavi

Close relatives of Bronze-winged Jacanas, Pheasant-tailed Jacanas look spectacular to the first look, with their long tail flashing in the sunlight. Of course, these long tails give the bird its name. Especially in the breeding season, it is easier to identify. Like the other Jacanas, we can find these on the shallow waters and wading on the water vegetation on the surface of the water. I was able to catch sight of these at Gudavi bird sanctuary, where I also saw the Ibises up close.

Salim Ali mentions that these birds have very similar food habits as bronze-winged Jacanas.

Scientific name for these birds is Hydrophasianus chirurgus. 

Black-crowned Night Heron

On the edge of water

As the name suggests, Black-crowned night herons are closely related cousin of pond herons, which I have mentioned in a previous post. Relatively less common than pond herons, the males are very distinguishable from pond herons, with a black coloured shield running from the back of their head. The red-colour of their eyes also stand out like anything.

A little more shy than pond herons, they are usually active around twilight, mostly resting during the day. Hence the name 'night heron'. It's legs are a pale pink in coour, with a shade of brown in its lower parts of the wings.

Food habits are closely related to pond herons, mostly being fishes, frogs, insects etc.

Me and my friend were able to catch sight of this bird in Gudavi bird sanctuary, on the same visit when we saw white ibises.

Scientific name for this bird is Nycticorax nycticorax.

White Ibises and a bird sanctuary

Perched on a branch in Gudavi, Shimoga district

Oriental White Ibises, also called black-headed Ibis,  are birds thriving in marshes. Their white body and completely black neck, head and bill, which is really long along with being black, give these birds a rather funny look - the type known in Kannada as 'Nakali Shyama'. In addition, their bills are kind of curved at the end, adding to the comic looks. Legs are black as well. All in all, one of the easiest birds to identify once you see them.

But to see them, best place is a rather famous bird sanctuary in Shimoga district, called Gudavi bird sanctuary. Gudavi is nearly 120 Kms from Shimoga, and is easily one of the better bird sanctuaries around this place. Every monsoon thousands, and I literally mean thousands, of Ibises come here to build nests and breed. It is a treat for any birding enthusiast to enjoy this sight. Agreed that Monsoon is also the worst time to travel around, as the rain will be nearly non-stop in and around Gudavi.

Salim Ali notes that this bird sometimes feeds with its head submerged momentarily. Also, he points out that this bird does not have real voice-producing organs, and the sound that we hear is kind of ventriloquial grunting.

Scientific name of this bird is Threskiornis melanocephalus.

Visiting Gudavi:
First, reach Shimoga!! From Shimoga, the best route is reaching Sagar, which is en-route to Jog Falls, and the road is excellent till here. At Sagar, you need to turn right towards Sorab, which is a Taluk head quarters. The road kind of goes bad for 5-6 Kms, but then again becomes well-maintained. From Sorab Gudavi is about 15 Kms, and that part of the road is quite manageable in a car.

Sagar is about 70 Kms from Shimoga, whereas Soraba is another 30 Kms.

Bird sanctuary itself is open from morning 6 to evening 6, and there is an entry fee. I have heard that evenings are better because birds will be returning to their nests between 4-6 in the evening, but honestly that did not matter to us because of the sheer number of birds even at mid-afternoon!!!

Black-shouldered Kite

Perched on a wire

A lesser known and much lesser seen kite around Shimoga, Black-shouldered Kite, also called Black-winged Kite, was pleasantly perched on the electric wire when I first saw this. The most striking features of this bird are the black-colored wings on the otherwise mostly white body. But as I got closer, its blood-red eyes stood out. Surprisingly, it allowed me to approach it much closer than most birds.

Salim Ali notes that this bird is rather crepuscular, which means it is active mostly in twilight. He also notes that it has a rather distinctive way of catching preys - apparantly it hovers in mid-air and keeps its wings vertical when bearing down on the prey. Unfortunately I have to wait for another day to catch this behaviour.

Scientific name of this bird is Elanus Caeruleus.

Little Egrets

Little Egret Flying, note the yellow feet

One of the more common member of Egret family, Little Egrets are found nearly everywhere in rural Shimoga - you can see them near the fields, walking around on their long legs with snaky necks. But the best times to watch these birds is in the early morning, near a river like Tunga or Bhadra, where you will be able to watch their field characteristics for a long time without interruption.

Called Kokkare in Kannada, these are usually silent birds. Smaller than the Yellow-billed Egrets I covered in another post, these are distinguished by their larger cousins by a black beak. The legs are black as well, except for feet, which are yellow in colour.

This bird relies on frogs, fish, insects and smaller reptiles as food. Waiting patiently for fish and other prey to come close, and then quickly bending down with their long necks and picking up their prey is a sight made famous in many descriptions of this bird. Salim Ali notes that these birds were in demand in west for hat-making. He also notes that this trade has been made illegal.

Scientific name for this bird is Egretta Garzetta (Linnaeus).

House Swallow

Young Swallows - not yet fully grown

House Swallows, also known as Pacific Swallows, are very common near the rural parts of Shimoga. We can see it very often in rural parts of Shimoga - mostly flying around at very high speeds. It is not very common to see these birds sit down for long, as they are very enthusiastic fliers. Having said that, look out for electric wires - sometimes these form long lines on electric lines.

If we observe the birds carefully while they are sitting, we can see it is an attractive bird - chestnut-coloured forehead with a paler underparts and shiny wings. We can also observe that the wings are longer in proportion to many other birds, suited for high-speed flying.

Salim Ali notes that these are confined to western ghats and nearby areas, especially south of Karnataka, Kerala and West Tamil Nadu. I have observed a swallow build a nest in a rock in the middle of Tunga river, very close to the pathway crossing the river. That was a very unique opportunity to observe the young birds, who were not yet aware of humans as threats and were not flying away even if I approached them closely. Their mother coming back frequently to feed them was another memorable experience.

These birds eat insects which they catch while flying. Scientific name for this bird is Hirundo Tahitica Gmelin.

Pond Heron

Indian Pond Heron

Indian Pond Heron is another common member of the family of herons - in fact, it is not uncommon to see these in the cities either. It is one of the most familiar of water birds, even though it is not as famous as other, more attractive, birds.

Brownish in colour, it usually walks around the edge of water, waiting patiently for its prey. Even though it wades into the water now and then, most of its prey is caught while waiting on the edge. Rather surprisingly, its diet includes frogs in addition to fish, crabs and insects :)

Easy to identify, it has white spots on the wings when flying. Its scientific name is Ardeola Grayii.

Pied Bushchat

Pied Bushchat

Pied Buschat is a relatively common bird in fields and cultivated areas of Shimoga district. Small and active, you can see this bird very close to the land, hopping around on low-height plant and mud, picking insects and other food.

Bushchats in general are quite common, and a rather young or female one can easily confuse the amateur into believing that he is seeing a new bird rather than a well-known bird.

It has extremely thin legs, with the male bird sporting white patches on abdomen and wings. Females are brownish in colour. It is not uncommon to see them in pairs or in single.

Scientific name for this bird is Saxicola Caprata.

White-browed Bulbul

White-browed bulbul

Not a very common bird, white-browed bulbul is a rather shy bird, preferring the shrubbery near fields and deciduous forests to backyard gardens. I was able to spot this next to the Tunga river, in the midst of a rather dense shrubbery.

Usually single or in pairs, it lives off fruits and insects, as do the other members of Bulbul family. Salim Ali mentions that this bird plays an important role in the dispersal of seeds and dissemination of plant life over the countryside. Identifiable by its unique 'white brows', the bird has a longish tail and a yellowish moustache.

Scientific name for this bird is Pycnonotus luteolus.

Grey Tit

Grey Tit on a tree branch

Small, active, and easy to ignore because of multitude of robins and wagtails around Shimoga, Tits are generally known for their strong bills, and rely on seeds and insects for survival. They can be quite noisy, too :). Grey Tits can be seen around Shimoga fairly easily, quite close to my houses with gardens.

Scientific name for this bird is Parus Afer.