Red-wattled Lapwing

Most commonly known as 'Did you do it?' bird,  Red-wattled Lapwing is a very common bird around Tunga river, Lakes and Tunga channels of Malnad area. It gets this funny name because the noise its calls sound a lot like the phrase "Did you do it?". The fact that this is the alarm call makes it even more funnier. I have most often seen these near the Tunga River. Easy to identify, these Lapwings have a reddish beak and a red ring around the eyes, which cover the front part of its face as well. These also have longish yellow legs which make it easy for them to wade through vegetation in water.

Well, this usually lives off insects and small prey.

Wire-tailed Swallow

Wire-tailed swallow is easily the most attractive swallow I have seen so far. As the name suggests, this swallow has two long "wires" hanging behind their already longish wings. With its safrron forehead and white underparts, with a black covering around the eyes, this bird is really a treat for your eyes.

We can see this bird near water sources, like Tunga channels - where I caught the picture here. Salim Ali notes that it is hard to catch these birds far from water sources. Its chief food sources are flies and other midgets.

At the perticular time when I took this snap, the female was also sitting besides the male. The tail wire of the female is considerably shorter, in fact barely distinguishable from a distance.

Scientific name for this bird is Hirundo smithii.

Spotted Owlet

Finally we come to one of the most familiar of all birds - Owls. From the time of Mahabharatha to that of Harry Potter, owls have been a fixture of almost every culture in the world. The most common owl in Shimoga, and in fact the whole of India, is the Spotted Owlet. This bird has adapted really well to living with humans, and can be frequently found in older buildings and temples. I have consistently seen these spotted owlets in my village since childhood - the temple at the entrance of our village seems to be a favourite haunt of these nocturnal birds.

Of course, the most famous feature of these birds is that they are nocturnal, but the spotted owlets are actually classified as crepuscular and nocturnal by Salim Ali (crepuscular means active during twilight hours). The next distinguishing feature is that they have both eyes at the front of their face, which is a very rare thing indeed. These usually feed off insects, beetles and also small mice. Their strong talons and beaks are suited for this type of hunting.

Scientific name for the spotted owlet is Athene brama.

Rufous-backed Shrike

I have always thought that the Shrikes are a special species of birds - they look like prey birds in structure, with hooked bills and strong talons, but are just slightly larger than a bulbul. In fact, these birds do feed off small rats and such animals in addition to insects. The Shrike I have seen most often near Shimoga is Rufous-backed Shrike, also called Long-tailed Shrike, which has a greyish head and upper back, with reddish-brown lower parts (The word Rufous means reddish-brown) and a longish tail which enables us to distinguish this bird from other similar-sized birds when viewing from a distance.

Unfortunately I have not explicitly noticed the special characteristic of Rufous-backed Shrike - Salim Ali notes that the Rufous-backed Shrikes are remarkable imitators of sounds made by other birds and animals, including those of frogs, and exhibit very good memory for these sounds. These can be seen most often on electric wires near rice fields while driving out of Shimoga.

Scientific name for this bird is Lanius Schach.

Ashy Prinia

Ashy Prinia belongs to the class of warblers. I have seen this bird near our farms and tunga channels, flitting to and fro. If you observe closely, you can see that the eye of this bird has a reddish-brown colour. Along with its ashy back, you can also observe the cream-coloured underbelly.

It appeared to be quite shy of humans to me when I first saw this bird, but wikipedia mentions that it is quite often found in urban areas and urban gardens. But unfortunately I have not seen this bird near any of the houses in Shimoga.

It feeds off insects.

Scientific name for this bird is Prinia socialis.

Jerdon's Chloropsis

Jerdon's Chloropsis in the green background

Not  a very common bird, Jerdon's Chloropsis is a forest or wooded-country bird. This is found mainly in the western ghats and areas around western ghats with similar vegetation. I have seen this along the Tunga channels 12-13 kms from Shimoga. This belongs to the family of leafbirds.

Female of this species is really really leaf-like green, whereas males have a moustache-like line. This bird can be very hard to spot once it gets into a tree. The colour of this bird blends spectacularly with the green leaves in the background, as the picture here shows.

Wikipedia mentions that this bird is named in honour of the noted British ornithologist, Thomas J. Jerdon. Its main food is insects and fruits.

 Scientific name for this bird is Chloropsis Jerdoni.

Greater Coucal

Greater Coucal

The Greater Coucal is better described by its popular name in Kannada, Kembootha. The word Kembootha  literally means Red Devil. This is a fitting name because the bird has a red-coloured eyes and wings. Slightly bigger than a common crow, this bird is well known for its fights with snakes.Usually it feeds off insects, smaller vertebrates and small snakes.

Very commonly seen in rural Malnad, I have not seen these in the Shimoga city. I usually see this almost every day in Matthur, near Tunga channels, and our garden. Surprisingly for its looks, it is a very quick bird and very shy. It is not uncommon to see these birds hopping on the ground, low bushes, and small trees. With its long tail and rather heavey body, it is an awkward flier.