Bulbul , there is something about this name. A common bird easily sighted at least in Delhi and most parts of India. Bulbul belong to the family Pycnontidae (order of Passeriformes) of Africa and Asia. There are 140 to 150 species of birds in this family.  The word bulbul derives from Hindi or Persian or Arabic, meaning nightingale, but in English, bulbul refers to passerine birds of a different family. During my travels and when observed I can identify between only 3 among these species. 1) Red-vented Bulbul 2) White cheeked Bulbul 3) Re ..read more

Painted Stork an apt name for this bird, one might even say slightly poetic. I saw this beauty in the wide Puttenahalli Lake in Bangalore in June 2019. It is not easy to ignore them and move away as  they stand tall with colours of white, black, pink and an orange head with a yellow beak. I thought that is it, a one time wonder and beauty to see.   But I saw them again right here in Delhi. In our very own Sanjay Lake, what caught my eye was the spread of its wings and the ease of its flight as it came down to very close to where I stood. I was like a kid who had been given her favo ..read more

While chasing the sun bird, I saw another small bird. After few close up shots, I saw it to be the Common Tailor Bird. It's chirp is distinct like the sunbird and cannot be missed. It has this constant chewy- chewy- chewy or cheup -cheup sound which I feel is at the same pitch and is a repetitive call. The name itself tells us why it is famous, it is known widely for its skill to tailor its nest made out of leaves. I have seen you tube videos of how they do it, but haven't seen a nest to capture their handiwork. It is a common resident in the urban gardens. They seem to be shy and usually hi ..read more

The crescendo call of Kuooo- Kuoo- Kuoo may be what some of us wake up to on most or some days. As a child, I had always heard its call but had never actually seen one. So when my interest in birding began to grow, I always thought someday I maybe able to follow its call and see what it looks like. The first time I saw it, I thought is was a crow. It took a photograph to reveal the visible differences more clearly. A Koel is almost the size of a house crow but a little more slender, with a longer tail. After seeing one, I thought all Koel's were glistening black in colour and had red or crim ..read more

Well, this was not what I had in mind however, this topic came to me as it happened to me while I was walking in the park  and I saw a tiny body sitting tight on a small plant.  This has never happened to me before, I have always only seen people in other parts of the world saving and taking care of baby birds. While I secretly hoped that I too would take care and make a connection with a little birdie, preferably not a caged one some day. Trust me the moment I saw the bird, the first thing I did was run back to my house and get a cloth to pick and wrap it and take it home. But as ..read more

As a beginner birder I was truly happy when I sighted this bird. I was sitting in the balcony when I heard a consistent pecking sound. As I looked closely, I spotted this beauty hidden. It kept circling the tree, but I finally managed to get one or two clear shots. As I pay more attention to birds I see so many different and beautiful birds, and each time I see a new bird, I want to know its name, learn something about it and if possible listen carefully to its call, so that I can differentiate them. The black rumped flameback is also called the Golden-backed Woodpecker. It is practically d ..read more

Barbet - just the name is so adorably cute, wait till you see the picture! It is really a small power packed bird which loves hiding behind thick foliage and is very quick to flee. I feel it is a very shy bird. I first saw this bird on my sister's phone as she had caught the birding bug from me and took a shot on her way to meet me.  Then, I had a chance to see it up close at my parents home. My parents home is on a higher floor and very close to the Sanjay Lake Park, where we have a few trees very close to our balcony, which offers an ideal spot for many birds to come by. My favourite a ..read more

Treepie - just the name has a beautiful ring to it. I saw a treepie for the first time last year in Sabathu, Himachal Pradesh. It has this beautiful long tail, which is hard to miss as it flutters or flies. I was lucky to get a close view from an aunt's garden bird bath.  There are 11 species and are similar to Magpies. I have seen two colours grey and brown, but after reading I know there are black and white ones too. They are found in Southeast Asia and live in tropical forests. The first one I spotted was in October of 2019, in this garden alone I spotted for the first time 12 variet ..read more

A ..read more

A ..read more