ornithology

Here’s a video I took, of some remarkable ‘fishers’ that we are able to see, even in urban lakes such as Madiwala or Lalbagh, in the winter. These are Spot-billed Pelicans which are local travellers. There are some long-distance travellers, too. These are Bar-headed Geese landing at Hadinaru Kere, near Nanjangud, Karnataka, in August 2015; they come all the way from Mongolia! Here’s one, which was tagged in Mongolia (yes, I received a reply from the scientists there when I emailed them, it was quite a thrill). This winter, we had another lone, and surprise visitor. The Demoiselle Crane was a lone bird that I spotted in a lake…

The creatures that share this city with us come in all sizes. For example, here’s a very common bird; you will find it in many gardens, especially among the flowers, because it drinks the nectar from them. Here’s the male Purple-rumped Sunbird. How colourful and beautiful it is, even though so extremely small! Pic: Deepa Mohan Among the largest birds very common in Bangalore skies is the Black (or Common) Kite. This raptor (bird of prey) has adjusted to life in the city, and has become a scavenger, finding things in the trash that humans generate. It was once called…

A purple moorhen feeding on litter. Pic:Anvitha This time, I turn this column over to a friend, Anvitha, who is 17-years-old, and who is utilising her post-exam holidays to good effect, watching birds. Alas, it’s not always a thing of joy. Here’s her report from Lalbagh, in Bangalore: The fragrance of flowers attracts bees; so do the birds in Lalbagh attract bird watchers. Birdwatchers from all corners of Bangalore have always been drawn towards Lalbagh, but today the situation has  changed for the worse. Over the years, the number of  birdwatchers visiting Lalbagh has reduced due to the dwindling number…

Tiny birds -be it anykind- are truly the creatures that melt one's heart. It is always a delight to see baby birds in the nests, with parents diligently flying around to get them food. Flowerpeckers are among the smallest birds in India. Here's the heart-warming story of a tiny bird that was rescued.We -a group of like-minded people - were on a nature trail on the Bannerghatta-Kaggalipura Road, when we found a Pale-billed Flowerpecker, which had been either pushed out of its nest, or had fallen from it before we could fly. Two young boys had picked it up, saving…

It’s twilight, and as you walk, you suddenly see a flapping movement in the air. It’s too late for it to be a bird;  and you suddenly think of a bat. Most of us then repress a shudder, or even squeak in fear... we grow up not liking the idea of bats, and popular films reinforce that idea, associating bats with horror stories. But do take a minute and see the wonderful mammal that the bat is! Bats are the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight; others, such as “flying” squirrels, only glide from one place to…

Sometimes, a rare plant can be found practically at one’s own doorstep! I’d gone with a few friends to the Arikere Reserve Forest, which is just about 4km from where I live. There, we spotted these unusual-looking flowers, which made us feel that it might be a carnivorous insect-eating plant, like the Venus Flytrap, and we took some photographs. Ceropegia Candelabrum. Pic: Deepa Mohan When my friend Poornima Kannan googled out some information about the plant, we realised that it was not a carnivorous plant... but even smarter than that! The scientific name of the plant is Ceropegia Candelabrum (the…

When we watch birds, one of the fun things to do is to observe them and trying to figure out what they are likely to eat. How, you may ask, can one find out what a bird is likely to eat, by looking at it? The answer is, look at the bird's beak!Bird's beaks come in different shapes and sizes, and each is designed to help the bird get the kind of food that it is used to.All predatory birds (raptors) have sharp hooked beaks that help them tear up the flesh of their prey, which could be other birds,…

Bangalore, one the fastest growing cities in India, has been known as the Garden City. The city boasts of congenial climate that birds thrive in. Three hundred or more varieties of birds have been identified around Bangalore and its peripheries. With exponential growth of the IT hub of India, the city has seen rapid changes and this has affected its bird population. Some birds have shifted their nesting areas, some have become mere visitors and some have found a place on the endangered species list. In this series on 'Birds of Bangalore', we will talk about some of the birds…