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Bird Count India

www.birdcount.in

skimmer@birdcount.in

Illustration: Rohan Chakravarty

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PART- I�ABOUT INDIAN BIRDS�

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From small to large

Photos: Garima Bhatia / Rajiv Lather

11-12 cm

95-120cm

Rajan Hatiskar, via Wikimedia Commons

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From common to rare

Satdeep Gill, via Wikimedia Commons

Nejib Ahmed, via Wikimedia Commons

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From nondescript to magnificent

T R Shankar Raman, via Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Onen

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And from deserts to dense forests

Photos: Clement Francis / Ramki Sreenivasan

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India is home to over 1300 species of birds!

Photos: Dr. Asad Rahmani, Nikhil Devasar, Dhritiman Mukherjee, Ramana Athreya, Judd Patterson, Anupam Nahardeka

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Garuda, the vahana of Lord Vishnu is thought to be a Brahminy Kite

Birds in Indian Culture and Mythology

Photo: Alex Loinaz

Source: wikipedia.org

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Jatayu, sacrificed himself to rescue Sita from being kidnapped by Ravana. He was thought to be a vulture.

Birds in Indian Culture and Mythology

Source: wikipedia.org

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Sarus Cranes have a strong cultural significance in North India for their fidelity while hornbills find mention in the traditional folklore of the tribes of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

Birds in Indian Culture and Mythology

Photo: Nayan Khanolkar

Photo: Kalyan Varma

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Bird behaviour: Foraging

Illustration: Aranya Pathak Broome

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Bird behaviour: Foraging

Photos: Mike Ross, Josep del Hoyo, Pat Bonish, Shreeram M.V

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Bird behaviour: Songs

Audio- Sandeep Chakraborty & Lakshminarasimha Ranganathan via Xeno-Canto

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Bird behaviour: Songs

Koshy Koshy from Faridabad, via Wikimedia Commons

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Bird behaviour: Songs

Audio- Hannu Varkk i via Xeno-Canto

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Bird behaviour: Songs

Cuculus_canorus_vogelartinfo_chris_romeikvia Wikimedia Commons

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Bird behaviour: Brood Parasitism

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Bird behaviour: Migration

Photos: Arthur Morris / Dubi Shapiro | Maps: Greenland Institute of Natural Resources and R. Suresh Kumar

The power of flight gives birds the rare ability to fly across continents (without a Visa or passport!). No talk about bird migration is complete without a mention of the Arctic tern (which doesn’t normally occur in India). This bird holds the distinction of migrating from one pole to the other! It spends its summer in the Arctic and when the winter begins to get harsh it migrates all the way across to Antarctic. This way, it also holds the record of seeing the maximum amount of daylight among all animals!

A popular migrant in our country is the Amur Falcon which migrates from Russia to South Africa via India. They congregate in countless numbers in Northeast India where they take a pit-stop to prepare for the long journey (over the Arabian Sea) ahead.

[Birds in this slide: Arctic Tern and Amur Falcon]

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Bird behaviour: Migration

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Amur Falcons in Nagaland

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Threats to birds

Photos: www.conservationindia.org

Cartoon: Rohan Chakravarty

However, despite their beauty, their enlivening nature and above all, their religious and cultural values birds face grave threats from humans. Humans mercilessly hunt birds and cage them to sell them as pets. The picture above (top left) is from Nagaland where an estimated 1,20,000 falcons were massacred! Below is the infamous example of vultures. Your parents would tell you that vultures were as common as crows during their days. But over the course of just a decade they have vanished due to chemical poisoning. The situation of the Great Indian Bustard is particularly grim. We’ve encroached upon its grassland home and developed agriculture, industries etc. As a consequence less than 200 bustards remain in the whole world! If we do not act now, our backyards, our forests and our lakes would soon be bereft our the sight and sound of birds. The first step towards saving anything is to know watch it, observe it and know more about it- which is what we aim to do in the rest of the presentation.

[PJ] Add a positive slide about conservation in next slide. This slide sequence can be towards the end.

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Conservation

Photo:Green Humour

However, despite their beauty, their enlivening nature and above all, their religious and cultural values birds face grave threats from humans. Humans mercilessly hunt birds and cage them to sell them as pets. The picture above (top left) is from Nagaland where an estimated 1,20,000 falcons were massacred! Below is the infamous example of vultures. Your parents would tell you that vultures were as common as crows during their days. But over the course of just a decade they have vanished due to chemical poisoning. The situation of the Great Indian Bustard is particularly grim. We’ve encroached upon its grassland home and developed agriculture, industries etc. As a consequence less than 200 bustards remain in the whole world! If we do not act now, our backyards, our forests and our lakes would soon be bereft our the sight and sound of birds. The first step towards saving anything is to know watch it, observe it and know more about it- which is what we aim to do in the rest of the presentation.

[PJ] Add a positive slide about conservation in next slide. This slide sequence can be towards the end.

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Recreational activity involving the observation of birds

Formal scientific study of birds is called ‘Ornithology’

What is birdwatching?

“ Birdwatching: your lifetime ticket to the theatre of Nature!”

www.birdwatching.com

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Colourful and lively creatures- chirp, whistle and sing

All around us, even in cities!

No specialised equipment required- only binoculars and a notebook

Why watch birds?

Caricatures by Rohan Chakravarty

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Essentials of birding

Binoculars are most important for birding. For starters, one could buy a pocket-sized binoculars (8x21 or 8x25 magnification) but for long-term use a pair of 8x40 or 10x50 binoculars is a must. A good pair of binoculars (please do not buy binocs of Russian / Chinese make!) cost over Rs. 4000, so ensure that you convince your parents to gift them to you on your birthday! A bird book (also called ‘field guide’) is quintessential to help you identify the birds that you see. Nowadays, these are easily available at any book shop or on an online store. Equally important is a small field notebook (a pocket-sized diary) to write your observations. If you’re good at sketching, you could also sketch details of a bird that you enjoyed watching or could not identify. A field notebook is the most forgotten commodity, but experienced, veteran birders will tell you how birding is practically meaningless without making notes.

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How to describe a bird?

Bks-WMIL, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Size
Shape
Sound
Gait
Colour

How to describe a bird?

Bks-WMIL, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Note everything from head to tail

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How to describe a bird?

What was the bird doing? Was it on the ground or up in a tree?

Was it friendly or nervous? Was it in a group or was it alone?

John Gerrard Keulemans, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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Or make a sketch

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Find your bird using a field guide

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Or through Merlin Bird ID App

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Where to watch birds: Forests

Photo: Kalyan Varma

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Where to watch birds: Scrublands

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Where to watch birds: Mountains

Photo: Sumit Sen

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Where to watch birds: Wetlands

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Where to watch birds: Sea and seashore

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PART- II�SOME COMMON INDIAN BIRDS�

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House Sparrow

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Habits: Widespread resident in villages and towns

Nrik kiran via Wikimedia Commons

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Red-vented Bulbul

Habits: Commonly found in gardens

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Red-whiskered Bulbul

Habits: Commonly found in gardens

Photo: Rajneesh Suvarna

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Common Myna

Habits: Common in villages, towns, cities and lightly wooded areas.

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Large-billed Crow

Habits: A scavenger, commonly seen around human habitation

Imran Shah via Wikimedia Commons

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Common Tailorbird

Habits: Dainty bird of gardens and forests; stitches leaves together to make its nest

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Fire-tailed Sunbird

Habits: Our version of the hummingbird; visit flowers in search of nectar and insects

Photo: Sumit Sen

Charles J. Sharp & Dibyendu Ash via Wikimedia Commons

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Mrs. Gould's Sunbird

Photo: Sumit Sen

Jason Thompson via Wikimedia Commons & Krishna Murthy/ Macaulay Library

Habits: Forages at all levels, typically among lower branches and undergrowth; often at mistletoes

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Asian Barred Owlet

Photo: Sumit Sen

Habits: Feeds on large insects and also known to prey on frogs, lizards

Imran Shah via Wikimedia Commons

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Asian Koel

Habits: Feeds on fruits; lays eggs in Crow’s nests. Sings continuously during summer

Photo: Sumit Sen

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WATER BIRDS

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Indian Pond-heron

Habits: Commonly seen hunting fish, crabs, frogs etc. in lakes, ponds and nullahs

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Cattle Egret

Habits: Follow cattle in fields and fallows, feeding on insects disturbed by cattle

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Little Egret

Habits: Found around water bodies; skillful fisher! Identified by yellow ‘socks’

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Little Cormorant

Habits: Dive and follow fish underwater; dry themselves by stretching their wings out

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Eurasian Coot

Habits: Not a duck, though it looks like one! Seen dabbling in flocks in lakes and ponds

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Little Grebe

Habits: Found in shallow ponds; also dives in pursuit of fish

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Purple Heron

Habits: A long-necked heron capable of catching bigger prey than the Pond-heron

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Grey-headed Swamphen (Purple Swamphen)

Habits: Walks along the edges of water bodies; rather shy and darts into vegetation

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Red-wattled Lapwing

Habits: Noisy bird with a characteristic ‘did-he-do-it’ call. Also found in fields.

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Ruddy Shelduck

Habits: Feeds on grasses,the youngs shoots of the plants.

Dibyendu Ash, via Wikimedia Commons

Tomal Gogoi

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Asian Openbill

Habits: Mainly feeds on large molluscs

Dibyendu Ash, via Wikimedia Commons

Tomal Gogoi

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Indian Spot-billed Duck

Habits: Common resident duck in most ponds and lakes, often in large flocks

Photo: Rajneesh Suvarna

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Cotton Pygmy-goose (Cotton Teal)

Habits: A resident duck found in shallow ponds with floating vegetation.

Photo: Dr. Tarique Sani

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Lesser Whistling-duck (Lesser Whistling-teal)

Habits: Common resident duck. Doesn’t quack but whistles while flying.

Photo: Dr. Tarique Sani

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Northern Pintail

Habits: A migratory duck. Found in large numbers in jheels in winters.

Photo: Sunil Singhal

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Northern Shoveler

Habits: Migratory duck. Dabbles and swings its shovel-like beak to sieve food.

Photo: John C. Avise

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White-throated Kingfisher

Habits: Versatile; not restricted to water bodies. Eats anything it can capture!

Photo: Rajneesh Suvarna

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Wood Sandpiper

Habits: Migratory bird. Walks along water bodies and gives a ringing call when alarmed

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Barn Swallow

Habits: Migrates in winter. Flocks of thousands keep gliding around water bodies.

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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BIRDS OF SCRUBLANDS

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Grey Francolin

Habits: A shy and cryptic bird; moves about in flocks. More easily heard than seen.

Photo: Kalyan Varma

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Eurasian Hoopoe

Habits: Handsome bird; probes in the ground for prey. Erects crest when alarmed.

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Indian Peafowl

Habits: Needs no mention!

Photo: Kalyan Varma

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Laughing Dove

Habits: A docile bird with a laughing call. Common in some towns, otherwise in scrub

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Pied Bushchat

Habits: Tiny bird found in semi-arid, open areas.

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Baya Weaver

Habits: Common during monsoons when many males make nests at the same place.

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Black Drongo

Habits: A bold bird which scares away birds much larger than itself. A good mimic.

Photo: K.S. Gopi Sundar

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Habits: Flies up and comes circling down with wings spread out.

Indian Bushlark (Red-winged Bushlark)

Photo: Siddharth Hardikar

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Habits: A cryptic bird, found in grassy fields and fallows.

Paddyfield Pipit

Photo: Saptagirish Oleti

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Habits: Small bird of prey. Mostly migratory. Hovers and dives swiftly after prey.

Eurasian (Common) Kestrel

Photo: Anup Dutt

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BIRDS OF WOODLANDS

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Great Hornbill

Habits: Found in tall,dense old growth evergreen forest

Photo: Garima Bhatia

Photograph by Shantanu Kuveskar.jpg via wikimedia common

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Taiga (Red-throated) Flycatcher

Habits: Tiny migratory bird. Mostly stays in the understorey and launches sallies.

Photo: Jason Loghry

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Jungle Babbler

Habits: Noisy and raucous, often come in flocks of up to 7 hence called ‘Seven Sisters’

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker

Habits: Common in gardens and groves. Its loud, cheerful trilling call is often heard.

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Plum-headed Parakeet

Habits: Found in light forests, fields and orchards. Illegally caged and sold as pets.

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Rufous Treepie

Habits: Noisy bird found in light forest. Often bullies and mobs other birds.

Photo: Rajneesh Suvarna

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Oriental Magpie-robin

Habits: Found in gardens and light forest. Sings beautifully during dawn and dusk.

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Spotted Dove

Habits: Found in light forest or scrub. Has a resonant call.

Photo: Garima Bhatia

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Common Iora

Habits: Found in gardens and forest. Has a wide variety of mellifluous whistles.

Photo: Rajneesh Suvarna

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Spotted Owlet

Habits: Often lives in crevices in buildings. Feeds mainly on insects. Cackles loudly.

Photo: Gaythri & Mansur

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Common Hawk-cuckoo (Brainfever bird)

Habits: Loud pee-pee-ah call interpreted as brain-fever. Lays eggs in others’ nests.

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PART- III�BEYOND BIRDING�

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Geographical distribution of birds

Migratory routes and seasonality of different species

Impacts of a changing, human-modified environment

Gaps in our knowledge

Birding was popularized in India by the British. Since then birding has become a popular hobby in India and has further picked up in modern times. Despite the growth of birdwatchers in India, we still lack basic understanding of most of our birds. The distribution maps that you see in field guides is often inaccurate because they are produced from museum specimens and scientific literature, not from day-to-day observations made by birdwatchers. Migratory routes and seasonal occurrence are known at the country-level. But given the vastness of our country, there is very high local variation. Likewise, the abundances of even the most common species vary across the country. Lastly, today’s world is a human-modified world. Thus it becomes important to know how our local birds will be affected by development.

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A lot of what we know about birds comes from birdwatchers, not only scientists!

Citizen Science- the solution

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What is eBird ?

A global, internet-based checklist program

for gathering observations of birds
for birders to maintain their personal records.

In this way, eBird

gathers baseline data on bird distribution and abundance
disseminates information for public and scientific use

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eBird- freely available maps

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Black-headed Ibis

White-cheeked Barbet

Malabar Parakeet

Malabar Pied-Hornbill

DISTRIBUTION

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MIGRATION

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MIGRATION

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GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT

An annual, global bird count: 17- 20 Feb. 2023

Gives an annual snapshot of bird diversity and populations

In 2022, 192 countries participated in GBBC and uploaded 3,59,479 checklists and documented 7099 species.

India ranked # 3 in no. of species with 1,017 species and #2 with 41,694 checklists

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PARTICIPATE IN GBBC- INDIA 2016

Go birding anywhere- backyard, school, campus, lake, nearby forest etc.

List all species and count each bird for at least 15 mins

Upload as many lists of 15 min or more through eBird Mobile App

HOW ABOUT PUTTING INDIA ON THE TOP THIS TIME?

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Get Started Article by Bird Count India

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Other useful resources

Birdwatching and monitoring:

www.ebird.org/india

www.birdcount.in www.kolkatabirds.com

For bird sounds: www.xeno-canto.org

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Quick Guide Videos

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Webinar Recordings

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Photographs: Garima Bhatia, Rajiv Lather, Nirav Bhatt, Navendu Lad, Mohanram Kemparaju, Clement Francis, Ramki Sreenivasan, Dr. Asad Rahmani, Nikhil Devasar, Dhritiman Mukherjee, Ramana Athreya, Judd Patterson, Alex Loinaz, Nayan Khanolkar, Kalyan Varma, Mike Ross, Macaulay Library, Josep del Hoyo, Pat Bonish, Shreeram M.V., Arthur Morris, Dubi Shapiro, Sumit Sen, Rajneesh Suvarna, Dr. Tarique Sani, Sunil Singhal, John C. Avise, K.S. Gopi Sundar, Siddharth Hardikar, Saptagirish Oleti, Subbu Subramanya, Anup Dutt, Daniel Occhiato, Jason Loghry, Gaythri & Mansur, Raghavendra M.

Recordings: Pronoy Baidya and Neils Poul Dreyer

Illustrations and caricatures: Rohan Chakravarty and Aranya Pathak Broome

Concept: Suhel Quader, Raman Kumar, Praveen J., Garima Bhatia, P. Jeganathan, Rohit Chakravarty, Ashish Kothari, Dhananjai Mohan and Malvika Onial

Disclaimer:"This presentation is being distributed on the understanding that none of the material it contains will be used for commercial purposes, and that in all cases photograph credits must be retained in any modified version. Most of the photographs in this presentation have been used with the specific permission of the photographer. Others have been downloaded from the internet; for these we apologize for not having obtained advance permission. If your photo appears in this presentation, and you wish to have it removed, please write tobirdcountindia@gmail.com and we will replace it. Thank you."

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Email: skimmer@birdcount.in