Accipiters in the neighbourhood

Female Shikra

It was time to leave for work. I was packing my lunch, while my sister read newspaper in the dining area. She looked up while turning a page and happened to see a big bird, about a foot tall, perched in the balcony across the room. This was an opportunity that could not be missed.

Sub-adult Shikra

My sister grabbed her Olympus SLR and quietly crept into the adjacent balcony.

We took turns to take pictures and admire the magnificent bird. The bird, stayed on the spot for few minutes, fanning its wings and tail feathers, in the warm winter sun. A soon as it saw us, the bird spread its wings and flew away.

The bird was identified as shikra, a resident of our neighborhood. It can be seen perched on trees or lampposts, waiting for unsuspecting prey. It targets the juvenile or hatchlings of many birds; even crows' nests are not spared.

Mr Shikra

Peacock Dance

The Peacock should have been the first entry in Feathered Friends, being the national bird.  Hopefully the number of pictures and the time spent on this chapter should appease this divine bird 😀

Peafowl family in Moira, Goa

During my stay at beautiful Moira village in Goa, in July, I had an opportunity to see this beautiful bird dancing. The peahens scavenged vegetable patch of  the neighbors for food, while the peacock merrily put up its show.

Being monsoon season, peacock's plumage  was in its full splendor.  Brilliant blue green and gold colored  feathers were mesmerizing. The call of the dancing bird could be heard all over the village for hours after mid day. The peacock is more flamboyant than the peahens in its harem. A typical peafowl family has one male and 3-4 females.

It is said that the peacock "has angel's feathers, a devil's voice, and the walk of a thief." Peacock is also the vehicle for Kartikeya, son of Shiva and Parvati.

Legends from Greek mythology, provide explanations for the extravagant display feathers of the  peacock.

A story describes how the peacock acquired the many eyes in his ornamental train. The goddess Hera had a beautiful priestess named Io. Io was greatly admired by Zeus. To protect her from Hera’s jealousy Zeus transformed Io into a heifer. Hera tricked Zeus into giving the heifer to her as a gift and set her faithful servant Argus to watch over her. Argus had numerous eyes all over his body, making him a natural choice for the assignment. Zeus sent the god Hermes to free Io from Hera’s watchman. Hermes charmed Argus to sleep until all of his eyes were closed and then killed him. To honor her faithful watchman, Hera took Argus’ eyes and placed them on the tail of the peacock.  

Three types of peafowls are found in world; Indian, Green and Congo. Green peafowl is found in southeast Asia which I have photographed in Sentosa island, Singapore. Hoping to get a chance to photograph the Congo variety in African region.

Saarika - The Garrulous Myana

The balcony of our fifth floor residence is a happening spot for birds.We have variety of visitors landing in our balcony to drink or bathe in a shallow earthen water bowl.

Myanas have devised another use for the bowl. Twigs, leaves and grass are soaked in water; softened sufficiently to be woven into a nest. Raw material for nest building are also sourced by these intelligent scavengers from flower pots and cloths line in the balcony.

After the eggs hatched, young ones were spreading their wings; and the balcony became a training ground. Captured pictures of the myana family during one of their practice sessions.

The adults of the family can be identified by their dark-yellow lores. In the fledglings, the lores and plumage is duller.

Barbets lunching in Up market tree

The peepal tree offers a feast of figs from end winter to spring season. Its a banquet time, eagerly awaited by the city dwelling birds. Parrots, sparrows and even squirrels can be seen having their fill. One of the not so common bird which can be spotted especially around this time of the year is the barbet.
Strolling in market near office, I saw a pair of barbets; with green feathers and brownish head and beak. They were well camouflaged in the foliage as they lunched on the abundant figs growing on branches of the dense tree.

Checked the Pocket Guide to The Birds of Indian Subcontinent to find out about this beautiful and unusual bird, which turned out to be a Brown Headed Barbet. It is known as bada basanta in the North Indian plains.

Managed to get a few photos using phonecam, while sorely missing my Lumix FZ30. One of the barbets, being more inquisitive, came closer to find out why it was being given more attention than the display windows and advertisements.