Spotted Owlet - Athene Brama

The Spotted Owlet (Athene brama) is a small Owl common in the Tiruvannamalai district. Although It prefers open habitats including farmland and areas populated by people it has adapted to living in cities. Nests near human habitations may show higher breeding success due to increased availability of rodents for feeding young.

It’s a small stocky bird with upperparts grey-brown spotted with white and underparts white, streaked with brown. Its face is pale and eyes yellow. Its wings are spotted and banded white, and the tail has narrow white bars.







Although the Spotted Owlet is primarily active during twilight it sometimes can be seen by day. In fact several young Spotted Owlets are regular visitors in my neighbourhood and seem to particularly enjoy roosting on electricity poles outside my cottage.








Its voice is a harsh alternating between a variety of screeches and chuckles. It mainly preys on beetles, moths, earthworms, lizards, mice and small birds. Usually hunts from a perch, pouncing on prey, but occasionally takes insects in flight. Its flight is deeply undulating, consisting of a few rapid flaps followed by a glide with wings pressed to the body.

In the South, this bird breeds from November to March. Nests are in natural tree hollows, or in holes and cavities in human dwellings.







May also nest in cavities in the sides of ravines and earth cliffs when suitable trees are scarce. The nest is sometimes liked with grass and feathers.







It lays up to 5 white, roundish oval eggs with incubation beginning with the first egg thus causing considerable size difference within the brood. Only one or two chicks may fledge and they leave the nest in about 20 days

For an excellent selection of photographs, audios and videos of the Spotted Owlet, go to this link here.

Greater Coucal

The Greater Coucal is the size of a Jungle Crow, but with a long and broad tail. The bird is a large species of Cuckoo around 48 cm in size. Its head is black and its eyes are ruby red, its upper mantle and underside are black glossed with purple and its back and wings are chestnut brown.





[The poster of this video mentions that several Coucals (and some other birds) are audible on the soundtrack]


The call of this bird is an easily distinguishable deep, resonant coop-coop-coop and its deep calls are associated with spirits and omens. In fact this bird is traditionally associated with many superstitions and beliefs.






The bird is easy to view around the countryside surrounding Tiruvannamalai. They specially like open forest, scrub and bush and groves around human habitation. Several visit my garden regularly and two are in current occupation around a nest constructed in some garden trees.

Coucals enjoy most: caterpillars, insects, snails, lizards, mice and bird’s eggs. But I’ve noticed them also enjoying the nut and fruit snacks strewn under bushes on my garden floor. The Coucal is a clumsy bird which stalks along the ground and hops amongst shrubs and trees.













As well as drying off after rain, this bird enjoys sunbathing in the mornings with its wings spread out. The Greater Coucal is most active in the mornings and late afternoons. The territory of a nesting pair has been found in South India to be around 10 acres on average.

The Coucal’s nesting season is generally around February to September. Its nest is a large untidy mass of twigs and leaves with a lateral entrance.

The below photographs are of a Coucal nest in my garden. The nest definitely has a lateral entrance as its impossible to reach the nest from topside as is evidenced by the third photograph in this nest sequence in which the nest is so well buried in the trees, that its impossible to see the nest from the roof of my house.

Have already experienced a lot of fun with our resident Coucals, as several days previously one of the birds had a slip whilst getting to its nest and was forced to make a hasty and ungainly exit downwards using the branches and leaves as an emergency slide. Since that day I've noticed that the birds seem to approach their own nest much more cautiously.

Nests are usually comprised of three or four white eggs with both sexes sharing domestic duties.

Juveniles are duller black with spots on the crown and with whitish bars on the underside and tail.

A nice catch of a Greater Coucal which I took through a screened window in my cottage whilst it was sitting outside on my compound wall.

Brahminy Kite

This bird (Tamil: Krishna Parunthu) is found at Tiruvannamalai, and there are several Brahminy Kite nests by Samudram Lake. Where the nests are known, the birds are worshipped as representative of Garuda (the sacred Eagle), but this bird is actually a Kite.

The Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) is also known as the Red Backed Sea Eagle and the Singapore Bald Eagle. It is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers.

Locals at Samudram coming to glimpse
their sacred bird

The bird hoping the visitors have
brought chicken bits

The Brahminy Kite has long broad rounded wings; short and rounded tail when fanned. Its head, neck and breast are white with rest of its body bright chestnut and primaries tipped black and feet yellow. In flight it exhibits slow, deep flapping and displays long, broadly angled wings.

Brahminy Kites are sedentary and do not migrate. They are more scavengers but also hunt for small prey (fish, crabs, shellfish, frogs, rodents, reptiles, even insects). They forage both over water and land, soaring 20-50m above the surface. Prey on the water surface is snatched with their talons but this bird doesn’t actually dive into water. This bird also scavenges from food scraps and garbage and flushes birds roosting on mudflats into flight to identify the weak. They are attracted to fires to catch fleeing animals. Their catch is eaten on the wing, to prevent theft. When several quarrel over a meal, they squeal.

Habitats best suited to Brahminy Kites are broad mudflat and freshwater wetlands such as rice fields and marshes and even in cultivated areas. The Brahminy Kite is a bird which prefers to be near water. It is especially common in coastal areas, by lakes or near large areas of rice fields. It is commonly found near human habitation and near rice fields it is the most common bird of prey.

Using his perch as a lookout

A Brahminy Kite with young

Beautiful

Brahminy Kites mate (November-December) on or near the nest which is generally located in tall trees. Although they do not share nesting trees, pairs may nest less than 100m apart. The nest is compact and made of twigs and sticks and often lined with dried mud. A first-time nest is usually thin, but as the pair reuse the site, the nest thickens. 2 eggs are laid, white with sparse red-brown blotches. Both parents raise the young.

The call of the Brahminy Kite is a thin mewing scream 'kweeaa' or 'kyeeer' usually while soaring. This bird which is very tolerant of humans, is an unfussy scavenger that can survive in a wide range of habitats. Although it is described as generally quiet, individuals which have been in constant or regular contact with humans tend to be noisier.

In flight

With feet pressed flat against its body

As the bird has a tendency to raid fish farms and steal chickens, it is sometimes regarded as a pest in other places in the world. In some S.E. Asia countries the bird, along with other types of Kite are hunted with the young taken for pets.

A juvenile Brahminy Kite

However in India the bird has great status due to its connection with Garuda. And its name i.e. Brahminy results from its association with the Indian God Vishnu.

A juvenile Brahminy Kite skimming
the water for food

Bats in the Belfry!

Commonly found in many of the Temples at Tiruvannamalai are bats. I know lots of people are turned off by bats, but since an experience some years ago when I was able to touch and handle bats, I have become a real bat aficionado. Their coat is like silk and their soft body feels quite wonderful. They are intelligent and endearingly shy. All in all a very beautiful creature.

Recently I've been spending a lot of time in the Arunagirinatha Temple at Arunachala, which has a tidy size bat colony.

Some of whom are resident in the Krishna Shrine which is being currently developed in the Temple Compound.

And below a couple of little friends comfortably stationed between the wooden rafters of the roof of the shrine.

Below are some extracts from an excellent article about bats entitled Bat Tracks.

"Although people squirm at the very mention of the word ‘bat’, bats are rather clean animals, and groom frequently. The myth that all bats carry the rabies virus persists. However, statistics say that only 0.5 per cent of bats contract rabies. And bats, almost as a rule, only bite in self-defence. They pose no threat to people. Worryingly, being one of the slowest reproducing mammals of their size — bats produce one young a year — bats are extremely vulnerable to extinction. That these gentle, beneficial creatures have been widely misunderstood and neglected further adds to the danger.

The Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 consigned bats to schedule V as ‘vermin’. While the more glamorous animals — elephants, rhinos, lions and tigers — have received considerable attention from conservationists in the country, bats have been largely ignored in such discourses.

Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight.

The 950 species of bats found worldwide are said to have originated from one of the oldest surviving species. One of the oldest fossils, Icaronycteris, is from the early Eocene era, dating back at least 50 million years.

Bat species in India are delicately balanced on the survival scale. Attitudes towards bats, myths about them, recklesshunting, disturbance of their natural habitat and lack of legal protection are all prodding bats away from a true chance at survival."

Baya Weavers Malaysia

Am posting these two amazing photographs of a group of baya weavers' nests. Really beautiful. Previously I made a posting about Baya Weavers at this link here, of several nests that I observed at Samudram Lake, Tiruvannamalai.

For absolutely no reason that I can understand some miscreant burnt down the acacia bush that was home to the lovely nests. It boggles belief that anyone could be mean-spirited to needlessly and spitefully burn down the tree and destroy the nests.

Maybe in Malaysia the nests in the above photographs are in a protected area, or maybe people there have a better understanding of conservation!

The Crow

Both the House Crow and Jungle Crow are to be found throughout Tiruvannamalai District. As I was sitting in my garden this afternoon I noticed both varieties feeding and generally taking over the area. Since I moved into this house nearly three years ago, I have regularly put food out for birds and animals but it was only about six months ago that the crows started to visit -- which was a pity because as I mention in the below posting both the House and Jungle Crows are great bullies to small ornamental birds.

I became so irritated with the 'Caw Caws,' as I nickname them, that I spoke with several farmers and villagers and also did some serious 'Goggling,' to find out how to deter both kinds of Crows visiting my garden. Well I found the most popular and supposedly 'fool proof' method practised in both India and the West is to kill a crow and hang it in a prominent spot -- meant to work like a charm -- but thought it a little too gruesome so went on to Plan B.

Plan B a local farmer assured me, was equally foolproof and that was to tie black rags in my trees at prominent spots. Well the day after this was done, I sat and waited to see what my regular Crow visitors would do. If ever a bird could look 'startled' -- that is exactly how I would describe the reaction of the visiting Crows. Well the black rags worked for about a day and a half and then the rags lost their dramatic impact, and the Crows happily returned in number.

Next I tried Plan C which was to tie shiny CD-Roms onto tree limbs and let them waive around in the wind. And the Crows actually didn't seem to like that especially on a sunny day (i.e. most days at Tiruvannamalai) when the revolving CDs shimmer and dazzle in the sunlight. Part two of Plan C (which I have yet to do) is to put wind chimes in the trees -- as this supposedly is meant to irritate Crows. We shall see!

In the meantime hope you enjoy the information and photographs I have gathered explaining the difference between two of the most numerous birds in Tiruvannamalai District i.e. the House Crow and the Jungle Crow.

House Crow
The House Crow (Corvus splendens) is a widespread resident of Tiruvannamalai District and can be found all over India except in high altitudes and forests. Its size is about that of a pigeon; around 42 cms with weight ranging between 250-350 gm. The bird has a glossy black plumage, except for its grey collar. Its bill, legs, and feet are black.

There are four geographical races of the House Crow which are based largely on paleness or darkness of the collar. Sexes alike. Its normal call is a harsh The voice is a harsh ‘caaa-caaa’ or a nasal ‘kaan kann’. It reserves its softer calls for resting and during courtship! Its name in Tamil is: Nalla Kaka, Maniyan Kakai

The bird is vocal, gregarious and seemingly unafraid of people. Audacious, cunning and uncannily wary. It is aggressive and will attack and chase off large birds of prey. Breeding pairs will repeatedly dive bomb humans near their nest. This species is able to make use of resources with great flexibility and appears to be associated with humans.

It is perhaps the most familiar bird of Indian towns and villages. It is a highly opportunistic bird and given its omnivorous diet, it can survive on nearly anything that is edible. It feeds largely on human scraps, small reptiles and other animals such as insects and other small invertebrates, eggs, nestlings, grain and fruits. Most food is taken from the ground, but also from trees as opportunity arises.

The House Crow is a useful scavenger but also a great bully and therefore a serious menace to defenseless ornamental bird species in urban areas. It enjoys community roosts in selected trees or groves where large numbers collect very night but is a solitary nester except in areas of high population density.

Its nest is generally a platform of twigs frequently intermixed with iron wire, with cuplike depression lined with tow, coir fibres. And in high density areas, sometimes there are several nests in the same tree. The House Crow will use trees, buildings, or other artificial structures for its rough stick nest lined with coir or other fibre. It lays 4-5 pale blue-green eggs, speckled with brown. Breeding season March through July. Its nest is regularly brood-parasitized by Asian Koel.

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Jungle Crow
The Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), or Indian Corby, is a widespread Asian species of Crow. It is highly adaptable and able to survive on a wide range of food sources. This bird has a large bill and due to this it is sometimes called Large-billed Crow or Thick-billed Crow. There are three sub-species within this group with one of them i.e. with Corvus (m.) Culminatus ‘Indian Jungle Crow’ being found in Tiruvannamalai District and other parts of India.

The bird is glossy jet black with a heavy bill and deep and horse ‘caw’. Sexes alike. Singly, pairs or loose parties. It is larger than the House Crow and is found throughout the Indian Union. Local Tamil names for it are Kaka and Kakam.

It is generally found in the countryside, but small numbers are also in towns and villages. The Jungle Crow associates with vultures to feed on carrion and its movements often lead to discovery of large cat kills hidden in the jungle which the bird is quick to locate. The bird is omnivorous, and highly destructive to eggs and chicks of other birds including domestic poultry and young of small mammals.

It has a long bill with the upper one thick and arched, making it look heavy and almost Raven-like. Generally, all forms have dark greyish plumage from the back of the head, neck, shoulders and lower body. Their wings, tail, face and throat are glossy black and the depth of grey shading is almost black. It will take food from the ground or in trees and attempts to eat anything, alive or dead, plant or animal. It is also one of the most persistent species. It is quite bold, especially in urban areas.

The nest is a platform of twigs, usually high up on a tree. There are normally 3-5 eggs. The egg is a broad oval, pointed at the smaller end. The colour is any shade of blue-green, blotched and speckled. In Peninsular India the Jungle Crow breeds from December to April. The nest is built in a fork of a tree, and is a shallow cup of sticks, sometimes neat and well made, sometimes sketchy and ragged; it is lined with grass roots, wool, rags, vegetable fibre, and similar materials. Some nests have been found to be built partly or exclusively of wire. Both sexes share parental duties. Nests frequently parasitized by Koel.

Gregarious at roosts with many thousands at some sites. Large flocks may be seen at dusk arriving at major roosts. The birds’ voice is deeper and more resonant than the House Crow with its usual sound being "caaa-caaa-caaa".

Seshadri Swami and Birds

The following is a very nice extract from 'Seshadri Swamigal of Tiruvannamalai,' by S.A. Subramanian relating a story about Sri Seshadri Swami and a flock of birds.

"Venkatachala Mudaliar and his wife Subbalakshmi Ammal were earnest devotees of Swamiji. Quite often Swamiji used to visit them, take food in their house and talk to them in a jolly fashion. In the centre of their house there were two poorvarasa (portia) trees and two drumstick trees. It was a new moon day. Swamiji dropped in at 4 p.m. and said, “Subbalakshmi, come here, I will show you some fun.” When she asked what he was going to show, Swamiji was looking into the sky through the open verandah and raised his hands calling out, “Come! Come!” Immediately one crow came, then another crow flew in, then five, ten, fifty, hundred crows flew in; likewise a number of other species of birds like pigeons, parrots, various types of sparrows – yellow sparrows, black sparrow etc., all flew in.

They all crowded the whole place including the neighbouring house, sitting on the ground, on the roof, on the trees, etc., and started making a noise and jumping hither and thither and playing. Swamiji was standing in their midst and played with the birds. Subbalakshmi was watching the scene with curiosity. A few minutes elapsed when she told Swamiji. “You have called the birds from somewhere and are playing with them like this! After all they will also feel hungry and thirsty. Will their young ones not feel anxious?” Swamiji asked, “But should I ask them to go back?” Saying that, he took a strand from his shoulder cloth and blew it. Immediately all the birds departed."

The Shikra

The Shikra (Accipiter Badius) is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. It is a widespread resident breeder throughout south Asia and can be sighted throughout Tiruvannamalai District.

This bird is a small raptor with short broad wings and a long tail, both adaptations to fast manoeuvring. The normal flight of this species is a characteristic "flap–flap–glide".

The adult Shikra has pale grey upperparts, and is white, finely barred reddish below. Sexes are similar except that female is larger than the male. The juvenile is brown above and white, spotted with brown below. It has a barred tail.

Shikra is a bird of open woodland including savannah and cultivation. Its hunting technique is similar to other small hawks such as Sparrowhawk, relying on surprise as it flies from a hidden perch or flicks over a bush to catch its prey unaware. The prey is lizards, dragonflies, and small birds and mammals.

It nests in trees, building a new nest each year and laying 3-7 eggs.

For more information about this intriguing bird, check out the upcoming Arunachala Grace Newsletter, August issue. If you don't yet have a free subscription sign up at the facility on the left hand column of this page.

Amazing Peacock Photos

All these photographs (except for the very last one) were taken at Ramana Ashram one morning. I think they are fascinating in the way they show the structure of the body and feathers of this bird.

These tail feathers, or coverts, spread out in a distinctive train that is more than 60 percent of the bird’s total body length and boast colorful "eye" markings of blue, gold, red, and other hues. The large train is used in mating rituals and courtship displays. It can be arched into a magnificent fan that reaches across the bird's back and touches the ground on either side. Females are believed to choose their mates according to the size, color, and quality of these outrageous feather trains.

There are two familiar peacock species. The blue peacock lives in India and Sri Lanka, while the green peacock is found in Java and Myanmar (Burma). A more distinct and little-known species, the Congo peacock, inhabits African rain forests.