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."

Evening Walk

In the evenings my six doggies and I go on a leisurely walk in nearby open tracts of land. Here is a very nice photograph of Arunachala in the background.

Certainly miss out on a lot while on walkies with my bunch of dogs - but even with them there is still lots of interesting wildlife to view.

In the below photograph an interesting mix of birds. A drongo at the top, an Indian Roller to the right and several Mynah Birds scattered around.

In the next photograph a Rose Ringed Parakeet having a peep inside this tree, which is the cause of many fights between a colony of Parakeets who live in the area.

Below the same Parakeet perched high over his tree and checking out the territory.

And a very nice photograph of an Indian Roller

Hope that in our next home, there will be sufficient space to build my doggies a huge enclosure to play in while I have some 'bird-watching' time concealed in a nice 'hide'.

Background of Shrikes

Common Woodshrike

The following series of photographs are of the Common Woodshrike, of slight variety of colouration. There is more information of this bird species in the upcoming issue of Arunachala Grace News. If you are not yet a subscriber to the Newsletter, please check out the 'subscribe facility' at the left column of Arunachala Birds, in order to become a free subscriber and have a copy of the monthly Arunachala Grace News sent direct to your email inbox.

Other species with similar names and popularly called "Shrikes," (but not in the Laniidae Family) are in the following other families:

Prionopidae: Helmetshrikes.

Malaconotidae: Puffback Shrikes, Bush Shrikes, Tchagras and Boubous.

Campephagidae: Cuckoo-Shrikes.

The Prionopidae and Malaconotidae are quite closely related to the Laniidae, and were formerly included in the Shrike family. Cuckoo-Shrikes and allies in the Campephagidae family are small to medium-sized passerine bird species found in the subtropical and tropical Asia, Africa, and Australasia.

Wood-shrikes (Tephrodornis) were often considered to be in this family but are probably closer to Helmetshrikes or Bushshrikes. The South Asian group of Woodshrikes which are found in scrub or open woodland are similar in feeding habits to Shrikes, hunting insects and other small prey from a perch on a bush or tree.

There are various other varieties of Shrike are to be found in Tiruvannamalai District, so hope to give more information about them in upcoming posts.

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.

Owl Visitor

This week I got a lovely owl visitor who stayed around my garden for a couple of days as I believe he was disorientated and taking a breather.

The below is a photograph of the nearby deserted pump house that he calls home, unfortunately the landowner and some of his friends, spent a morning burning nearby thorny bushes and the smoke and noise of the men frightened the owl away from its home.

This is one of the entrances/exits to his home which I'm sure is shared by lots of other birds - all-in-all quite a nice little residence.

Sadly for me but happily for the owl, after a couple of days everything had settled down nicely and he went back to his upmarket home. But it got me thinking about owl boxes and how easy it is to make them a very nice residence (as in the below photograph).

And also below a drawing showing the plan for a simple do-it-yourself owl box.



On further investigation found some interesting links about bird boxes:

A comprehensive guide on how to build birdhouses and nest boxes for many avian species.

To learn how to build nest boxes from off-the-shelf materials, this site illustrates some several creative ways to build boxes for barn owls from drums and boxes.

You can buy Bio-Diversity’s Construction guides (at a modest charge) for barn owls and kestrels. There are suggestions for location, equipment needed and step-by-step instructions.

Indian Pond Heron

The Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii) is a very common species throughout Tiruvannamalai District, where it is often quite tame and easily approachable. Found wherever there is water, river, jheel, roadside ditch or Temple pond.

Its normal way of feeding is to stand hunched up at water's edge or wading in the shallows, waiting patiently for movements and jabbing at the quarry when opportunity offers - its diet consists of freshwater molluscs, amphibians and insects

Searching for food

Non breeding Indian Pond Heron

Indian Pond Heron with Breeding Plummage

In Flight

Its an egret-like marsh bird chiefly earthy brown when at rest, but with glistening white wings, tail and rump that flash into prominence immediately it flies. Its flight is heron-like; steady wing beats with neck pulled in. This bird at rest is quite drab, and the contrast when it takes flight and suddenly becomes a blur of white, is really spectacular.

Nesting

Its breeding habitat is marshy wetlands nesting in mixed congregations of crows and other birds in large leafy trees. Its nesting season in South India is November to January and it lays 3-5 pale greenish blue eggs. In the below photograph an adult Heron is tending some very hungry juveniles.

Chinese Pond Heron

To the east of its range, The Indian Pond Heron is replaced by the Chinese Pond Heron (Ardeola Bacchus) which is slightly larger but almost indistinguishable during the non-breeding season.

Non Breeding Adult Chinese Pond Heron

Chinese Pond Heron in Breeding Plummage