Pied Crested Cuckoo

On my walk yesterday morning on the Samudram Eri, saw this very nice Pied Crested Cuckoo (Jacobin Cuckoo, Clamator jacobinus) sitting on a thorny bush. Although this bird is reputed to be shy, saw no evidence of shyness with this particular bird. It sat confident and disinterested whilst I and my dogs walked by its perch. The Cuckoo remained happily perched on the same thorny bush, staring into space, after we walked by. 

This bird is about the size of a Mynah, but with a longer tail. Its a handsome, crested black-and-white Cuckoo. This medium sized, slim black-and-white Cuckoo with crest is distinctive. The white wing patch on the black wing and the pattern make it unmistakable even in flight. This bird is found singly or as part of a pair. The habitat of this species is mainly in thorny, dry scrub or open woodland whilst avoiding areas of dense forest or extremely dry environments. This bird is commonly found in the neighbourhood of habitations. 

Its nesting season is chiefly from June to August, but as this bird is parasitic its nesting coincides with the breeding cycle of its nest hosts, which is often the babbler. Eggs are laid hurriedly in the morning into the nest of the host often dropped while the bird perches on the rim of the nest and often resulting in the cracking of one or more host eggs. The Cuckoos eggs are blue, similar to the Babblers. Other hosts include the Red-vented Bulbul, and the eggs laid then are mostly white to coincide with those of the host. 

Legend has it that this bird never drinks water off the ground. And that however thirsty it may be it supposedly drinks only rain water as it falls from the heavens. It is said to live many days without water and when it is really thirsty, it calls upon the clouds to shower rain. And so it has come to symbolise a true spiritual aspirant. 

“Can drops of wisdom from the clouds of eternity,

Be available just like that, until one has the nature of the Chatak?” 

(Lalan Fakir)

The Pied Crested Cuckoo

The great Sanskrit poet, Kalidasa, refers to this bird in his epochal work, “Meghadootam” (i.e. 'the messenger of the clouds') as a metaphor for deep yearning. And this tradition continues in literary works in Hindi. 

Sri Sathya Sai Baba refers to the Chataka bird in His discourse during Shivarathri 1991:

“The Chataka bird endures many ordeals to secure unsullied raindrops from the clouds. The moment it espies a dark cloud in the sky, it embarks on its adventure. There is water aplenty on the earth in lakes, ponds and rivers, but the Chataka bird has no use for these polluted waters. It waits for the pure raindrops in the month of Karthika and does not seek any other water. It is undaunted by thunder and lightning. It seeks only the pure raindrops falling from the clouds, without fear or concern. It sings in joy as it drinks the raindrops.

The Chataka bird is an example of pure love. The true devotee should perform a similar penance (to realise God). He must have the same determination. He must go through similar ordeals to experience the ultimate ecstasy. He must not succumb to the wiles and attractions of the world. The golden life of man should be tested on the touchstone of the Lord's name.”

Pied Kingfisher

The Pied Kingfisher is a water Kingfisher, which is widely distributed in India mainly on the plains. I have seen a number of Pied Kingfishers recently at the Samudram Erie (at the foot of Arunachala). And in my opinion this is one of the most unique and fascinating birds of the area. 

The Pied Kingfisher is estimated to be the world’s third most common Kingfisher. Not only is the Pied Kingfisher the largest bird capable of a true hover in still air, it is also the only Kingfisher with all black and white plumage

Male Pied

Adult Pied

Males have a double band across the breast while females have a single gorget that is often broken in the middle. This Kingfisher is about 17 cm long and in size between a Mynah and a Pigeon. It also has the typical, stout, dagger-shaped bill associated with other species of Kingfisher.  

Female Pied

This bird is usually found in pairs or small family parties. When perched, it often bobs its head and flicks up its tail. 

Pair of Pied Kingfishers

This bird frequents rivers, jheels, irrigation tanks and tidal creeks and can usually be seen perched on a favourite rock or stake near the water.  The Pied Kingfisher feeds mainly on fish, although it will take frogs, crustaceans and large aquatic insects such as dragonfly.

Pied Courtship Feeding

It usually hunts by hovering over the water to detect prey and diving vertically down bill-first to capture fish. When not foraging, they have a straight rapid flight and have been observed flying at nearly 32 mph. They call often on the wing, with sharp chirruk chirruk notes.

Female Pied Kingfisher Hovering

Its chief characteristic is its unique way of fishing. It hovers stationary for considerable periods, 10m or so above the water, ‘standing on its tail’, and hurls itself, wings pulled in at the sides, at fish coming up within striking depth. On emergence with the quarry, the bird flies off to a convenient rock where the victim is battered before being swallowed.

However the Pied Kingfisher can deal with prey without returning to a perch, often swallowing small victims  in flight, and thus can hunt over large water bodies or in estuaries that lack perches that are required by other Kngfishers. 

Male Pied Kingfisher Hovering

Unlike some other Kingfishers, the Piedi is quite gregarious, and forms large roosts at night.  The breeding season is February to April. Its nest is a hole excavated in a vertical mud bank about five feet above water. The nest tunnel is 4 to 5 feet deep and ends in a chamber. Several birds may nest in the same vicinity. The usual clutch is 3-6 white eggs. Both sexes share excavation, and feeding the young

For a superb link with videos and photographs of the Pied Kingfisher go to this link here.

Amazing Video of Pied Kingfisher catching fish 

The Pied Kingfisher is extremely agile in the air and hovers far more often than other kingfishers. In flight, it holds the body almost vertical, with the head and bill angled sharply downwards, and beats the wings extremely rapidly.  Kingfishers beat the reaction time of a fish by 1/50th of a second. Hunting fish from the air, it seems, is harder than it looks for the birds. Amazing rare nature photography in this video from BBC Worldwide.

Oriental Magpie Robin

Female checking out Tree Hole for Nest

The Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus Saularis) is a trim black and white bird with cocked tail. Black portions of the male are replaced by brown and slate grey in the female. The juvenile resembles the female, but has a scaly head and upperparts, and mottled brown throat and breast.

Many Magpie-Robins have been visiting my Garden

This bird moves about singly or in pairs. It is one of the most familiar birds about Indian villages and is found in cultivated areas and open woodlands and frequents human habitation surroundings. Several of these birds have been visiting my garden during the last month or so. The Oriental Magpie-Robin is shy, silent and unobtrusive during non breeding season, generally hiding and rummaging in shrubbery. 

Beautiful Male with Colouring in Tree

However the Oriental Magpie-Robin is very conspicuous during breeding season when the male sings lustily from poles or trees chiefly in early mornings or late afternoons. Its song is punctuated by upward jerks of its tail. This bird is an excellent mimic of other birds’ calls. Its breeding territory is jealously guarded and intruders are met with strutting and pugnaciousness.

Immature Bird

Magpie Robins breed mainly from March to July in India and January to June in South-east Asia. Its nest is located in a cavity, a hole in a tree, in a wall, in a building, a ledge under a roof, or any place near humans. Its nest can also be built in thick shrubs, in forks of branches on a small tree, even in an old tin can or post boxes.

Flying with Nesting Material

The Oriental Magpie-Robin uses two kinds of communication behaviour: first, vocal, by songs and calls; then, by posturing: wagging the tail, pecking, submission, begging posturing, body presentation and flying. This bird often flies near the ground, only on short distances. It is a terrestrial bird. 

Chicks in Nest

The nest, which is usually built low, is often untidy, made with grass and dried leaves, twigs, moss and roots. The next interior is lined with fibres or grass. Eggs 3 to 5 pale blue green, blotched and mottled with reddish brown. The female incubates, male shares other domestic chores. Both parents raise the young which remain in the territory until the next breeding season.

Female on Tree

Bird Finding Insect Grubs on the Ground

Food for the Oriental Magpie-Robin comprises mostly of insects picked straight off the ground. It also consumes earthworms, snails, small lizards and some plant matter and flower nectar from such trees as Salmalia and Erythrina

Beautiful Male Oriental Magpie-Robin

This beautiful bird is sadly widely captured and kept as a cage bird because of its singing ability. The Magpie Robin is the National Bird of Bangladesh.

Wonderful Shot of Beak of Male

Sweet Calls of this Beautiful Bird     

The Rat Snake

A Rat Snake is usually resident either inside my home or somewhere in my garden. Previously I had a long term resident living behind my bedroom almirah. However nowadays, our current Rat Snake has made a comfortable home underneath the verandah. 

Rat Snake in Garden Bamboo

A Rat Snake is usually resident either inside my home or somewhere in my garden. Previously I had a long term resident living behind my bedroom almirah. However nowadays, our current Rat Snake has made a comfortable home underneath the verandah.

Rat Snake resident winding around its Kingdom!

Rat snakes are medium to large constrictors. They feed primarily on rodents and birds and, with some species exceeding 3 metres (10 feet), they can occupy top levels of some food chains. Rat snakes pose no threat to humans. 

File Photo of Rat Snake

This snake was long thought to be completely nonvenomous, but recent studies have shown that some Old World species do possess small amounts of venom (amounts so small as to be negligible to humans). 

Common Hoopoe

I’ve sighted the Common Hoopoe (Upupa Epops) several times recently on my evenings walk at the Samudram Erie. It’s a very elegant, beautiful bird that somehow looks much too grand for the parched scrubland of the area.



Adult Bird


The Hoopoe is found throughout India and is the State bird of the Punjab. It is a highly distinctive bird that has made a cultural impact in many cultures. They were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt and named as the King of birds in the Ancient Greek comedy ‘The Birds’ by Aristophanes. On the one hand this bird is listed in the Bible as among animals that are detestable and should not be eaten (for which they are probably delighted!) but on the other hand in Persia the Hoopoe is believed to be a symbol of virtue.



Adult with Juvenile


This bird is the same size as the Mynah. It is fawn coloured with black and white zebra markings on its back, wings and tail. It has a conspicuous fan-shaped crest, and a long, slender, gently curved bill. The sexes are alike and are to be found either singly or in pairs on the ground in lightly-wooded country. It is also fond of lawns, gardens and groves around villages and towns.


Bird Grooming


This bird walks and runs with a wadding, quail-like gait. The Hoopoe has a characteristic undulating flight which is like that of a giant butterfly caused by the wings half closing at the end of each beat or short sequence of beats.

It has a soft, musical, penetrating, ‘hoo-po’ repeated intermittently for up to 10 minutes at a time. It is from this call, that the bird has acquired its name i.e. the Hoopoe. This bird also makes other calls include rasping croaks and hisses. A wheezy note is produced by females during courtship feeding by the male.



Birds Mating


In what was long thought to be a defensive posture, Hoopoes sunbathe by spreading out their wings with tail low against the ground and headed tilted up, with wings folded. The Hoopoe is known to enjoy taking dust and sand baths.


Dust Bath


The diet of this bird includes many species considered to be pests by humans; for example the pupae of the processionary moth, a damaging forest pest. As this bird is regarded as highly beneficial to agriculture it is afforded protection under the law in many countries. The modification of natural habitats by humans for various agricultural purposes has led the Hoopoe to becoming common in olive groves, orchards, vineyards, parkland and farmland, and less common in intensively farmed areas.


Bird with Prey

The Hoopoe probes into the soil for food with its bill partly open like forceps. When digging, its crest is folded back and projects in a point behind the head. The strengthened musculature of the head allows the bill to be opened when probing inside the soil.


Eating Underground

The Hoopoe nests principally from February to May in a cavity on a vertical slope such as a tree hollow, hole in a wall or a building. It lines its next untidily with straw, rags and rubbish and lays around 5 or 6 white eggs. Both sexes share in feeding the young.

Hoopoe Video

A Garden Paradise

I was fascinated to read an online report about a couple in the U.K. who have transformed a half acre patch of scrub into an avian paradise.

Within this coming year I intend purchasing around 5 acres of unspoilt Arunachala Countryside, in order to create and develop such a bird haven. In this respect in my current home, I have already started growing young trees favoured by both indigenous and migratory birds to this area, for replanting on the land once identified and acquired.

If readers of Arunachala Birds have experience in creating happy bird environments, or would like to share ideas or information on such an endeavour, I would be VERY happy to hear from you. Please email me at the address on the top of the left column of this page.


The report from the U.K. goes thus:-

“With just a lawn, no feeder, and few perches, to most birds the bare patch of land – was hardly worth even a flying visit.



The Idyllic Bird Paradise


But after six years of green-fingered nurturing, the bare half acre patch of land has been transformed into an avian paradise for a huge variety of species. Which includes peregrine falcons, barn owls, kestrels, pheasants, woodpeckers, nightingales, doves and swallows.



Left to Right:
Sparrow Hawk, Woodpecker, Pheasant


This bird paradise has five distinct zones – which includes a flower area, pond, vegetable patch, as well as shrub and herb sections. In addition there is a bird bath, a wood pile and an unkempt area of pignut, wild red clover and wild fennel – ideal for honey bees. There are also hedges of hawthorn and blackthorn, with willow and conifer trees, home to several ring-necked doves.

Left to Right:

Doves, Blue Tits, Woodpecker

In the first hour of their latest bird census, 27 species alone were recorded visiting the avian paradise.”


Left to Right:
Green Woodpecker, Heron

Bird Conservation

A beautiful but rather sad video made by Louise du Toit this year calling for bird conservation and the preservation of their habitat.

Grey Francolin

The Grey Francolin (Francolinus Pondicerianus) is very common in scrubland throughout this area. This bird can also be found in large numbers in grasslands and in cultivated areas near villages.

I intentionally prevent thorny bushes around the side of my cottage being felled by wood cutters in order to provide a safe sanctuary for the large number of Francolins that rummage and nest near my house.



Juvenile Grey Francolin


This bird is a plump, stub-tailed greyish brown game bird with chestnut blotching above, barred plummage and chestnut wings. The male is slightly larger than the female and has a pointed spur on each leg.



Adult Drinking



Gray Francolins are fast runners and prefer to run when approached or disturbed. They take to wings only when surprised in the bushes or when persistently chased.



Adult Grey Francolin


This bird lives and feeds on the ground in daytime, mostly in pairs or small parties, but at night roosts on small trees. Its food consists of grain, seeds, shoots, drupes, termites, and insects and it may occasionally take larger prey such as snakes.



Male Adult Eating


The loud calls of the birds are commonly heard early in the mornings. Pairs of birds engage in duet calls. The female call is a tee...tee...tee repeated and sometimes a kila..kila..kila and the challenge call kateela..kateela..kateela is a duet. They are usually seen in small groups.




Male with Spur on Leg


The breeding season is practically throughout the year. Clutch size of 4 to 8 cream coloured eggs with an incubation period of 21-23 days. Both parents are very attentive.



Chicks


The nest is a grass-lined depression in the ground, usually hidden under bushes or in crop cultivation. The nest may sometimes be made above ground level in a niche in a wall or rock. The bird roosts in groups in low thorny trees


Adult with Young

Purple Sunbird

Sitting on a roof-top in Rajiv Gandhi Nagar just off Chengam Road one kilometre west of Ramana Nagar, I noticed this beautiful Purple Sunbird enjoying his perch on an electricity pole.

Purple Sunbird on Electricity Pole

The Purple Sunbird (Nectarinia Asiatica) is small (about the size of a sparrow) with a slender, curved bill and a tubular tongue, which is well adapted for feeding on the nectar of flowers The male Purple Sunbird has two distinct types of plumage. The breeding male is characterised by the metallic bluish-black body, and the tuft of crimson and yellow feathers under each wing. In contrast, the non-breeding male Purple Sunbird has a much duller ‘eclipse’ plumage resembling the female, with yellow underparts and a dark line of feathers running down the centre of the throat and breast.

The female is a brown to olive-brown above, pale dull yellow below – but with darker wings and a broad black stripe running down middle of breast.

Mature Male Purple Sunbird

This bird which is common throughout Tiruvannamalai District prefers gardens, gardens, cultivated and scrub country and also light deciduous forest.

Its diet consists mostly of flower nectar as can be ascertained from its long, curved beaked, which is adapted for probing and sucking flower nectar. However the bird also feasts on insects and spiders and fruits.

This bird is often seen in pairs or small groups in which as many as 40 to 50 individuals have sometimes been noted.

Purple Sunbird Immature Male

A sharp monosyllabic 'wich, wich' uttered as it flits about This species is known to defend its territory by singing and chasing intruders.

In courtship displays the male raises its head, fans its tail and flutters with partly open wings that expose the pectoral tufts and sings before the female.

Female Sunbird

Purple Sunbird Male Molting

Sunbird in Flight

Nesting season flexible mostly March to May.The nest is a pouch made of cobwebs, thin strips of vegetation, lichens and bark. The entrance hole on the side is often shaded by a overhanging projection. The nest is built almost entirely by the female. The nest material is not woven and most of it is held together by cobwebs. About five to ten days may be taken in the building of the nest. The inner cavity is expanded by the bird by openings its wing and turning around on the inside.

Male Purple Sunbird
feeding young in nest

Only the female builds the nest and incubates the eggs which hatch after 15 to 17 days. There are usually 2 or 3 greyish or greenish white eggs marked with various shades of brown and grey. Males assist in feeding the chicks although females involve themselves to a greater extent, making more trips as the chicks get older.

Purple Sunbird feeding on Nectar