My Junior 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. To read my previous posting go to this link here.

Checking for Seeds

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 cottage. 

Sharing the table with Babblers

Some time back a Francolin nesting at the back of my cottage, started to visit my compound with her six chicks, and my dogs and I got quite used to Mother and her young brood wandering around the compound looking for nice eatables. Glad to see that Mother’s tuition has had positive results, and her chicks, now grown to be juveniles have enough confidence to pay regular visits to my compound and to the eating table. 

My Junior

I can talk -- can you fly? Common Mynah

The Common Mynah (Acridotheres tristis) is a member of the family of Sturnidae (Starlings and Mynahs) native to Asia.

The Mynah is the size of a Pigeon. It’s a familiar dark brown bird with bright yellow bill, legs and a yellow peri-orbital skin around the eye. The Mynah displays a conspicuous white wing patch during its flight. The sexes are similar and birds are usually seen in pairs. With the Crow and Babbler, the Mynah is probably the most common bird at Arunachala.

Yellow peri-obital skin around eye

The range of the Common Mynah is increasing at such a rapid rate that the IUCN Species Survival Commission has declared it one of the world’s most invasive species and is one of only three birds in the top 100 species that pose an impact to biodiversity. The other two birds on the list are the Red-vented Bulbul and the European Starling. The Common Mynah is regarded as a pest in South Africa, North America, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and many Pacific islands. It is particularly problematic in Australia. Several methods have been tried to control the bird's numbers and protect native species.

Close up of yellow skin around eye

This Bird favours open woodland but has adapted well to urban environments. Like most Starlings, the Common Mynah is omnivorous. It feeds on insects, arachnids, crustaceans, reptiles, small mammals, seeds, grain and fruits and discarded waste from human habitation. It forages on the ground among grass for insects, and especially for grasshoppers, from which it gets the generic name Acridotheres, "grasshopper hunter". It however feeds on a wide range of insects, mostly picked from the ground. It is a cross-pollinator of flowers such as Salmalia and Erythrina. It walks on the ground with occasional hops and is an opportunistic feeder on the insects disturbed by grazing cattle as well as fired grass fields.

Conspicuous wing patch during flight

This bird breeds for life and its nesting season is April to August. Its nest is comprised of a collection of twigs, roots, paper and rubbish in a hole in a tree, wall or ceiling. It lays around 4 or 5 glossy blue eggs with both sexes sharing domestic duties.

Nesting in Tree Hollow

The Common Mynah uses the nests of woodpeckers, parakeets and other birds and easily takes to nest boxes; it has been recorded evicting the chicks of previously nesting pairs by holding them in the beak and later sometimes not even using the emptied nest boxes. This aggressive behaviour is considered to contribute to its success as an invasive species.

Nest with eggs and first hatchling

The Mynah has a number of sharp calls and chatter. The call of this bird includes croaks, squawks, chirps, clicks, whistles and 'growls', and the bird often fluffs its feathers and bobs its head in singing. The Common Mynah screeches warnings to its mate or other birds in cases of predators in proximity or when its about to take off flying. Common Mynahs are popular as cage birds for their singing and "speaking" abilities. Before sleeping in communal roosts, Mynahs vocalise in unison, which is known as "communal noise". 

Young Mynah Bird

The Mynah is a superb imitator, as this charming and amusing video shows.

I can talk - can you fly?

Erythrina Indica Bird Visitors

Currently I have a beautiful Erythrina Indica -- Coral Tree, in bloom outside my front door. This tree with its lovely, striking scarlet flowers is daily attracting a large number of feathered friends. Just in a few short moments sitting on my steps, I took photos of the below bird visitors to the tree. Erythrina Indica is one of the indigenous trees in this country that the famed Ornithologist Salim Ali in his, “Book of Indian Birds,” positively identifies as a tree (with its seeds and brightly coloured leaves) that is strongly favoured by birds. To find out more about the Erythrina Indica tree, go to this link here. 

 

Common Babber

Loten Sunbird

Mynah Bird

Brahminy Starling

Purple Sunbird

White Breasted Kingfisher

Sirkeer Malkoha

Over the last few weeks have been noticing a Sirkeer Malkoha near my house. Think its probably the same bird, because its usually close or around the same spot. This is a largish bird that is mainly brown and rufous in colour, It has a long heavy tail edged with white tipped graduated tail feathers. It is related to the Coucal (which is commonly observed throughout this area). The bill of the Sirkeer Malkoha is hooked and bright cherry-red and yellow. The sexes are the same but juveniles are duller. 

Bird Preening

The Samudram Eri seems to be the perfect location for this bird because its preference is open scrub and thorn jungle, singly or in pairs. It moves about thickets and undergrowth like the Crow-Pheasant, searching for food such as insects, lizards, fallen fruit and berries. This bird is a feeble flier, and is similar in movement to the Coucal in that it ascends trees rapidly and agilely hops from branch to branch. 

Close up of its Cherry Red and Yellow Beak

The call of the bird is a subdued "bzuk... bzuk" ; also an alarm call of "p'tang" with a metallic quality. It has a sharp kek-kek-kek-kerek-kerek of the quality of the Rose Ringed Parakeet’s shrieks. 

Video of Bird on Roadside

Adult Bird on Tree

Its nesting season is from March to August, varying with locallity. It is non parasitic. Its nest is usually a shallow saucer of twigs lined with leaves in a thorn bush or sapling about 2-7 metres up. It lays from 2-3 white eggs. 

Bird on Ground

Tamil Nadu Bird Sanctuaries

In this area we are in some ways in a similar position to many of the below Bird Sanctuaries in that during the monsoon season many reservoirs and catchment areas at Tiruvannamalai get filled with water. Unfortunately as Tiruvannamalai is not a rural village anymore, the water in the reservoir areas gets pumped into the town for commercial and residential use.

 In the last ten years I can only remember one time (about three years ago) when the rains were so bountiful and the ground water table so sufficient, that major reservoir areas like the Samduram Erie did not need to be drained. In that year even in 100 degrees farenheit, the reservoirs remained full throughout the hot Summer.

Samudram Eri after a very good Monsoon

Much of the water running into the catchment areas is alive with the possibility of life and even without the necessity of artifically stocking the reservoir areas, within a couple of months, the lakes and tanks are full of freshwater shrimp, prawns and fish indigenous to Tamil Nadu. One year I even discovered a very large and very beautiful green turtle at the Samudram Erie.

About eight years ago local fishermen received permission from the Municipality to artifically stock the lake with young fish (fish fry), and harvest the fish at the end of the season. There has never been such a year at the Samudram Eri (southwest of the town of Tiruvannamalai) in the variety and number of visting and nesting migratory birds who had come to stay and partake of the fish in the reservoir lake.

I am currently searching for around 5 acres of land at the back of the Samudram Eri in order to create a Bird Haven for both indigenous and migratory birds. Once the land is located, purchased and developed into a beautiful habitat specifically tailored in providing food and a secure nesting environment to visiting birds, I am very excited by the possibility of working harmoniously with local Government to hopefully decide to request that the Samudram Eri be declared a protected bird sanctuary.

This posting is to list current Bird Sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu and to specific the variety and types of birds that visit specific Sanctuaries.

Bird Sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu 

Chitrangudi Bird Sanctuary 

This Bird Sanctuary was declared in 1989, with an estimated area of 47.63 hectares. The sanctuary area is within the community tank embankments and its immediate water holding channel, measuring approximately 15 meters from the bottom of the embankment. Most notable feature of the sanctuary is the prominent growth of Babul (Acacia nilotica) trees. It is adjacent to the Kanjirankulam Bird Sanctuary. 

The Kanjirankulam and Chitrangudi birds sanctuary are the natural habitat of winter migratory birds and provide safe place for roosting, breeding and feeding for birds with considerable diversity in nesting and feeding behavior. 

Kanjirankulam Bird Sanctuary 

This Sanctuary was declared in the year 1989, with an estimated area of 66.66 hectares in Keela Kanjirankulam and 37.55 hectares in Mela Kanjirankulam. 

Karaivetti Bird Sanctuary 

Spread over 454 hectares the Karaivetti Bird Sanctuary is located in Perambalur district of Tamil Nadu. This Sanctuary is now home for more than 180 species of birds which includes 100 species of land birds. During peak season more than 25,000 birds have been recorded. 

In previous season over 250 nests were counted in what is a breeding ground for Grey Pelican, Spoonbill, Ibis, Openbill stork and the Cormorant. Important land bird species include the Rosy Pastor, Peregrine Falcon, Osprey, Marsh Harrier and the Tawny Eage. 

Karikili Bird Sanctuary 

Located about 86 kilometres from Chennai in Madurantakam Taluk of Chengai Anna District, this is one of the most tranquil and beautiful places near Chennai. Spread over 61.21 hectares, it is comprised of two rain fed irrigation tanks. The water enriched by bird droppings results in increased yield. Beginning with Open Billed Storks, other birds start arriving in September-October. Karikkili is a haven for Ducks and Waders. Pintailed Ducks, Garganey teals, Common Teals, Shovellor, Little Grebe or Dab Chick, Herons and Egrets are amongst other avian visitors. 

Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary 

Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary is a unique sanctuary actively protected and managed by the Koonthakulam village community. The largest breeding water bird reserve in south India attracts more than 100,000 birds annually. It is located 35 kilometers from Tirunelveli. It is comprised of Koonthankulam and Kadankulam tanks which cover an area of 130 hectares. It was declared a Sanctuary in 1994. 

Melselvanur-Keelselvanur Bird Sanctuary 

Mela-Keela Selvanoor Bird Sanctuary was declared in 1998 and is located near Sayalkudi in Ramanathapuram district. This is the biggest Bird Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. The total area of the Sanctuary is 593.08 hectares. 

Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary 

Point Calimere Wildlife covers an area of 6.66 square miles. This Animal Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary is at Point Calimere, Thanjavur District. It consists of tidal swamps, dry evergreen forests and mangroves. The Sanctuary is famous for its Flamingos. A large variety of water birds including Teals, Gulls, Terns, Plovers and Stilts can be seen during winter months. Mammals include Chital and the Wild Boar. As well as water birds Dolphins and Olive Ridley Turtle come close to the shore. 

Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary has recorded the second largest congregation of migratory water birds in India, with a peak population in excess of 100,000, representing 103 species. 

In October water birds arrive from Rann of Kutch, Eastern Siberia, Northern Russia, Central Asia and parts of Europe for their feeding season and start returning to those breeding places in January. Water birds include the Spot-billed Pelican, Spotted Greenshank, Spoonbill Sandpiper, the Black-necked Stork, White Ibis, Asian Dowitcher, Lesser Flamingo, Spoonbill, Darter and Painted Stork. 

Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary 

This Sancutary has an area of 481 sq kms and it is the second largest brackish water lagoon in India.It straddles the border of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states on the Coromandal Coast in South India. 

The lake encompasses the Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary. Every year approximately 15,000 Greater Flamingos are reported to visit the lake along with Pelicans, Kingfishers, Herons, Egrets Painted Storks, Spoonbills and Ducks, Little Grebe, Indian Cormorant, Little Cormorant, Asian Openbill Stork, Black-headed Ibis, Eurasian Spoonbill, Lesser Whistling Teal, Spot bill Duck, Great Thickknee and Stone Curlew. 

The highest concentrations of Flamingo are found in the periphery of the lagoon where the water level is below 40 centimeters (16 in). The concentrations of flamingos are also associated with high algal, fish and benthic diversity. 

Several species of wintering waterfowl have been noted including Bar-headed Goose, Ruddy Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Common Teal, Northern Pintail, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard, Brown-headed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Whiskered Tern, Gull-billed Tern and Caspian Tern. Birds of prey which appear in winter are the: White-bellied Sea Eagle, Osprey, Harriers and Peregrine Falcons. 

Udhayamarthandapuram Bird Sanctuary 

Udhayamarthandapuram Bird Sanctuary was created in December 1999. The Sanctuary is home to variety of migratory water birds like Coot, Grey Heron, White Ibis, Open bill Storks, Night Heron and Purple Heron. 

Udhayamarthandapuram Bird Sanctuary is located in Thiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu. The total area of the sanctuary is 45 hectares. 

The Sanctuary is basically an irrigation tank that is fed by water from Mettur dam and by the northeast monsoon from August till December. It remains dry from April till August. 

Vaduvoor Bird Sanctuary 

Created in July 1999, the Sanctuary attracts more than 40 species of water birds like Ibis, Painted stork, Grey pelican, Pintail, Cormorant, Teals and Herons. 

Vaduvoor Bird Sanctuary is a favorite flyaway spot for migratory birds and has recorded congregation up to 20,000 birds in November. The ideal time to visit the sanctuary is November – December when congregation of migratory birds is maximum. One can spot more than 40 species of water birds like Ibis, Painted stork, Grey pelican, Pintail, Cormorant, Teals and Herons. 

Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary 

Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary is one of the smallest and oldest in the country with a unique history. The local people have been protecting the sanctuary for centuries now because they have realized that the bird droppings falling into the tank increases nitrogen content of the water and when used to irrigate crop increases the yield greatly and saves the cost of fertilizers. As far back as 1798, the village folk convinced the authorities to give protection to the birds of the 30 hectare area of the Vedanthangal tank. 

Around 30,000 birds come every season even though the area is just 30 hectares It then attracts multitudes of Herons, Egrets, Storks, Ibises and Spoon Bills. If the monsoon is heavy, these trees can be partially submerged. Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary is one of the oldest water bird sanctuaries in the country. 

Vedanthangal in Tamil language means 'hamlet of the hunter' and this area was once a favorite hunting spot for the local landlords some 300 years ago. The region attracted a variety of birds because it’s dotted with small lakes that acted as feeding grounds for the birds. The sanctuary features thousands of birds coming from various countries, some of which can be easily identified. 

Some easily found bird species include Cormorants, Darter, Grebes, Large Egret, Little Egrets, Moorhen, Night Herons, Paddy Bird, Painted Stork, Pintails, Pond Heron, Sandpiper, Shovellers, Terns, White Ibis and many more. 

The migratory birds include Garganey Teals Canada, Snake Bird Sri Lanka, Grey Pelican Australia, Grey Heron Bangladesh, Open-billed Stork Bangladesh, Glossy Ibis Sri Lanka, Painted Stork Siberia, Spoonbill Burma and Spot Bill Duck Canada. 

Vellode Bird Sanctuary 

Vellode Bird Sanctuary of Erode District of Tamil Nadu, has an area of 77.185 hectares. It is situated in Vadamugam Vellode village. 

Vettangudi Bird Sanctuary 

This sanctuary encompasses Periya Kollukudi Patti, Chinna Kollukudi Patti and Vettangudi Patti tanks extending to a total area of 38.4 hectares. It was declared a Bird Sancutary in 1977. 

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Bird Havens 

As well as the 13 established bird sanctuaries at the southernmost continental range in Tamilandu (listed above) further bird havens below. 

• Kallaperambur lake near Thanjavur has recently been declared as a bird sanctuary by the Forest department. Improvement works remain to be undertaken to the lake. 

 • Suchindram Theroor Bird Sanctuary is a proposed protected area comprising the Suchindram Kulam wetlands and Theroor Kulam both near Suchindram town in Kanyakumari District. Being at the extreme southern tip of India, this area is the southernmost bird sanctuary in the continental range of the Central Asian Flyway. 

Suchindram -Theroor Bird Sanctuary is noted for the wide variety of migratory water birds that winter there, including: Painted Stork, Spot-Billed Pelicans. Also seen here are Cattle Egrets, Great Cormorants, Darters, Purple Swamphen, and Bronze-Winged Jacanas. Resident raptors include pied kingfisher, brahminy kite and marsh harrier. 

Other water birds are Dabchick, grey heron, Garganey, purple heron, Cinnamon Bittern, Open Bill Stork, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Whiskered Tern and Little Tern, Black-Winged Stilt, Greenshank, Little Ringed Plover and the Common Sandpiper. 

• Viralimalai Peacock Sanctuary is in the small town of Viralimalai, situated 30 km from Thiruchirapalli and 40 km from Pudukkottai. It is known for its Murugan temple and the adjacent Peacock Sanctuary. The town is bestowed with a large number of wild peacocks, which roam around the Murugan temple. The town, Temple and Peacock Sanctuary have been declared and funded as a Heritage Place by order of the Governor. 

Very Clever Crows

A recent posting in Science Now, the daily online news service of the journal Science explored the question of whether Crows are mind-readers. We all know just how smart and naughty crows are and how they are very successful in usurping other bird and taking over their territories – but the below narrative suggests that crows have a complex intuition that has been seen in only a select few creatures – that of hiding food to protect it from theft. 

Crows Really Are Mind-Readers 

Scrub Jay takes a test

Are crows mind readers? Recent studies have suggested that the birds hide food because they think others will steal it — a complex intuition that has been seen in only a select few creatures. Some critics have suggested that the birds might simply be stressed out, but new research reveals that crows may be gifted after all. 

Cracks first began forming in the crow mind-reading hypothesis last year. One member of a research team from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands spent 7 months in bird cognition expert Nicola Clayton’s University of Cambridge lab in the United Kingdom studying Western scrub jays, a member of the crow family that is often used for these studies. The Groningen team then developed a computer model in which “virtual jays” cached food under various conditions. 

In PLOS ONE, they argued that the model showed the jays’ might be moving their food—or recaching it—not because they were reading the minds of their competitors, but simply because of the stress of having another bird present (especially a more dominant one) and of losing food to thieves. The result contradicted previous work by Clayton’s group suggesting that crows might have a human like awareness of other creatures’ mental states—a cognitive ability known as theory of mind that has been claimed in dogs, chimps, and even rats. 

In the new study, Clayton and her Cambridge graduate student James Thom decided to test the stress hypothesis. First, they replicated earlier work on scrub jays by letting the birds hide peanuts in trays of ground corn cobs—either unobserved or with another bird watching—and later giving them a chance to rebury them. As in previous studies, the jays recached a much higher proportion of the peanuts if another bird could see them: nearly twice as much as in private, the team reports online today in PLOS ONE. 

Then came the stress test. First, Thom and Clayton gave the jays trays with the ground cobs but no food to hide in them—a so-called “sham” session. Then, in a second session, they gave the birds new hiding trays and bowls of peanuts to hide. When the jays were done, the experimenters removed the trays and stole all of the peanuts. Finally, after a short break, the researchers gave each bird yet another round of food, a new tray to hide it in, and one of the trays it had seen earlier: either the sham tray or the ransacked “pilfer” tray. The jays had 10 minutes for recaching. 

If the Groningen model was correct, Thom and Clayton argue, the stress of discovering that food was missing from the pilfer tray ought to drive jays to cache more peanuts than those presented with the sham tray. In fact, there was no difference, even though corvids have excellent memories for hidden food and remarkable abilities to find it again. The hypothesis that jays have theory of mind remains on the table, Thom says. 

Thom and Clayton have “definitely shown that scrub recaching is not as simple as the [Groningen] model presents it,” says Elske van der Vaart, lead author of the Groningen team’s earlier report, who is now at the University of Amsterdam. But she argues that there is still room for doubt about what the results mean. For example, the sham condition—in which the jays had no food to cache—could have stressed the birds as much as the stolen peanuts in the pilfer condition did. 

Amanda Seed, an animal cognition researcher at the University of St. Andrews in the United Kingdom, says the Groningen model’s failure to predict the birds’ caching behavior in the new experiments could “bring the model down like a pack of cards.” But researchers still have to rule out other possible explanations, she says. For example, the birds given pilfered tray may have noticed the missing peanuts too late to affect their overall caching rate, or they may have spent much of their time looking for the missing nuts instead of hiding the new ones. The Cambridge and Groningen groups are planning more work with both real and “virtual” birds to see what is really going on. “I applaud them for rising to the challenge,” Seed says. 

Signature Spider

The Signature Spider (Argiope Anasuja) is also known as the Writing Spider and the Garden Spider. It is commonly found in India often in one’s garden or backyard. Recently someone visiting my house mentioned that I had a signature spider at my front door. I went to look and was so interested by the zigzag pattern on its web which gives it the name “Signature Spider” that I checked the internet to learn more.

This spider is found all over the world. There are around 75 known different species, and although different in colouration each species shares the same distinctive striping on its body. The Signature Spider builds its web close to the ground in order to catch low flying insects such as bees and wasps that travel from flower to flower and is able to eat insects twice its size. This spider’s web is almost invisible except for zigzag stripes on the web. These zigzag stripes are known as the “stabilmentum".

When the web is built the signature spider lines up its legs with the white stripes of the zigzag. The centre of the web is hollow and this is where the spider sits. It groups its legs together to appear as a four legged creature but also when its legs are together, the hairs on the legs intertwine and act as a sun reflector along with the bright flower. white X in its web. The spider’s legs reflect the sun and its brightly coloured body dupes insects into thinking it is a flower.

 

The male (which is smaller than the female), spins a web alongside the female’s web known as a companion web, after mating the female will kill the male and then lay her eggs onto this companion web and wrap them up into a sac. This sac can hold from 400 to 1,400 egg. The eggs hatch in the autumn but they remain locked inside until spring. Spiders are cannibals and they eat each other to stay alive in the sac until they are strong enough to break through the sac walls. 

The venom of the Signature Spider is harmless to humans. It is used throughout the world for therapeutic medical agents and as an ingredient in beauty products.

Bay Backed Shrike

A strikingly coloured, delicately built and fine-billed bird, the Bay-Backed Shrike is a beautiful bird, usually found singly, and commonly habituates the area of the Samudram Erie. This is a bird of open country and cultivation, and it inhabits dry, bushy areas with scattered trees or at the edge of woodland. 

The most distinctive feature of this bird is its black facial mask extending from the side of the neck through the eyes to the base of the hooked bill, that sits in stark contrast to the grey crown and shoulders and chestnut-maroon upperparts. The upper-wings and long, white-tipped tail are black, and the underparts of the body are whitish with a wash of brown. The bill and legs are black, and a large white patch sits on the primary wing feathers. 

Strikingly Coloured Bird

The Bay-Backed Shrike is the size of a Bulbul and is the smallest of the Indian Shrikes. This bird which is widely distributed is generally found singly. This curious bird may also be identified by its rather quiet, pleasant warbling song that is mixed with harsher ‘churring’ notes and much mimicry of other birds calls. 

Video of Bay Backed Shrike

This bird which is the same size as the Bulbul flies low and fast between perches and alights upon an exposed branch of a bush or an electricity wire, from which its watches for its insect prey in its characteristic upright position. After spotting its target, it swoops down onto the prey and catches it on the ground. Its diet consists almost exclusively of insects, but small lizards and even mice may also be taken in this way. 

Usually, the Bay-Backed Shrike feeds alone or in pairs, but it is always bold and conspicuous when feeding, and during times of abundant prey, it may store its food for periods when food is scarce impaled a sharp point, such as a thorn. Thus secured the prey can be ripped with the Shrike’s strong hooked bill, but its feet are not suited for tearing. 

Juvenile birds look like washed-out versions of adults.

 

Juvenile Bird

Nest of Bay-Backed Shrike

During breeding this bird’s nest is a small, neat cup built from grass, feathers, wool and other fibres and lined with grass. It is placed in a fork of a small tree or a large bush, up to ten metres above the ground, and its territory is defended around this nesting site as well as around favoured perches. A clutch of eggs is laid and incubated by the female for fifteen days, whilst the male brings the female food. The male also supplies all the food for the young nestlings once they have hatched, and they are tended to for around two weeks before they fledge. The Bay-Backed Shrike may produce two broods each breeding season.