Black Napped Monarch

Common Name:Purple Sunbird

Local Name:-जांभळा शिंजीर, जांभळा सूर्यपक्षी, चुमका, फूलचुखी

Scientific Name: Cinnyris Asiaticus.

Date Of Sighting:- May-2013

Place of Sighting:- Tadoba/Chandrapur/Maharashtra
Bird Family:- Nectariniini-Sunbird and Spider Hunter.

State Bird:-NA

Type:-Resident

Status:-Least Concern

Female

Discription:- 

The Purple Sunbird is small sunbird like other sunbird they feed mainly on Nector,although they will also take insects,especially when feeding young.They have a fast and direct flight and can take nectar by hovering like a humming bird but often perch at base of flower.
The males appear all black except in some lighting when the 

purple iridescence become visible.Female are Olive and yellowish below.

The Purple Sunbird has a relatively short bill,a dark and short square tail.Less than 10 cm long they have a down curve bill with tipped tubular tongues that aid in nectar feeding.The male is glossy metallic purplish black on upper parts with the wings appearing dark brown.The breeding male is glossy metallic purplish black on the upper parts with wings appearing dark brown.The breeding male has the underparts also of the same purplish black,but non-breeding males may show a central streak of black on yellow underparts.In the breeding plumage the male can be confused with the synoptic lotens sunbird which has a long bill and distictive broad maroon band on the breast.Breeding males will some times show their yellow pectoral tufts in display.There is a patch of bright blue on the shoulder of breeding males.The maroon shine on the feathers of collar around the neck is visible mainly during the breeding season.

Females are olive brown above with yellowish underside.There is a pale supercilium beyond the eye..There is a darkish eye strip.The throat and breast are yellow becoming pale towards the vent.The outer tail feathers are tipped in white both in the male and feamle.

They are seen in pairs or small group and aggregation may be found in gardens with suitable flowers.They feed mainly on NEctor but also take fruit and insects.The group of 40 to 50 also has been noted.

Habitat, Region, and Climate:-

1.This species is found in a variety of habitats with some trees,including forest and cultivation.
2.The Sunbird and Spider hunter occupy a wide range of habitats,with majority of species being in primary rain forest but other habitats used by the family including disturbed secondary forest,open woodland,open scrub and Savannah, coastal  scrub and alpine forest.Some species have readily adapted to human modified landscape such as plantation,garden and agricultural land.May species are able to occupy a wide range of habitats from sea level to 4900 m

Territory:-
1.Many sunbirds are known to defend feeding and breeding territories (Cheke et al. 2001); males will sing from 
prominent perch and chase intruders, including those of other species.

Feeding Habits ( food ):- 

1.Flowers produce nectar to attract pollinators. The Purple Sunbird is attracted to red flowers which may have no smell

2. In the present study, Purple Sunbirds visited the Chinese hibiscus in over half of the total visits (Table 1). This 
ornamental plant is available for about eight months of the year. It was present in at all stations in relatively in good numbers. In the study area, flowers’ nectar appeared to comprise over 90% of the bird’s food (based on 
feeding duration). As no sunbird is entirely nectivorous, and nectar alone can not supplement amino-acids requirements, a nectivorous bird may also feed on fruits’ juice and insects

3.Altricial nestlings of Purple Sunbirds need protein during their rapid development (Klasing 2004). Therefore, adults feed their nestlings with small insects (our observations). In Indian subcontinent they feed on insects and spiders, but very largely on flower nectar (Ali 2002). In Oman and UAE they feed often on insects and at flowers of the invasive non-native tree Prosopis juliflora 

Distinctive features:-
1.Male unmistakably dark purple blue.
2.Beak smaller than confusion species,Loten's sunbird.
3.Eclipse male has yellow brest with blue streak extending to the belly.
4.Female has yellowish under parts and faint supercilium

Breeding ,Bird Housing and Nesting
1.Several sunbird and sugarbird species breed when most flowers are out.
2.The Primary breeding season is before the monsoons,April to June in Northen Indian and Jauary to June in Srilanka.
3.Breeding season of the purple sunbird vaies across the asian continent ,generally coinciding with the month where flower are most abdunat.During the Months,the female purple sunbird construct a hanging oval or pear shaped nest from tree,roughly three meters from the ground.The nest is build using an array of material including leaves,grasses,hair,twigs and caterpillerdroppings,all woven together with cobwebs with a small entrance  near the top.
4..The nest entrances of the Purple Sunbirds are so constructed that they are rarely towards south or west. Seemingly, this is done to avoid direct radiation of the sun.

Genaral Size and Shape:- 
1. Length :- 10 Cm/ 4 inch.

Breeding season:-
1.March to May is breeding season.

Egg :-

1. 2 to 3 eggs at time

2. incubation period of 15–17 days
3.It seems that the reproduction season depends on climate in different regions but the number of eggs and hatching period is fixed.

Importance of birds:-

1.Pollination
Pollination is essential for provision of plant derived ecosystem services,yet there have been worldwide declines in pollinator diversity.Many fruit and vegetables require pollinators thus pollination services are critical to reproduction of considerable portion of the vitamins and minerals in Human diet.

2. Sunbird transferring pollen between plant on the tip of its tongue as it probes for Nectar.

Survival,threats and danger:-
1.Habitat Destruction and human activity led to decline in the number of tress and green spaces the purple sunbird can habitat. This is a particular concern in India,where urbanization has increased rapidly.Destruction of nesting has also been recorded.

Plumage

Plumage refers both to the layer of feather that cover a bird and the pattern,color, and arrangement of those feather.Pattern and colors of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes,sexes,and seasons.Within species there can also be a number of different color morphs.Differences in plumage are used by ornithologists and birdwatchers to distinguish species and collect other species specific information.

Male in Eclipse Pulmage
Many ducks have bright,colorful plumage,exhibiting strong sexual dimorphism to attract the females.However,they moult into a dull plumage after breeding in mid summer.This drab,female-like appearance is called eclipse plumage.
when they shed feather to go into eclipse,the ducks become flightless for a short period of time.Some ducks species remain in eclipse for one to three months in the late summer and early fall,while other would retain the cryptic plumage until  the next spring when they undergo another moult to return to their breeding pulmage. Although mainly found in the anatidae,a few other species ( For example the related Red Jungle Fowl )also have an eclipse pulmage.In contrast to ducks,Many species of the cotinga family,such as the guianan cock of the rock retain their exuberant plumage thus showing the diversity of the class Aves.
A phase during which the distinctive marking of the bird are obscured by molting of the breeding plumage

" Asian Paradise Flycatcher

Common Name:Purple Sunbird

Local Name:-जांभळा शिंजीर, जांभळा सूर्यपक्षी, चुमका, फूलचुखी

Scientific Name: Cinnyris Asiaticus.

Date Of Sighting:- May-2013

Place of Sighting:- Tadoba/Chandrapur/Maharashtra
Bird Family:- Nectariniini-Sunbird and Spider Hunter.

State Bird:-NA

Type:-Resident

Status:-Least Concern

Discription:- 

The Purple SUnbird is samll sunbird like other sunbirdthey feed mainly on Nector,although they will also take insects,especially when feeding young.They have a fast and direct flight and can take nectar by hovering like a humming bird but often perch at base of flower.The males appear all black except in some lighting when the 

purple iridescence become visible.Female are Olive and yellowish below.

The Purple Sunbird has a relatively short bill,a dark and short square tail.Less than 10 cm long they have a down curve bill with tipped tubular tongues that aid in nectar feeding.The male is glossy metallic purplish black on upper parts with the wings appearing dark brown.The breeding male is glossy metallic purplish black on the upper parts with wings appearing dark brown.The breeding male has the underparts also of the same purplish black,but non-breeding males may show a central streak of black on yellow underparts.In the breeding plumage the male can be confused with the synoptic lotens sunbird which has a long bill and distictive broad maroon band on the breast.Breeding males will some times show their yellow pectoral tufts in display.There is a patch of bright blue on the shoulder of breeding males.The maroon shine on the feathers of collar around the neck is visible mainly during the breeding season.

Females are olive brown above with yellowish underside.There is a pale supercilium beyond the eye..There is a darkish eye strip.The throat and breast are yellow becoming pale towards the vent.The outer tail feathers are tipped in white both in the male and feamle.

They are seen in pairs or small group and aggregation may be found in gardens with suitable flowers.They feed mainly on NEctor but also take fruit and insects.The group of 40 to 50 also has been noted.

जांभळा सूर्यपक्षी हा अंदाजे १० सें.मी. मापाचा, चिमणीपेक्षा लहान पक्षी असून विणेच्या हंगामात नर चमकदार निळ्या-जांभळ्या रंगाचा असतो. याच्या पिसाच्या वरच्या भागात शेंदरी रंगाचा एक छोटा पट्टा असतो. इतर काळात नर-मादी दिसायला सारखेच असतात. वरून तपकिरी रंग, खालून फिकट पिवळा, काळे पंख, छातीवर काळा पट्टा.
साधारणपणे मार्च ते मे हा यांचा वीण हंगाम काळ असतो, यांचे घरटे लांबट थैलीसारखे, झाडाला किंवा एखाद्या घराच्या आधाराने लटकणारे असते. घरटे, गवत, कोळ्याचे जाळे, लाकडाचे छोटे तुकडे यांचे बनलेले असते. मादी एकावेळी २ ते ३ अंडी देते; ही अंडी राखाडी-हिरवट रंगाची व त्यावर तपकिरी ठिपके असतात. मादी एकटीच घरटे बांधण्याचे, अंडी उबविण्याचे काम करते मात्र पिलांना खाऊ घालण्याचे काम नर-मादी मिळून करतात

Habitat, Region, and Climate:-

1.This species is found in a variety of habitats with some trees,including forest and cultivation.
2.The Sunbird and Spider hunter occupy a wide range of habitats,with majority of species being in primary rain forest but other habitats used by the family including disturbed secondary forest,open woodland,open scrub and Savannah, coastal  scrub and alpine forest.Some species have readily adapted to human modified landscape such as plantation,garden and agricultural land.May species are able to occupy a wide range of habitats from sea level to 4900 m

Territory:-
1.Many sunbirds are known to defend feeding and breeding territories (Cheke et al. 2001); males will sing from 
prominent perch and chase intruders, including those of other species.

Feeding Habits ( food ):- 

1.Flowers produce nectar to attract pollinators. The Purple Sunbird is attracted to red flowers which may have no smell

2. In the present study, Purple Sunbirds visited the Chinese hibiscus in over half of the total visits (Table 1). This 
ornamental plant is available for about eight months of the year. It was present in at all stations in relatively in good numbers. In the study area, flowers’ nectar appeared to comprise over 90% of the bird’s food (based on 
feeding duration). As no sunbird is entirely nectivorous, and nectar alone can not supplement amino-acids requirements, a nectivorous bird may also feed on fruits’ juice and insects

3.Altricial nestlings of Purple Sunbirds need protein during their rapid development (Klasing 2004). Therefore, adults feed their nestlings with small insects (our observations). In Indian subcontinent they feed on insects and spiders, but very largely on flower nectar (Ali 2002). In Oman and UAE they feed often on insects and at flowers of the invasive non-native tree Prosopis juliflora 

Distinctive features:-
1.Male unmistakably dark purple blue.
2.Beak smaller than confusion species,Loten's sunbird.
3.Eclipse male has yellow brest with blue streak extending to the belly.
4.Female has yellowish under parts and faint supercilium

Breeding ,Bird Housing and Nesting
1.Several sunbird and sugarbird species breed when most flowers are out.
2.The Primary breeding season is before the monsoons,April to June in Northen Indian and Jauary to June in Srilanka.
3.Breeding season of the purple sunbird vaies across the asian continent ,generally coinciding with the month where flower are most abdunat.During the Months,the female purple sunbird construct a hanging oval or pear shaped nest from tree,roughly three meters from the ground.The nest is build using an array of material including leaves,grasses,hair,twigs and caterpillerdroppings,all woven together with cobwebs with a small entrance  near the top.
4..The nest entrances of the Purple Sunbirds are so constructed that they are rarely towards south or west. Seemingly, this is done to avoid direct radiation of the sun.

Genaral Size and Shape:- 
1. Length :- 10 Cm/ 4 inch.

Breeding season:-
1.March to May is breeding season.

Egg :-

1. 2 to 3 eggs at time

2. incubation period of 15–17 days
3.It seems that the reproduction season depends on climate in different regions but the number of eggs and hatching period is fixed.

Importance of birds:-

1.Pollination
Pollination is essential for provision of plant derived ecosystem services,yet there have been worldwide declines in pollinator diversity.Many fruit and vegetables require pollinators thus pollination services are critical to reproduction of considerable portion of the vitamins and minerals in Human diet.

2. Sunbird transferring pollen between plant on the tip of its tongue as it probes for Nectar.

Survival,threats and danger:-
1.Habitat Destruction and human activity led to decline in the number of tress and green spaces the purple sunbird can habitat. This is a particular concern in India,where urbanization has increased rapidly.Destruction of nesting has also been recorded.

Female

Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a number of different colour morphs. Differences in plumage are used by ornithologists and birdwatchers to distinguish between species and collect other species specific information


Many ducks have bright, colourful plumage, exhibiting strong sexual dimorphism to attract the females. However, they moult into a dull plumage after breeding in mid-summer. This drab, female-like appearance is called eclipse plumage. When they shed feathers to go into eclipse, the ducks become flightless for a short period of time. Some duck species remain in eclipse for one to three months in the late summer and early fall, while other would retain the cryptic plumage until the next spring when they undergo another moult to return to their breeding plumage. Although mainly found in theAnatidae, a few other species (for example the related Red Junglefowl) also have an eclipse plumage. In contrast to the ducks, many species of the Cotinga family, such as the Guianan Cock-of-the-rock retain their exuberant plumage, thus showing the diversity of the class Aves.

Male in eclips Pulmage

1. A phase during which the distinctive markings of a bird (esp. a male duck) are obscured by molting of the breeding plumage

Purple SunBird - Done

Common Name:Purple Sunbird

Local Name:-जांभळा शिंजीर, जांभळा सूर्यपक्षी, चुमका, फूलचुखी

Scientific Name: Cinnyris Asiaticus.

Date Of Sighting:- May-2013

Place of Sighting:- Tadoba/Chandrapur/Maharashtra
Bird Family:- Nectariniini-Sunbird and Spider Hunter.

State Bird:-NA

Type:-Resident

Status:-Least Concern

Female

Discription:- 

The Purple Sunbird is small sunbird like other sunbird they feed mainly on Nector,although they will also take insects,especially when feeding young.They have a fast and direct flight and can take nectar by hovering like a humming bird but often perch at base of flower.
The males appear all black except in some lighting when the 

purple iridescence become visible.Female are Olive and yellowish below.

The Purple Sunbird has a relatively short bill,a dark and short square tail.Less than 10 cm long they have a down curve bill with tipped tubular tongues that aid in nectar feeding.The male is glossy metallic purplish black on upper parts with the wings appearing dark brown.The breeding male is glossy metallic purplish black on the upper parts with wings appearing dark brown.The breeding male has the underparts also of the same purplish black,but non-breeding males may show a central streak of black on yellow underparts.In the breeding plumage the male can be confused with the synoptic lotens sunbird which has a long bill and distictive broad maroon band on the breast.Breeding males will some times show their yellow pectoral tufts in display.There is a patch of bright blue on the shoulder of breeding males.The maroon shine on the feathers of collar around the neck is visible mainly during the breeding season.

Females are olive brown above with yellowish underside.There is a pale supercilium beyond the eye..There is a darkish eye strip.The throat and breast are yellow becoming pale towards the vent.The outer tail feathers are tipped in white both in the male and feamle.

They are seen in pairs or small group and aggregation may be found in gardens with suitable flowers.They feed mainly on NEctor but also take fruit and insects.The group of 40 to 50 also has been noted.

जांभळा सूर्यपक्षी हा अंदाजे १० सें.मी. मापाचा, चिमणीपेक्षा लहान पक्षी असून विणेच्या हंगामात नर चमकदार निळ्या-जांभळ्या रंगाचा असतो. याच्या पिसाच्या वरच्या भागात शेंदरी रंगाचा एक छोटा पट्टा असतो. इतर काळात नर-मादी दिसायला सारखेच असतात. वरून तपकिरी रंग, खालून फिकट पिवळा, काळे पंख, छातीवर काळा पट्टा.
साधारणपणे मार्च ते मे हा यांचा वीण हंगाम काळ असतो, यांचे घरटे लांबट थैलीसारखे, झाडाला किंवा एखाद्या घराच्या आधाराने लटकणारे असते. घरटे, गवत, कोळ्याचे जाळे, लाकडाचे छोटे तुकडे यांचे बनलेले असते. मादी एकावेळी २ ते ३ अंडी देते; ही अंडी राखाडी-हिरवट रंगाची व त्यावर तपकिरी ठिपके असतात. मादी एकटीच घरटे बांधण्याचे, अंडी उबविण्याचे काम करते मात्र पिलांना खाऊ घालण्याचे काम नर-मादी मिळून करतात

Habitat, Region, and Climate:-

1.This species is found in a variety of habitats with some trees,including forest and cultivation.
2.The Sunbird and Spider hunter occupy a wide range of habitats,with majority of species being in primary rain forest but other habitats used by the family including disturbed secondary forest,open woodland,open scrub and Savannah, coastal  scrub and alpine forest.Some species have readily adapted to human modified landscape such as plantation,garden and agricultural land.May species are able to occupy a wide range of habitats from sea level to 4900 m

Territory:-
1.Many sunbirds are known to defend feeding and breeding territories (Cheke et al. 2001); males will sing from 
prominent perch and chase intruders, including those of other species.

Feeding Habits ( food ):- 

1.Flowers produce nectar to attract pollinators. The Purple Sunbird is attracted to red flowers which may have no smell

2. In the present study, Purple Sunbirds visited the Chinese hibiscus in over half of the total visits (Table 1). This 
ornamental plant is available for about eight months of the year. It was present in at all stations in relatively in good numbers. In the study area, flowers’ nectar appeared to comprise over 90% of the bird’s food (based on 
feeding duration). As no sunbird is entirely nectivorous, and nectar alone can not supplement amino-acids requirements, a nectivorous bird may also feed on fruits’ juice and insects

3.Altricial nestlings of Purple Sunbirds need protein during their rapid development (Klasing 2004). Therefore, adults feed their nestlings with small insects (our observations). In Indian subcontinent they feed on insects and spiders, but very largely on flower nectar (Ali 2002). In Oman and UAE they feed often on insects and at flowers of the invasive non-native tree Prosopis juliflora 

Distinctive features:-
1.Male unmistakably dark purple blue.
2.Beak smaller than confusion species,Loten's sunbird.
3.Eclipse male has yellow brest with blue streak extending to the belly.
4.Female has yellowish under parts and faint supercilium


Breeding ,Bird Housing and Nesting
1.Several sunbird and sugarbird species breed when most flowers are out.
2.The Primary breeding season is before the monsoons,April to June in Northen Indian and Jauary to June in Srilanka.
3.Breeding season of the purple sunbird vaies across the asian continent ,generally coinciding with the month where flower are most abdunat.During the Months,the female purple sunbird construct a hanging oval or pear shaped nest from tree,roughly three meters from the ground.The nest is build using an array of material including leaves,grasses,hair,twigs and caterpillerdroppings,all woven together with cobwebs with a small entrance  near the top.
4..The nest entrances of the Purple Sunbirds are so constructed that they are rarely towards south or west. Seemingly, this is done to avoid direct radiation of the sun.

Genaral Size and Shape:- 
1. Length :- 10 Cm/ 4 inch.

Breeding season:-
1.March to May is breeding season.

Egg :-

1. 2 to 3 eggs at time

2. incubation period of 15–17 days
3.It seems that the reproduction season depends on climate in different regions but the number of eggs and hatching period is fixed.

Importance of birds:-

1.Pollination
Pollination is essential for provision of plant derived ecosystem services,yet there have been worldwide declines in pollinator diversity.Many fruit and vegetables require pollinators thus pollination services are critical to reproduction of considerable portion of the vitamins and minerals in Human diet.

2. Sunbird transferring pollen between plant on the tip of its tongue as it probes for Nectar.

Survival,threats and danger:-
1.Habitat Destruction and human activity led to decline in the number of tress and green spaces the purple sunbird can habitat. This is a particular concern in India,where urbanization has increased rapidly.Destruction of nesting has also been recorded.

Plumage


Plumage refers both to the layer of feather that cover a bird and the pattern,color, and arrangement of those feather.Pattern and colors of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes,sexes,and seasons.Within species there can also be a number of different color morphs.Differences in plumage are used by ornithologists and birdwatchers to distinguish species and collect other species specific information.

Male in Eclipse Pulmage
Many ducks have bright,colorful plumage,exhibiting strong sexual dimorphism to attract the females.However,they moult into a dull plumage after breeding in mid summer.This drab,female-like appearance is called eclipse plumage.
when they shed feather to go into eclipse,the ducks become flightless for a short period of time.Some ducks species remain in eclipse for one to three months in the late summer and early fall,while other would retain the cryptic plumage until  the next spring when they undergo another moult to return to their breeding pulmage. Although mainly found in the anatidae,a few other species ( For example the related Red Jungle Fowl )also have an eclipse pulmage.In contrast to ducks,Many species of the cotinga family,such as the guianan cock of the rock retain their exuberant plumage thus showing the diversity of the class Aves.
A phase during which the distinctive marking of the bird are obscured by molting of the breeding plumage

Oriental Honey Buzzard

Common Name:  Oriental Honey Buzzard / Crested Honey Buzzard

Scientific Name:-
Local Name:-मधाळ गरुड

Date Of Sighting:- May-2013

Place of Sighting:- Tadoba/Chandrapur/Maharashtra

State Bird:-

Type:-Resident

Status:-Least Concern

Discription:- 

Habitat, Region, and Climate:-

Territory:-

Feeding Habits ( food ):- 

Distinctive features:-
Bird Housing and Nesting
Survival,threats and danger:-
Kingfisher are very short lived.Many young will not have learned to fish by the time they are driven out of their parents territory.Its id thought that only a half of the fledglings survive more than a week or two.Although only a quarter survive to breed the following year,this is enough to maintain the population.Likewise,only a quarter of adult birds survive from one breeding season to the next.Very few bird live longer than one breeding season.The oldest bird on record was only 7.5 year.

Genaral Size and Shape:- 
1. Length :- 55 - 65 Cm.

2.

Egg :-

Importance of birds:-

1.Kingfisher is at the end of the food chain and is thus exposed to any contamination which may affect the water from which is obtained its Prey.for e.g , a study on pied kingfisher revealed that spraying of Organochlorine insecticide endosulfan for controlling the tse tse fly,affected feeding rate of pied kingfisher

2.KingFisher is a key indicator of good water quality and healthy eco system.


Cold weather and flooding can make fishing difficult resulting in starving of th ebrood, while flooding can also claim many nest.Kingfisher are high up in food chain and therefore extremely vulnerable to build up of chemicals.Industrial pollution and contamination by agricultural run off kills the fish the bird rely on.
Human disturbance of nesting bird is serious problem .If human presence close to a nest prevents these shy birds from entering the nest for too long,the chicks may weaken enough ( either from cold or Hunger ) to stop calling.This makes the parents wrongly assume that they are well fed and will not feed them .As a result, the chicks perish.
Heavy machinery that grades the bank and drains the land destroys many nest each year on 
lowland rivers.persecution to satisfy fashion trends and to provide feathers to fishing flies seems to be well in the past.

An earlier posting reported on the 10-year breeding cycle of a pair of the Oriental Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhyncus torquatus) in Perak, Malaysia.

The female was mainly involved in the incubation of the eggs, although the male occasionally helped. She sat quietly in the nest, with only the tail and occasionally the top of the head visible. A string of calls was often heard, presumably when she felt the presence of danger. This may be to alert her mate. Length of incubation was extimated as 42-47 days.

Once the chicks were hatched, the adults became protective. Most of the time an adult would be by the nest, either to keep off prey or to provide shelter from the sun or rain. The male would deliver the food and feed the chicks.

Larvae of bees (Apis cerana) and honeycombs were the favourite food brought to the chicks in the nest as well as the fledglings. Other food eaten by the adults and juveniles included a green tree snake, bird nestlings, and grubs taken off the bark of trees.

The honey-buzzard would typically stay on a high perch patiently waiting for a prey to appear. It would then zoomed in for the kill. It also made regular raids on beehives and bird nests.

Grey Heron

Common Name:  Grey Heron 

Scientific Name:Mycteria leucocephala

Local Name:- चित्रबालक,रंगीत करकोचा,चामढोक

Date Of Sighting:- 12-May-2012

Place of Sighting:-  Airoli-Mumbai/Thane, Maharashtra   

Type:-

Status:- Painted Stork:- Near Threatened.

The Oriental white Stork,Storm's Stork, and Greater adjutant are  endangered species.

Lesser adjutant and milky stork are listed as Vulnerable.

Description

The painted Stork is large wading bird in the stork family.It is found in the Wetlands of the plains of tropical asia south of the Himalays in south Asia and extended in to southeast asia.

Their Distinctive Pink tertial feathers give then their name.

They forage in flocks in shallow waters along rivers or lakes.They immerse their half open beaks in water and sweep them from side to side and snap up their prey of small fish that are sensed by touch.As they wade along they also stir the water with their feet to flush hiding fish.They nest colonially in trees, often along with other waterbirds.

They Only sounds they produce are weak moans or bill clattering at nest.They are not migratory and only manke short distance movements in some parts of their range in response to food and for breeding.Like other storks,They are often seen on thermals

Habitat, Region, and Climate:-

1.They found near fresh water body.
2.They are resident in most of the area.
3.Found in South reason

Feeding Habits ( food ):- 

1.Fish, Frogs and Crabs and Snake

2.The Wood Storks, which almost entirely by touching using open, sensitive bill, has been recorded as reacting in 25 milliseconds, the fastest recorded response of any vertebrate.

3.daily requirement of chicks has been estimated to be around 500 grams made upp of 9 fish fed in two sessions

Distinctive features:-

1.Male and female appears alike but male of pair are larger than female.

Bird House and Nesting

1.They nest colonially in tress and often along with other Water birds.

Genaral Size and Shape:- 

1.This large stork has a heavy yellow bill with Down -curved tip that gives it resemblance to an Ibis.

2.The head of adult is bare and orange or reddish in colour

3.The long tertials are tipped in bright and pink and at rest they extended over the black and rump.

4.There is distinctive black breast band with white scaly marking

5.The band continues in to underwing coverts and the white tips of black coverts give it the apperance of white strips running across the Under wing lining.

6.The rest of the body is whitish is adult and the primaries and secondaries are black with greenish gloss.The legs are yellowish to res but often appear white due their habit of urohidrosis or defecating on their legs especially when at nest

7.The Short tail is black with a green gloss.For a stork, it is medium -sized, standing about 93-102 cm (37-40 in ) tall,150-160 cm 9 59-63 in ) in wing span and weighing 2-3.5 kg ( 4.4-7.7 lbs )

Egg :-Giving 2 to 5 eggs