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Post Info TOPIC: India
colin davies


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India
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I've just returned from a trip to India. The purpose of the trip was really to meet the family of my sons partner, but it was my first ever visit to the country so many birds were new. I spent several days in and around the city of Kochi in Kerala with the family and then took a 6 day trip alone to the birding hotspot of Thattekad, before returning again to Kochi for the last few days. During my stay at Thattekad I stayed with a birding guide in his homestay and went out with him twice a day for the duration of my stay, avoiding the midday heat which most days reached 37'C. I flew to India with Kuwait airlines and due to a cockup by them, my two hour stop in Kuwait became 19 hours, so I booked into a hotel in the city and hired another birding guide to take me around Kuwait for eight hours before returning me to the airport. I'll discuss that part of the holiday in the Kuwait section of this forum. In total I saw 163 species in India of which about 120 were new for me. A full report with lots of rubbish photos is on my blog, follow the link at the bottom of this post

1 Alpine Swift

2 Ashy Drongo

3 Ashy Prinia

4 Ashy Woodswallow

5 Asian Brown Flycatcher

6 Asian Fairy-bluebird

7 Asian Koel

8 Banded Bay Cuckoo

9 Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike

10 Black Baza

11 Black Drongo

12 Black Eagle

13 Black Kite

14 Black-crested Bulbul

15 Black-headed Ibis

16 Black-hooded Oriole

17 Black-naped Monarch

18 Black-throated Minivet

19 Black-throated Munia

20 Black-winged Stilt

21 Blue-eared Kingfisher

22 Blue-tailed Bee-eater

23 Blue-throated Blue Flycatcher

24 Blyth's Reed Warbler

25 Brahminy Kite

26 Bronzed Drongo

27 Bronze-winged Jacana

28 Brown Shrike

29 Brown-breasted Flycatcher

30 Brown-capped Woodpecker

31 Brown-headed Gull

32 Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

33 Cinereous Tit

34 Clamorous Reed Warbler

35 Common Flame-backed  Woodpecker

36 Common Hawk Cuckoo

37 Common Iora

38 Common Myna

39 Common Sandpiper

40 Common Tailorbird

41 Coot

42 Cormorant

43 Cotton Pygmy-goose

44 Crested Goshawk

45 Crested Hawk Eagle

46 Crested Serpent Eagle

47 Dollarbird

48 Drongo Cuckoo

49 Dusky Crag Martin

50 Eastern Cattle Egret

51 Eastern Great Egret

52 Emerald Dove

53 Feral Pigeon

54 Flame-throated Bulbul

55 Garganey

56 Golden-fronted Leafbird

57 Great Eared Nightjar

58 Great Indian Hornbill

59 Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

60 Green Bee-eater

61 Green Imperial Pigeon

62 Green Warbler

63 Greenshank

64 Grey Heron

65 Grey Junglefowl

66 Grey Wagtail

67 Grey-fronted Green Pigeon

68 Grey-headed Swamphen

69 Gull-billed Tern

70 Heart-spotted Woodpecker

71 Heuglin's Gull

72 Hill Myna

73 House Crow

74 House Sparrow

75 Indian Golden Oriole

76 Indian Paradise-flycatcher

77 Indian Peafowl

78 Indian Pitta

79 Indian Pond Heron

80 Indian Roller

81 Indian Scops Owl

82 Indian Swiftlet

83 Intermediate Egret

84 Jerdon's Nightjar

85 Jungle Babbler

86 Jungle Myna

87 Jungle Owlet

88 Kingfisher

89 Large Cuckooshrike

90 Large-billed Crow

91 Lesser Crested Tern

92 Lesser Flame-backed Woodpecker

93 Lesser Sand Plover

94 Lesser Whistling Duck

95 Lesser Yellow-naped Woodpecker

96 Little Cormorant

97 Little Egret

98 Little grebe

99 Little Ringed Plover

100 Little Spiderhunter

101 Little Swift

102 Loten's Sunbird

103 Malabar Barbet

104 Malabar Flame-backed Woodpecker

105 Malabar Grey Hornbill

106 Malabar Parakeet

107 Malabar Pied Hornbill

108 Malabar Starling

109 Malabar Trogon

110 Malabar Whistling Thrush

111 Malabar Woodshrike

112 Mountain Imperial Pigeon

113 Nilgiri Flowerpecker

114 Orange Minivet

115 Orange-headed Thrush

116 Oriental Darter

117 Oriental Honey Buzzard

118 Oriental Magpie Robin

119 Osprey

120 Pallas's Gull

121 Pheasant-tailed Jacana

122 Pied Kingfisher

123 Plum-headed Parakeet

124 Purple Heron

125 Purple Sunbird

126 Purple-rumped Sunbird

127 Red Spurfowl

128 Red-vented Bulbul

129 Red-wattled Lapwing

130 Red-whiskered Bulbul

131 River Tern

132 Rose-ringed Parakeet

133 Rufous Treepie

134 Rufous Woodpecker

135 Rusty-tailed Flycatcher

136 Shikra

137 Small Minivet

138 Small Sunbird

140 Southern Coucal

141 Spot-bellied Eagle Owl

142 Spot-billed Pelican

143 Spotted Dove

144 Sri Lanka Bay Owl

145 Sri Lanka Frogmouth

146 Stork-billed Kingfisher

147 Striated Heron

148 Swallow

149 Tailed Jay

150 Tickell's Blue Flycatcher

151 Vernal Hanging Parrot

152 Western Reef Egret

153 Whiskered Tern

154 White-bellied Blue Flycatcher

155 White-bellied Treepie

156 White-bellied Woodpecker

157 White-breasted Waterhen

158 White-browed Wagtail

159 White-cheeked Barbet

160 White-rumped Munia

161 White-throated Kingfisher

162 Wood Sandpiper

163 Yellow-browed Bulbul

 



-- Edited by colin davies on Sunday 5th of March 2023 08:05:33 AM

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Tanmay Dixit


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Stunning film!

My original thought was greater. I was in fact in Mumbai mostly but also Pune and at a hill forest on the West coast.
Most of my coucal sightings were in trees (in Pune and at the hill forest), except one sighting of 2 birds in long grass (very obscured) on a roadside 'verge'. From what you say I think that most (if not all) of my sightings were greater and that's the only one I can state with certainty in that case. And it serves me right for getting such a bad book! Certainly can't say anything about the long grass sighting due to the poor view so those birds will remain unidentified!

cheers

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Pete Hines


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Greater Coucal is the commonest and widespread throughout India and are the ones found in gardens. Lesser is a real tall grassland specialist with a restricted distribution. I can't even find a mention of Indian Coucal in the OBC checklist, though I'd bet it refers to Greater. From your checklist I'd say you where in the Delhi area ?.

Here's a film of of a Greater Coucal I made in Thailand this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8bfyxOsHec

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Tanmay Dixit


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Pete Hines wrote:

Indian Coucal ? Do you mean Greater (Centropus sinensis) or Lesser (C. bengalensis) Tanmay ?.

With so many taxonomic changes in the Oriental checklist it's hard to keep up to speed.

Cheers




unfortunately the taxonomic changes are the problem. the birdbook i had to use assumed both were races of the same species.
given that, i can't be absolutely sure of the species (esp as they are v similar and had only a few brief views of the bird, all of which were in long grass or in trees where they were partially obscured by vegetation)

perhaps it should go down as coucal sp (and for all I know I could have seen more than one species!)

thanks for bringing me up-to-date on this point, wish i had got hold of a better, more recent book!

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Pete Hines


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Indian Coucal ? Do you mean Greater (Centropus sinensis) or Lesser (C. bengalensis) Tanmay ?.

With so many taxonomic changes in the Oriental checklist it's hard to keep up to speed.

Cheers

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Updated birding videos on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/c/PeteHinesbirding
Tanmay Dixit


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Trip to India this Aug, not for birding but some good things spotted anyway:

1. Feral pigeon
2. House crow
3. Common myna
4. House sparrow
5. Black kite
6. Purple-rumped sunbird
7. Purple sunbird
8. Jungle crow
9. Red-vented bulbul
10.Magpie-robin
11.Red-whiskered bulbul
12. Little egret
13. Cattle egret
14. Brahminy kite
15. Red-rumped swallow
16. Wire-tailed swallow
17. Spotted dove
18. Little brown dove
19. Rose-ringed (i.e. ring-necked) parakeet
20. Indian coucal
21. Asian koel
22. Spotted owlet
23. Palm swift
24. Little green bee-eater
25. White-breasted kingfisher
26. Yellow-cheeked tit
27. Baya weaver
28. Great white egret
29. Night heron
30. Paddybird or Indian pond heron
31. Spotbill (duck)
32. Black drongo
33. Indian shag
34. Little cormorant
35. White-breasted waterhen
36. Dusky crag martin
37. Large pied wagtail
38. Small minivet
39. Pied bush-chat
40. Blackbird
41. Tailorbird
42. Ashy prinia
43. Red-wattled lapwing
44. Spotted munia
45. Coppersmith barbet
46. Intermediate egret (probable)
plus a fair few unidentified species

Also mammals:
4 bat sp including Indian flying fox (an enormous bat!)
Indian palm squirrel



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