Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Scientific name: Poecile rufescens) is a small passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. Its habitat is low elevation coniferous and mixed coniferous forests. This was clicked at the Big Basin Redwoods State Park in June/2017.
Patience
A Great Egret (Scientific name: Ardea alba) standing patiently at the water’s edge. It is also known as the Common egret, Large Egret or Great White Egret or Great White Heron and is a large, widely distributed egret, with four subspecies found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. This one is from the Americas. Clicked at Shoreline Park, Mountainview, in California in July/2017.
The songbird
It was the incessant singing that made me search the foliage for the songster. But soon the diligent singer revealed itself by flying to the branch of a tree nearby. It turned out to be an American Robin (Turdus migratorius), a migratory songbird of the thrush family. Clicked in June/2017 at Big Basin Redwoods State Park, California.
Bird on the rooftop
The Black Phoebe (Scientific name: Sayornis nigricans) is a dapper flycatcher of the western U.S. with a sooty black body and crisp white belly. They sit in the open on low perches to scan for insects, often keeping up a running series of shrill chirps. This one was always to be seen by the poolside. Clicked at Sunnyvale in June/2017.
Bird List for June
The bird list for June comes in two parts. The first list covers the time till mid-June and is of birds from in and around my home.
- Purple-rumped Sunbird
- Loten’s Sunbird
- Greater Coucal
- Rufous Treepie
- Rose-ringed Parakeets
- Common Myna
- Common Tailorbird
- White-throated Kingfisher
- Asian Koel
- Lesser Goldenback or Black-rumped Flameback
- Black Kite
- House Crow
- Jungle Crow
- Rock Pigeon
The second list covers the time from mid-June to end of the month and is from Bay Area, California.
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Black Phoebe
- Gulls
- Hummingbird
- Sparrow
(This list will be updated as soon as I have identified some birds)
The lone swimmer
The American Coot (Scientific name: Fulica americana) is a plump, chicken-like bird with a rounded head and a sloping bill. Their tiny tail, short wings, and large feet are visible on the rare occasions they take flight. Clicked at Shoreline Park, Mountainview in June/2017.
The waiting bird
On the way back from my walk I saw a bird sitting on the fence, a Dark-eyed Junco (Scientific name: Junco hyemalis). Wondering if it would still be there when I returned with the camera, I ran up to my room. When I got back the bird was there, waiting! Clicked at Sunnyvale in June/2017.
The patient wait
The oh-there-you-are look
Action star
It is a delight watching a Green Bee-eater (Scientific name: Merops orientalis) suddenly swoop down and catch a dragonfly. It then returns to the branch or cable and proceeds to smash the prey against the branch or cable before swallowing it. Clicked at Kalamassery in May/2017.
Down to earth
Greater Coucal (Scientific name: Centropus sinensis) or Crow Pheasant is a large bird, crow-like with a long tail and coppery brown wings, found in wide range of habitats from jungle to cultivation and urban gardens. Clicked at Trivandrum in May/2017.
A treepie story
Four Rufous Treepies (Scientific name: Dendrocitta vagabunda) could be seen on the neighbor’s roof one evening. A drama seemed to be unfolding. To my human eyes, it almost seemed like a young couple were being asked to make up after a fight and live happily ever after by a set of parents. But one of them ups and leaves, and the partner is left alone to brood, and ends up blaming the parents, ‘It’s all your fault!’ 😉
Clicked at Trivandrum in May/2017.
