Despite the massive cutting down of trees in recent years (for new
buildings),
the IIT Kanpur campus still boasts a far higher density of trees than
any place for miles around. Consequently it is rich in bird life.
These birds were photographed from
my front lawn on the two mornings of Sat-Sun, 2012 nov 24-25.
I am pretty sure they can be sighted on every garden in IIT; only the
woodpecker is a little infrequent. At this time of the year, all the rest
can be sighted pretty much every morning!
Click any picture to see larger image.
coppersmith barbet (also known as crimson-breasted barbet). I suspect
he lives in the vicinity throughout the year, but his trademark monotone
tik-tik-tik (copper beating) tune is more commonly heard in the spring.
lesser flameback woodpecker (also called black-rumped
flameback. seems to be visiting this tree around this time of
the year. seeing it after quite a long gap.
(more info at [home#Goldenbacked])
A single black redstart arrives every winter, without fail. It hops around
the lawn, listening for insects and picking up morsels from here and there.
I used to think it is
the same individual, but this year's chappie looks a bit different.
You can see it from earlier years at the
[Less Common Birds] page.
the red-breasted flycatcher is not too common a
sighting in India, but it is a regular annual visitor to our lawns. flits
around low, typically seen on the hedges around the garden.
(more info at [less common birds page])
Both mornings I could hear a sound like someone knocking a nail into a
tree. On and on. Hoping to see the
flameback woodpecker at its trade, I circled around the krishNachuRA tree but
no sign of the woodpecker. Yet the sound went on. Finally, while sitting
down on the verandah, i noticed a small movement in sync with the sound.
Finally I saw this
coppersmith, banging away at the tree. Barbets nest in holes in tree trunks,
and the nest is usually made by the female. The forehead crown of this
individual looked black (the male crown is more red); while i can't be sure,
i think it was probably the female, preparing the nest for
the spring. This is the first time I saw a barbet excavating a nest. I
look forward to tracking the nest in the coming months.
barbet. click on picture at left to see him hacking away at the tree
(partly obscured by leaves).
(more info at [home#Barbet])
red-whiskered bulbul (pycnonotus jocosus); black drongo (dicrurus
adsimilis); tailorbird (orthotomus sutorius). these are common visitors
throughout the year.
(more info at [homepage])
sunbird hovering at a flower
purple sunbird male in eclipse plumage; the same bird will be
glistening black in the summer.
Purple sunbird (female) hidden in kachnar
flowers - you know they are there from the fluttering flowers.
; blue flowering creeper also loved by the sunbird.
(more info at [home#Sunbird])
