Crimson Sunbird

The crimson sunbird is not commonly seen in this region, although various sub-species are often spotted quite easily. You cannot mistake it for any other bird, though you might miss spotting it in the midst of bright flowering trees. 

It has a distinctive metallic-green sheen on the upper head parts, dull crimson upper body with dark-gray lower body and a long tapering tail. The throat and chest parts are colored in a bright crimson shade, with streaks of gray running over the neck. Female is dull gray above, with yellow and white chest and abdomen parts; its throat covered with a dark gray patch. 

It is extremely agile, flitting constantly among the flowers, with a sharp call, chee-chee-chee.

 Photo location: vicinity of Jim Corbett Park

Name	Crimson Sunbird
Alternate name(s)	Not known
Size	Smaller than house sparrow
Occurrence	Thickly wooded flowering trees
Status	Not common
Distinct features	Metallic-green upper head, dull crimson and gray body; throat and chest bright crimson-red
Sexes	Female gray upper parts, yellow and white chest and abdomen; smaller than male

White-rumped Shama

The Shama is not a bird which many of us have seen or heard. It is supposed to have a very melodious call and was much favored as a song-bird in the Far-East. I cannot comment on its call as I haven’t heard the bird song myself, although I had a lucky sighting in the - once remote - woods near Ganeshpuri.
This is something to ponder on: Are we destroying the very places that we long to live in? 

Humans, as we know, are the most adaptable of all living creatures. We can adapt to any type of environment or weather condition; current technology has the capability to modify our dwellings to comfortable zones regardless of unfavorable external surroundings. We have intruded into every remote and isolated regions of the country. In the absence of effective regulations against environmental degradation and sustainable development, more and more people with disposable incomes invest in second homes (flats / bungalows / row houses) in the midst of natural surroundings. In doing so, we intrude into the habitats of the wild creatures, destroying the environment, causing deforestation and pollution.

The above sighting of Shama was in woods surrounding the village of Mr. Anand V. Patil. It is a small village of about 100 people, located off the Bhiwandi-Wada road. A single lane road, branching out from a traffic junction about 30km from Bhiwandi, leads to a bridge across the Tansa river, beyond which lies the tiny settlement. Every monsoon, there are at least two occasions when the village remains cut-off from civilization, as the river flows above the bridge and there is break-down in electricity supply.   
It is a remote place.
But, this village has also attracted the city builders and investors who have built large homes here. A small township has also been planned. I have not named the village, but there are hundreds of such instances in India.

The impact of such unchecked development can never be estimated. It can cause loss of native plant and tree species and lead to loss of habitat for the resident bird species, threatening their survival. Unlike large predators (tigers, lions, leopards) and herbivores which are monitored by the Forest Department, there is no known regional census or catalog of bird counts, hence the loss of local birds goes unaccounted and unnoticed until they become extinct and lost for our future generations. 

This could be the sad and bleak future for all wildlife in India.

Name	White-rumped Shama
Alternate name(s)	Not known
Size	Bulbul
Occurrence	Thickly wooded areas, prefers the foothills
Status	Not so common
Distinct features	Black head, throat, upper breast and wings, orange-brown abdomen; long white and black tail
Sexes	Female dull brown upper parts instead of black

Bird behavior

The revival of the south-west monsoon has brought about a considerable increase in the water levels of the lakes. Nature’s benevolence has come as a relief to the municipal corporation. You can now bet your bottom dollar that the corporation will shelve its plans to harvest rain water and also put in cold storage the proposed cloud seeding to create artificial rainfall.
The correct way forward would be to ensure all necessary permissions are in place, so that cloud seeding operations can commence without delays for the next year. One prays that this will not be required; nevertheless, complacency has no place in critical matters like water supply.

Reference to the post title, most of us know that the rains bring cheer to all living creatures and a common sight during the rains is of birds enjoying themselves. 

Koel:

Barbet:

Munia:

Last week, I witnessed an unusual scene: a female Golden Oriole perched itself on the tree-top in pouring rain. After a while, it flipped upside down (belly up) and stayed that way for more than a minute, getting thoroughly drenched. Later, in the upright position, it continued sitting with its wings spread out. 

Maybe this is normal with all the birds; if this is so, please write in with your views.

White Stork

These pictures are courtesy Mr. Jan-Henk Temmink of The Netherlands.
He says, “These are large white birds with black patches on their wings. They have long red legs and red beaks and can be found in open wet lands or pastures, feeding on frogs, salamanders, insects and fish.

“They are widely seen in Netherlands during the summer and breed in Europe, migrating to the sunny climes of Africa for the winter. The birds normally stay in couples and return every year to the same nest built on single high buildings, in the vicinity of wet lands or grasslands. 

"In this case they were together probably for traveling and it is rare to see them like this together. At least, it was the first time I saw so many together. Early in the morning it were about 15 and later when I returned with the camera about 7 remained in the field. 

"According to a legend in the Netherlands, these are the birds that bring new babies. Meaning; when little children ask their parents where babies come from, they are told that the stork brings the new babies to their homes”.