Purple Swamphen

Purple Swamphen is known to be fairly common in the wetlands and marshes surrounding our city, although I have not had an opportunity of sighting one. This photograph was taken by my colleague Jaideep Jadhav, on his recent trip to Alleppy, Kerala. It was snapped from a river boat, while cruising in the backwaters.

As can be seen, it has bluish-purple feathers, red beak with a bare red extension covering the forehead and white underparts, visible when it flicks its tail upwards; it has long red legs convenient for movement through the reeds and undergrowth.

Name	Purple Swamphen
Alternate names	Purple Moorhen
Size	Small hen
Occurrence	Present in wetlands and marshes amidst reeds, foraging for food. Often seen in groups of four or more
Status	Fairly common
Distinct features	Bluish-purple body, a distinct red beak with a red extension on forehead
Male/female	Alike; female has a duller forehead extension

Painted Stork

I came across a few photographs from the Mysore trip while arranging my picture albums (see post Mysore Bird Sanctuary).

The sanctuary, as mentioned earlier, is well maintained and should not be missed by bird lovers visiting Mysore.

In these photographs, one can see:

Painted Stork with Black headed Ibis (picture 1)

Painted Stork in the company of Cattle Egret (in breeding plumage) and Pelican (picture 2)

Little Egret (pictures 3 & 4)

Great Egret (pictures 5 & 6)

Magpie Robin

This is one of the birds which I am sure most of us have seen; if  you have not seen it, you must have at least heard its pleasant lilting call, chwee, chweee….in the early mornings.

The male has a jet black upper body, with a white strip running along the side of its wings, white lower parts and black tail, often jerked in upright position. Female can be identified by its grayish-black color.

It feeds mainly on insects in the trees and on the ground.

All photographs were taken in the vicinity of my residence.

Name	Magpie Robin
Alternate names	Oriental Magpie Robin
Size	Bulbul
Occurrence	Seen near human habitation, singly or in pairs
Status	Common
Distinct features	Jet black head and chest parts, black wings and tail
Male/female	Different; female is duller than male

As seen in the above picture, female is grayish-black and duller when compared to the male. See pictures below for better clarity regarding the differences.

Rosy Starling

The Rosy Starling is also called Rosy Pastor (commonly termed as myna – see post on Pied Starling).

Common winter visitor, often found in large flocks near cultivated land and in lightly wooded regions. Younger birds and juveniles form part of the flock. Juveniles are dull brown in color (see picture 4).

It is termed as Rosy Starling due to the pink plumage of adult birds in breeding season. Adult birds in non-breeding season (winter) have black head, wings and tail with brownish-white body.

Name	Rosy Starling
Alternate names	Rosy Pastor
Size	Common myna
Occurrence	Can be seen in large flocks, near cultivated land and in lightly wooded regions. These photographs are from my visit to the Thane Creek.
Status	Common
Distinct features	Black head with a small crest, black wings and tail with yellow beak
Male/female	Alike