Birds around Western ghat, Birds Found in Sahyadri region, Bird of Pune,Birds of Sinhagad valley,Birders guide for Pune region,

                                                                     Common Kingfisher:                                                    A typical short tailed bird has a blue upper parts,orange underparts and has a long bill .A orange strip around ear area differentiate this bird from blue eared king fisher.It is a resident bird and can be found all year around water bodies, river banks .                       Location: Pashan lake,Pune.                                

                                              White Throat ed or White Breasted Kingfisher:                                It is a tree king fisher can be found throughout India. Bright bluish feathers and brown body with white color on the throat region with long and strong bill are the attracting features.     

Location: Chande goan, Pune.            

                                                                              Pied Kingfisher:                                                       A water Bird often finds sitting on a brunch or over hang wires around water bodies.           Location: Chande Gaon ,Pune.

                                                                         Paddy Field Pipit:                                                      A Wagtail family bird often can be spotted on a grass lands, shallow fields or cut fields.It is resident and non migratory bird of south Asia.                                                                 Location: Chande Goan,Pune.                         

                                                                             Tree pipit:                                                               A long migrant bird sights from Europe right to central Asia. As name suggested it can be located at branches of tree.                                                                                                 Location: Sinhagad Valley,Pune.

                                                               TIckell'S Blue Fly Catcher:                                                A tropical Asian bird found from India to Indonesia.Chances of sighting these birds are in dense trees. My first sighting was at Pashan lake area -route 2 that is from bye pass service road side.                                                                                         Location:Pashan lake,from service road side ,Route 2.        

                                                                  Verditer flycatcher:                                                       The magnificent sky blue color makes its presence dominant in the surrounding area.Often migrate from down side of Himalaya to the western ghat  and can be found in deep forest areas. This image was taken at the evening time in winter season.                 Location: Sinhagad valley,Pune.                      

                                    Chesnut-Shouldered Petronia or Yellow-Throat-ed sparrow

A tree loving bird can be found in forest, gardens and open scrub. It has a finer bill. Two white bars on wings is a identification mark and can be differentiated from sparrows.  Males have a chestnut shoulder patch. it also have a pale yellow spot on the throat in fresh plumage. Females are duller and lack the chestnut shoulder patch. The yellow spot is much reduced or lacking in females. They are Distributed all across Turkey to Indian subcontinent.

Location: Sinhagad Valley,Pune.

Petronia or Yellow-Throat-ed sparrow- Breeding Plunmage

Asian paradise flycatcher-Male

Female are rufous on the back with a grayish throat.

Location: Sinhagad Valley,Pune.

Asian paradise flycatcher-Male

The main feature is glossy black color head with crest and along tail feathers with two central tail feathers growing up to 30 cm. Young males are Rufus and have short tails. Adult males are either Rufus above or predominantly white. Young males look very much like females but have a black throat and blue-ringed eyes and black bill. It can be found around thick forests and well-wooded areas. There are resident populations in southern part of India and Sri Lanka.

Location: Sinhagad Valley,Pune.

                                             Black-napped monarch or Black-napped blue flycatcher                 It has a black nape oh head and a narrow black collar around neck it is a blue plumage with a whitish lower body .Distributed across tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia and the Philippines. Although they are largely residents will have local seasonal movements.Females are lack of black napped marks on head and around neck. Can be found in a deep wooed areas, forest and constant vigilant or move in search of insects.

Location: Sinhagad Valley,Pune.

                                                                        Indian Roller:  (Neelkanth)                                           A widely seen bird across various states of India is chosen as a state bird for many states of India. It can be seen along road side trees, overhead wires, and grass lands. A magnificent bird to watch when it is flying or took off with its sky blue wing color while. It is said to be a Sacred to God Vishnu. It will catch and release during festivals like Durga Puja and Dussara .Neelkanth name resemble the neel color of Lord Shiva.               Location: AARAI Hills/Wetal Tekadi, Panchavati area,Pune

Cinereous Tit:

These birds are having a grey-back, hood, with white cheek patch .The under parts are white with the black central stripe running along the length. The distribution of this species extends from parts of West Asia across South Asia and into Southeast Asia. It can be seen in deep wooded areas.                                                                                Location: Pashan lake, Route 1,Pune

 Hoopoe  

These birds can be identified by its features light soil colored plumage with like long, black thin tapering bill, black and white  tipped dominant light soil color feathers on crest, Black and White zebra like stripes of wings feather. These birds can found in a wide range of habitats such as heath land, wooded steppes, savannas and grasslands, as well as forest glades.They can also be seen taking dust bath. It has a powerful beak that can penetrate in to the soils to reach the insects.They were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt, and can be seen carved on walls of tombs and temples.This bird is a leader of the birds in the Persian book of poems.This Bird is chosen as the national bird of Israel.It also appears on the Logo of the University of Johannesburg and is the official mascot of the University's sports. The municipality of Germany, has This bird in its coat of arms.These birds are  widely spread in Europe, Asia and North Africa,Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. Most European and north Asian birds migrate to the tropics in winter.

Location: Rakshak Chawk , Wooded area ,Pune.   

Black-hooded oriole

It is a resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia. The male plumage is predominantly yellow, with a solid black hood the wings and tail center is with black strip black. The female black-hooded oriole is with greenish under parts, but still has the black hood. It can be found around woodlands and cultivation. In Bengal It is been called as merchants wife.                                                 Location: Pashan lake ,Pune.

 Indian black-lored tit or Indian yellow tit

 It is a resident breeder on the Indian subcontinent with a broad black line and yellow cheeks and Upper parts are olive-green. The large crest, neck, throat and head are having black strips over yellow or olive green. It has white or yellowish wing bars and white outer tail feathers. It can be sighted in dense wooded areas, forest.

Females and young birds are duller than males.                                                                   Location: Sinhagad valley,Pune.

Oriental white-eye 

 It is a resident breeder in open woodland in tropical Asia, east from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia, extending to Indonesia and Malaysia. They can found in small groups, feeding on nectar and small insects. They are easily identified by the distinctive white eye-ring and overall yellowish upper parts and whitish grey belly. They can be found in a wide range of habitats from scrub to moist forest.                              Location: near Chande Goan,Pune.

common iora 

They have a black cap and back adding to a black wing and tail at all seasons. Females have greenish wings and an olive tail. The undersides are having yellow and the white bars on the wings of the male are particularly prominent in their breeding plumage. They can be seen around dense woody areas, scrub and forest.                                     Location: Sinhagad valley,Pune. 

Green bee-eater 

They are mainly insect eaters and can be found in grassland, thin scrub and forest also can be commonly sighted especially in winter seating on small trees, over head wires besides the road in a small groups. Very attractive colored, with is bright green plumage with blue on the chin and throat. The crown and upper back are with golden rufous. The wings are green and the beak is black .A fine black/brown line runs in front of and behind the eye. In Marathi commonly called as Weda Raghu. Mainly a resident bird can migrate seasonally.                                                                                                                         Location:Pune.

Indian golden oriole-Male

Yellow Plumage and black wing with iris and bill in red is a main feature to identify this bird. The male has the darker black eye stripe extending behind the eye. Chances of sighting this bird are in semi-evergreen forests, woodland, forest edge, mangroves, and open country with scattered trees, parks, gardens orchards and plantations. They mainly feed on fruits, nectar and insects.                                                                                Location:  Pashan lake ,Pune

Indian golden oriole-Female

: Small Minivet -Male

These bird commonly seen in tropical southern Asia from the Indian subcontinent east to Indonesia. These birds can be identified by its  plumage with grey in color of upper parts and head, and orange under parts  fading to yellow on the belly, orange tail edges, rump and wing patches. This is a is a common resident bird. These can be seen in deep wooded areas and scrub mainly in pair of male and female.

Location: Chandegoan, Outskirts of Pune.

: Small Minivet -Female

The female is grey above, with yellow under parts including the face, tail edges, rump and wing patches.

Location: Chandegoan, Outskirts of Pune.

Black Redstart:

 Male is overall black on the upper parts and with a black breast and the lower rump and tail are orange-red. The two central tail feathers are in dark red-brown. The northeastern birds migrate to winter in southern and Western Europe and Asia, and North Africa. Females are over all little Dark grayish except for the orange-red lower rump and tailing color. They can be seen around the stone cliff of mountains, Stony grounds, River side’s etc. The birds are distributed vastly across Central Europe, Asia, Africa, Morocco, East and Central China.

Location: Mulkhed , On the banks of Mula river,Pune. 

Copper-smith Barbet or Crimson-breasted Barbet:

It is a resident found in the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia. They chisel out a hole inside a tree to build their nest. They are mainly fruit eating bird. It is a bird with crimson forehead and throat, yellow eye-ring and green upper parts. They can be found in gardens, groves and sparse woodland, habitats with trees having dead wood. Very interesting observation about his bird is that they will fill their mouth with berries, fruits and sit on the top branch of a tree and waves it in all direction. This is a sign of calling females to make their partners.

Location: Chandegoan, On the outskirts of Pune. 

White Cheeked Barbel or Small Green Barbet 

This bird can be identified by its green body color and broad white cheek stripe below the eye and the brownish head. It is mainly found in forest areas of the Western Ghats and adjoining hills. These birds do their nesting in a hole found in a trunk of tree. These are mainly fruit loving birds. They can also be identified by their peculiar whistle as very difficult to identify on top of trees with its green color.  Location- Sinhagad Valley,Pune

                                                                            Plum-headed parakeet (Male):                                 Plum-headed parakeet also known as blossom-headed parakeet. The males are having a pinkish purple head and the females a grey head. They feed on grains, fruits, the petals of flowers and sometimes raid agricultural fields and orchards. They normally flies in flock with high pitch, noisy calls or movement calls.                                                       Location: Sinhgad valley,Pune

                                                      Plum-headed parakeet (Female):                                   Location: Sinhgad valley,Pune

                                                             Rose Ringed parakeet (Male):                                          The red, black ring around the neck is dominantly seen in the matured male and female will not have a ring around neck region.This bird is sociable and can be seen any where including urban area.                                                                                                 Location; Mhalunge, Pune 

Flock of Rose ringed Parakeet: Male and Female

                                                                         White Throat-ed Fantail:                                          As suggested in its name one can identify these birds forms fan shape of tail when it spread. Maybe it is their way to attract females. Not sure though. Another feature is dominant white band at a throat area. The birds are commonly seen from Australia, South Asia and Indian sub continents. Commonly found in winter season with little dense tee areas jumping from branch to branch. Lucky to get this image as found on open area with fan spread of a tail.                                                                                                 Location: Sinhagad valley,Pune.                                                              

                                                                   Yellow Eyed Babbler:                                                     Often found in groups mainly feds on insect. The group often makes a continuous sound feeling the surrounding with their sound. Almost found in vast parts India.                         Location: Chande Goan,Pune.

                                                               Large Gray babblers:                                                     They often found in groups around garden land, scrubs, forests,tree areas within city limit ,cultivation fields, forest areas too. The long tell,size,little dull color,gray wings , yellow color of eye  can distinguish them from other babblers.                                         Location:Chande goan,Pune.

                                                                              Jungle Babbler:                                                      A commonly seen in a group is also recognized as a seven brothers, Sath Bhai. They can be easily located by picking a high pitch continuous call wherever they were flying around.These are the resident birds and commonly found birds  above Southern part of India.These birds can be found in  large gardens to forest areas. The darker complexion  and large nasal calls are the identification criteria.The yellow billed babblers which founds mostly in southern part of India and Sri Lanka are identical to these birds except having a whitish color of head.The similar babblers found in resident areas or cities are large gray babblers which are having long tale compared to Jungle babblers.                                   Location: Sinhgad valley.

                                                                                  Ashy Prinia:                                                       This bird is mainly found in Indian sub continent. The dark body and up right tail makes them distinctive.These can be found in dense bushes, gardens, farm land fences. These are type of  small warbler family.                                                                                         Location: Balewadi to Chande VillageRoad, Pune.

                                                          Jungle Prinia (juvenile)                                                       The Rufus color winged are close match type of prinia but little smaller in size.They can be differentiated from their calls.                                                                                   Location:Chande Goan ,Pune.      

                                                                      Plain Prinia:                                                                   A small warbler often found on grass land, dense bushes or gardens. It is a resident bird of India, China and Southeast Asia.                                                                         Location: Chande Gaon on the outskirts of  Pune.                                      

                                                                     Tawny Flanked Prinia                                                   These birds are found mainly in African continent.The Picture here is taken from Sinhagad valley which as per my opinion is a nearest match to the Tawny Flanked Prinia as the main feature is a whitish strip over eye. The tail feathers have a white tip and a dark sub terminal band.

Siberian stone chat-(Breeding Plumage) Male 

A black head  and feathers ,whitish around neck area and orange on a breast commonly found around scrub and grass lands in a winter season. These are the migrant birds can be found from Siberia to eastern part of Europe to avoid extreme cold conditions migrate to southern part of southern India in winter.                                                 Location: Location:Mangoan,Pune 

                                                Siberian Stone Chat-Male -Winter Plumage                                     A Winter plumage.     

Location: Chande Goan,Pune.

                                                                     Siberian Stone Chat-Female                                              The female has pale brown upper parts and head, white neck patches partially and a pale yellow rump. A migratory bird is from a Fly catcher family. It can be seen on outskirts of city on a grass land, sitting on small bush top or fences.                                             Location: Mangoan ,Pune.

                                                                   Pied Bush Chat Male:                                                     A resident small size bird often seen along side of grass land, fields, sitting on post , small trees,bush top. A small size bird with black bill and black wings and head and white belly and black tail.     

 Location: Kavadipat,Pune.

                                                                       Pied Bush Chat Female:    

A resident small size bird often seen along side of grass land, fields, sitting on post , small trees,bush top. A small size bird with dark brown color.                                                       Location: Chandegoan,Pune

                  Pied Bush Chat Female:                     

Location: Kavadipat,Pune.

                                                             Indian Robin (Male):                                                             These birds can be distinguished by its dark brown, black color with white marks on wing and has a habit of raising a tail at intervals to notice orange zone below. Most common bird can be found in resident areas as well. They are little bigger than pied bushchat.         Location: Sinhagad valley,Pune.                                              

                                                             Indian Robin (Female):  

The females are having a dusky color than the male dark color.

Location: Sinhagad valley.

                                                        Oriental Magpie Robin Male:                    

Males are dominant black color from head to shoulder and white belly with black and white wings. Commonly found at grass lands, gardens, scrub, forest areas, and open lands. It is a national bird of Bangladesh and can be found its image on a currency note s of Bangladesh. Earlier day’s people used to keep it as pet in cage for its singing and fighting abilities.

Location: Sinhagad Valley,Pune

                                                              Oriental Magpie Robin Female :(Dayal)                               A common bird can be found from urban gardens to forest area. It is national bird of Bangladesh and can be found its image on a currency note s of Bangladesh. Earlier day’s people used to keep it as pet in cage for its singing and fighting abilities. Females are gray in color from head to shoulder and white belly and black and white wings.                                            Location: Sinhagad Valley,Pune .                      

                                                        Spotted Dove:                                                               Identified from its color, long tail, size and dominant black spotted collar around the neck. It is commonly found in Indian sub Continent and throughout the South Asia. Interestingly I have taken a series of photos of this bird in different moods as if it was doing photo shoot. Posted here in one of that mood I call it offended with my presence.                                                                                                                Location: Mulkhed village, Mulshi taluka,Pune.

                                                                                Laughing Dove:                                               The white belly, gray and muddy color wings, distinct black spots on a neck region makes this dove different than the other doves. The name is because of peculiar human laugh like call. This bird can found from Africa, Middle East and Indian sub continent. Often found near dry farm lands, Scrubs.                                                                           Location: Chandegoan,Pune.

                                                       Yellow Footed Green: Pigeon:                                                   A Magnificent yellow green color bird and an immediate eye catcher for bird lovers. Always can be seen sitting in a couple on a tree branch .It is a state bird of Maharashtra.   Location: Pashan lake, Route 1,Pune.

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                                                                        Spotted Owlet:                                                             Found in across tropical region from India to south Asia often associated with bad omen. Fact is that when I spotted them for 1st time, I stopped my car and went to take the pictures. Usually I used to lock my car on previous such sightings of bird. Whenever I went out to took the pictures. But this time somehow I forgot and as a result when I return that my wallet which was laying on the side sit was missing. It was a first time my wallet was went for a theft. So it proves the point of bad omen at least for me.                   Location: Chande Goan,Pune.