Feathers

CATTLE EGRET ( Bulbulcus ibis )

Non breeding plumage

The Cattle Egret has undergone one of the most rapid and wide reaching natural expansions of any bird species. It as originally native to parts of Southern Spain and Portugal and subtropical Africa and humid tropical and subtropical Asia. In the end of the 19th century it bagan expanding its range into southern Africa, first breeding in the Cape Province in 1908. Cattle Egrets were first sighted in the Americas on the boundary of Guiana and Suriname in 1877, having apparently flown across the Atlantic Ocean. It was not until the 1930s that the species is thought to have become established in that area. The Cattle Egret is an opportunistic feeder, and will follow large animals or machines to catch insects they stir up. It also is attracted by smoke from a large fir. They come from long distances to catch insects trying to escape the fire. The often accompany cattle or large mammals, catching insects and small vertebrate prey disturbed by these animals. Also Cattle Egrets greatly reduce the number of flies that bothers cattle by pecking them off their skin (as found by a study in Australia). These might be the reasons why its named 'Cattle Egret'. 

Breeding Plumage

It is a white bird adorned with buff plumage in the breeding season. It nests in colonies, usually near water bodies and often with other wading birds. Their feeding habitats includes seasonally inundated grasslands, pastures, farmlands, wetlands and rice paddies.

Nesting in northern India being with onset of monsoon in May. The nest is a small untidy platform of sticks in a tree or shrub constructed by both parents. Sticks are collected by the male and arranged by the female. The clutch size can be anywhere from 1 - 5 eggs. The pale bluish-white eggs are oval shaped and measure around 45mm * 52mm. Incubation lasts around 23days, with both parents sharing the incubation duties. The chicks once hatched grows its feathers in 13-21 days. They being to leave the nest and start independent life after around 45 days..


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SRI LANKA FROGMOUTH / CEYLON FROGMOUTH ( Batrachostomus moniliger ) :

(L-R) Male and Female

The Sri Lanka Frogmouth or Ceylon Frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger) is a small Frogmouth found in the Western Ghats of south India and Sri Lanka. Related to the nightjars, they are nocturnal and are found in forest habitats. The plumage resembled that of dried leaves and the birds roost on branches, sitting still and appearing like a dry branch, making them extremely difficult to locate except. They however have favorite roosts that they use regularly unless disturbed. They have a distinctive call that is usually heard at dawn and dusk. The sexes differ slightly in plumage.

Male

Frogmouths are rarely seen during the day except at roost sites or when flushed. They regularly use the same roost spots for months.When alarmed at their perch, they slowly move the head to point up their bill and can easily be mistaken for a jagged broken branch. They rely on their crypsis and will often allow close approach before flushing or will sometimes open their mouth wide in a threatening display. They are sometimes mobbed at their day roost by small songbirds. They are vocal at dusk, the call of the female being a loud screechy "shkeerauuw" which drops in loudness and ends is a series of hiccups. Another call is a series of rapid "skwar-skwar-skwar" which is produced by both males and females. The breeding season in southern India is January to April and February to March in Sri Lanka. The nest is a small pad made of moss lined with down and covered on the outside with lichen and bark. A single white egg is laid and the incubating bird covers it entirely and holds the tail flush with the tree to avoid breaking the outline and appears like a lichen covered snag. The male appears to incubate during the day. After the chick leaves the nest, a male bird removed the nest and the same branch may be used each year to build a new nest. The young bird may stay with the parents for a couple of months, huddling between the parents at the roost.

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RUBY THROATED BULBUL ( Pycnonotus dispar ) :

Some book refers it as 'Ruby Throated Bulbul' few refer it as 'Black Crested Bulbul' and others as 'Flame Throated Bulbul'. Whatever might be the reference isn't it a beautiful bird..?? 

It’s mostly found in well wooded areas in India and Sri Lanka. The breeding season lasts from March to April. 2 - 3 eggs are laid at a time and both male and female take part in building the nest and incubation of egg and rearing the young. Incubation normally lasts around 14 - 16 days and the young one(s) mature and are ready to leave the nest in the next 2 - 3 weeks. Diet includes worms, woodlice, smooth backed caterpillars, grasshoppers etc....

The Ruby Throated Bulbul (P. dispar) from Sumartra and Java is virtually crestless, has a deep red throat and reddish eyes, the Flame Throated Bulbul (P. Gularis) from Western Ghats in India is virtually crestless, has an orange-red throat and whitish eyes, the Black Capped Bulbul (P. melanicterus) from Sri Lanka is vertually crestless, has a yellow throat and brownish eyes.