Indian Silverbill

Factual Description:-

Common Name: Indian Silverbill

Scientific Name: Lonchura malabarica

# Indian Silverbill is also known as the ''White-throated Munia''. 

# Indian Silverbill is a small passerine bird, belongs to finch family. 

# Adult Indian Silverbill is about 11-11.5 cm long and has a conical silver-grey bill, buff-brown upperparts, white underparts, buffy flanks and dark wings. 

# Its most distinctive character is its conical silver-grey bill. Bill has a dark, curved, upper mandible while the lower mandible is lighter often reflecting. 

# The male and female are similar in appearance, with brown plumage on the upperparts, brownish-buff flanks and a distinctive white rump. 

# Indian Silverbill is typically found in flocks of up to 60 individuals, although it roots in groups of 5 or 6. 

# Indian Silverbill are gregarious and feeds on the ground or on low shrubs and grass stalks. 

# They constantly utter a low cheeping or chirping contract call as they forage. 

# Indian Silverbill feeds mainly on seeds, but also takes insects and has been known to visit nectar bearing flowers. 

# Found near dry open scrub, fallow land and cultivation, sometimes near water.

# IUCN status of Indian Silverbill is "Least Concern". 

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Little Egret

Factual Description:-

   Common Name: Little Egret

   Scientific Name: Egretta garzetta

  # The little egret is a small white heron with attractive elongated, sinuous neck, white plumes on crest, back and chest, black legs and  stabbing bill and yellow feet. 

# Little egret belongs to family Ardeidae. 

# The adult is about 55-65 cm long with an 88-106 cm wingspan, and weighs 350-550 grams. 

# In breeding season, the adult has two long nape plumes and gauzy plumes on the back and breast, and the bare skin between the bill and eyes becomes red or blue. 

# Juveniles are similar to non-breeding adults but have greenish-black legs and duller yellow feet. 

# The little egret is never far from water and is usually found in large wetland areas, typically on mudflats and marshland, but it can also be found hunting near estuaries and small streams. 

# It usually nests in bushes, trees, marshes, swamps, dry open country, woods and on sea cliffs. 

# Little egret is an opportunistic hunter, feeding mainly during the day whilst walking through shallow, open water, stabbing prey with its bill. 

# It feeds primarily on small fish, which are usually around 1.2 to 6 cms in lengths, but bivalves, crustaceans, and other invertebrates are also consumed. 

# IUCN status of the Litte Egret is ''Least Concern''. 

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Painted Stork

Factual Description:-

Common Name:- Painted Stork

Scientific Name:- Mycteria leucocephala

# Painted Stork is a large wading bird which belongs in the storks family. 

# Painted Storks are only found nearer to wetlands, water bodies. 

# Their name is because of their colorful (pink) feathers. 

# Painted Stork has a long, yellow-orange bill, an orange face, and pink legs. It has a ling neck that it holds outstretching in flight. 

# Adults have mostly white plumage, with bright pink near the tail and a black band across the chest. 

# Males and females look alike, though males tend to have a larger body and bill. 

# Breeding season occurs from August to October in the north of its range and November to March in the south. 

# Painted Stork eats fish, reptiles, frogs and crustaceans. It walks slowly in shallow water with its bill partly open in the water, groping for prey. 

 # They forage in flocks in shallow waters along rivers or lakes. They immerse their half open beaks in water and sweep them from side to side and snap up their prey of small fish that are sensed by touch. 

# Painted Storks are not migratory birds but only make short distance movements in some parts of its range in response to food and breeding. 

# IUCN status of Painted Stork is "Near Threatened".

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Cattle Egret

Factual description of Cattle Egret:-

  Common name:- Cattle Egret

  Scientific name:- Bubulcus ibis

#  Cattle Egret are cosmopolitan bird species, belongs to heron family. 

#  Cattle Egret is a stocky heron with a 88-96 cm wingspan, the bird is 46-56 cm long and weighs 270-512 g. 

#  Cattle Egret has a relatively short thick neck, sturdy bill, and a hunched posture. The non-breeding adult has mainly white plumage, a yellow bill and greyish-yellow legs. 

#  During breeding season, adults develop orange-buff plumes on the back, breast and crown, and the bill, legs and irises become bright red for a brief period prior to pairing. 

#  The sexes are similar, but the male is marginally larger and has slightly longer breeding plumes than the females. 

# Cattle Egret are opportunistic feeders, they follow the large animals or farm machines around to catch insects.

#  Cattle Egret are known to come in from far places to catch insects fleeing from a fire. 

#  Cattle Egret are known to greatly reduce the number of flies that bothers cattle by pecking off their skin, that is the reason, cattle egret are found in a close relationship with the large cattles. 

#   IUCN status of the Cattle Egret is ''Least Concern". 

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Common Tailorbird

Factual Description:-

Common name:- Common Tailorbird

Scientific name:- Orthotomus sutorius

# The tailorbird owes its name to the female's extraordinary sewing skills. 

# The female uses her bill as a needle, she stitches one or more leaves into a pouch to form the basis of the nest.

# Brown and olive-green plumage conceals the common tailorbird as it hunts tirelessly in undergrowth for food. 

# They range in size from 10 to 14 cms and weigh 6 to 10 gms. 

# The sexes are identical, except that the male has long central tail feathers in the breeding season. 

# Feeds on insects and other small invertebrates that are abound in the tropical habitat. 

# To creep in the undergrowth, it uses its bill and eat beetles, bugs, caterpillars, spiders, leaves, stems and branches. 

# The bird hops actively among bushes, hedges and trees in its search for tiny insects, its tail cocked high above its back and wagging from side to side. 

# The feed of bird is three forward-pointing toes and a single hindtoe give the bird a firm grip as it perches. 

# IUCN status of common tailorbird is ''Least Concern''.

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Black Kite

    Factual description:-

Common name:- Black kite

Scientific name:- Milvus migrans

# Hovers all over Delhi, India. 

# With a distribution that spreads over four continents, the black kite is probably the world's most abundant bird of prey. 

# Found everywhere, has a immense range it is no surprise that the black kite occupies a wide variety of natural and artificial habitats from wetlands, river edges, woodland, to villages, towns and even big cities. 

# Black kite is likely to be the world's common raptor. 

# Black kite are opportunistic hunters and are more likely to scavenge. 

# Spends a lot of time soaring and gliding in thermals in search of food. 

# Carnivorous bird but seen foraging on human food scraps and garbage. 

# The black kite is an extremely gregarious species.
# IUCN status of black kite is ''Least Concern''.

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Spotted Owl

Factual Description:-

Common name:- Spotted owl

Scientific name:- Strix occidentalis

# The Spotted Owl is a species of true owl. 

# Spotted owl has a length of 43 cm, a wingspan of 114 cm and a weight of around 600 gm. 

# Medium-sized, nocturnal, spotted owl is primarily brown and is covered in white spots. 

# Spotted owl is not always spotted, owlets are born entirely white and only get their spots once they have matured. 

# Spotted owls are nocturnal, sit and wait predators. They often hunt from a perch and swoop or pounce on prey. They also grab arboreal prey from tree boles and limbs. They do occasionally hunt during the day and will hawk prey such as insects or bats. 

# Diet also includes wood rats, mice, reptiles, amphibians and insects. 

# Call sounds like ''hoo-hooooo-hooo'', ''hoot-hoot-hoot', ''co-weeep'.
# IUCN status of spotted owl is '' Near Threatened''.

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