Red-billed Magpie Close Up Red-billed Magpie (Urocissa erythrorhyncha) Pictures and Detail This is second Magpie after Yellow-billed Magpie which I am going to cover in this blog. Recently, When I was taking pictures of Yellow-billed Magpie, then I noticed that there are few Red-billed Magpie are also around me.  The Red-billed Magpie in the picture above becomes my friend and I got a chance to take its close up picture. Though, the numbers of Yellow (Gold ) -billed Magpies were much higher than the Red-billed Magpie birds.  Red-billed Magpie on Tree Sometimes, we can find both Red-billed Magpie and Yellow-billed Magpie in a single group and the difference between these magpies is due to differences in color of their bills and feet; otherwise, both Yellow-billed Magpie and Red-billed Magpie are same physically.  Red-Billed Blue Magpie For a person who does not have knowledge of this fact may find both of them the same. Red-billed Magpie are found In the H

Blue-throated Barbet  Blue Throated Barbet (Megalaima asiatica) Picture and Detail Last time, I introduced you to Brown-headed Barbet which I found in Punjab (India). This time, I meet with beautiful Blue-throated Barbet in Himachal Pradesh. This bird is more colorful than earlier Barbet. The Blue-throated Barbet is a slighter smaller Barbet than the Brown-headed Barbet; though, we can hear its calls from a distance. Also Check Great Hill Barbet   and Coppersmith Barbet (New)  Blue-throated Barbet ------- Best Books on Indian Birds to Read ------- I found good numbers of Blue-throated Barbets on the tree which shows their sound population. These birds are shy in nature and mostly remain hidden behind the leaves. The scientific name of this bird is Megalaima Asiatica and it is an Asian Barbet bird with prominent color green on its body. Head of Blue-headed Barbet We can find the red color on the top (head) and blue color on the throat (which gives it the na

Plum-headed Parakeet Pair Plum-headed Parakeet Pictures and Detail (Psittacula cyanocephala) Plum-headed Parakeet are third parakeets after  Rose-ringed Parakeet (Indian Parrot)   and  Slaty-headed Parakeet (Himalayan Parrot)  which I am going to share with you. Recently, I discovered that a parrot was trying to get my attention. At first look, I thought that it may be a slaty-headed parakeet; however, on closer inspection, I noticed that this parrot has a pinkish head. On some search, I found that it is a Plum-headed Parakeet which is mostly found from the foothills of Himalaya to Srilanka. In Plum-headed Parakeet, the male Parakeet has a pinkish head while female parakeet has a gray head.  Plum-headed Parakeet These Parakeets are very good in flying and they can make quick twists and turns. The male Plum-headed Parakeets are bigger in size and are more colorful than female Plum-headed parakeets. Plum-headed parakeet The Plum-headed Parakeet has a r

The Himalayan black- lored tit The Himalayan black- lored tit (Parus xanthogenys) Pictures and Detail  Today, I met the third bird from Tit Family, a Himalayan Black-lored tit . Earlier, I covered  Great Tit and Cinerous Tit in previous posts. I had a great experience with the Great Tit and Cinereous Tit. This time, I got a chance to take more pictures of all these three species of Tits.  I discovered Himalayan Black-lored tit when I was searching for a Redstart bird in a small rocky river. I noticed that a small yellow-black bird is trying to get my attention and when I focused my lens on this bird, then I realized that it is a tiny and very beautiful Himalayan Black-lored tit.  Himalayan Black-lored Tit I never thought that I will find a Himalayan Black-lored tit so easily. This bird also looked very willing to get his picture clicked; however, due to sunset time, I was not able to get many good pictures. Though I had a great experience with him and I can

Indian River Tern  River Tern  (Sterna aurantia) Pictures and Detail  During my last visit to the Harike wetland in Punjab, which is situated on the bank of the confluence of Satlej and Beas river, I found that a bird is flying around me like he was asking me to take his pictures. Later, I found that it is a River tern, a bird which lives around fresh water rivers. The scientific name of this bird is Sterna Aurantia and it is also called Indian river tern. I also got encouraged by the movements of river tern around me and clicked a few of his flying action. River Tern  River Tern is a bird of tern family and it is a resident breeder. River tern as the name suggests is found near rivers and we can find this bird from Iran to Thailand. We can easily spot this bird in India; therefore it is called Indian river tern. River Tern from Back River Tern make their nest on bare rocks or on the sand near river banks. Their breeding season is from March to May. The best w

Laughing Dove Laughing Dove (Spilopelia senegalensis ) Pictures and Detail  I am seeing Laughing Doves from my Childhood. They have always lived around me and it is common to find a single laughing dove or a pair of them. Unlike Pigeons, they don't move in big groups. When we spread grains on the roof for Piegon, then one or two laughing doves also come to eat the grains. Laughing Dove is a small pigeon and it is found in Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent. The scientific name of  Laughing dove is Spilopelia senegalensis and it is also known by names of Palm dove and Senegal dove . In these birds, we can notice a black colored necklace with embedded Rofous beats on it. Laughing Dove from Back The laughing doves are very silent and peaceful birds. Mostly big pigeons try to move them away so that they can't eat grains. I have never noticed them retaliating. This is a common bird and we can notice it with some search. It is common to fi

Grey Wagtail  Grey Wagtail Picture and Detail (Motacilla cinerea) We can find many wagtail birds around us and Grey Wagtail is also one them which we sometimes see around. Recently, I became confused between a Grey Wagtail and Grey -headed Yellow Wagtail , Though after reading lots about these birds, I succeeded in identifying them. Anyone can easily confuse Grey Wagtail and Grey -headed Yellow Wagtail because of many similarities between them. The main difference which we can find in them is a black colored throat in Grey  Wagtail while Grey -headed wagtail has a yellow-whitish throat. The other method to identify the Grey Wagtail is to notice the white line crossing just above the eye, which is missing in  Grey -headed Yellow Wagtail.  Grey Wagtail is a small bird of the wagtail bird family (a family of birds which has habit of wagging their tail). The scientific name of this bird is Motacilla cinerea. This bird is found in Europe, Asia and Africa. They do

The Greater Coucal The Greater Coucal Or Crow Pheasant (Centropus sinensis) Pictures and Detail  I first time came across this bird on the roadside when I was driving. It is common to find Greater Coucal in all parts of Punjab state of India. This bird is also known as Crow Pheasant and its scientific name is Centropus sinensis . Download our App Beautiful Indian Birds   (Update 28/01/16 - Now, I often Greater_Coucal (Crow Pheasant) around because we can find this bird in good numbers. The picture below, I took a few days back when I was travelling to the fields. In this picture, I found a clear shot of Crow Pheasant with a few more pics. Though, I have lost my Greater_Coucal friend because of relocation to a new city; however, I still miss him.) Greater Coucal in Outdoor The first thing I noticed about this bird is its big size and shy nature. Later I found that a few Greater Coucal (Crow Pheasant) lives near my home too and they sometimes come home to eat lef