Bank Myna  Bank myna (Acridotheres ginginianus) Picture and Detail  As you go deep into the world of birds, then you witness a great variety of birds. I never thought earlier that so many kinds of Myna live around us. Around the world, we can find two dozen myna. The first myna, I shared with you was Common Myna and now, I am going to share Bank Myna and which is also called Sharak in Punjabi.  Initially, I thought that it is a jungle Myna because of its resemblance to it; however, on closer look, I found that there is a difference in the colour of the bleak skin around its eye. In some studies, I found that It is bank myna. The scientific name of this myna is Acridotheres ginginianus.  Bank Myna  Like the Common Myna, Bank Myna also doesn't fear much from humans and therefore, you get a nice chance to take its pictures. The brick-red colour of its bleak skin around its eyes is the main indicator that it is Bank Myna. Also, there is no white patch on the wing

Jungle Crow Himachal Pradesh Jungle Crow (Corvus Macrorhynchos) Pictures and Details The first crow, I shared with you was the Indian (House) Crow , now I am going to introduce you to the Jungle Crow, as the name suggests it is a crow that mostly lives in the jungle. It is very common to find Jungle Crows in the Jungle and they sound alarmed with their sharp voice when you enter an area where they live.  Download our App Beautiful Indian Birds A Jungle Crow taking away left over Though, Jungle crow are not exclusive to jungles only, many times, we can find them in urban areas and near human population. The scientific name of Jungle Crow is Corvus Macrohynchos. This crow is also called Large-billed crow and Thick-billed crow because of its large bill. Jungle crows are widespread across Asia. Jungle Crow Front The best way to recognize these crows is to notice the completely black color on their body. Like the house crow, these crows do survive on the variety of f

Spotted Dove Spotted Dove (Spilopelia Chinensis) Pictures and Detail  We can find many doves around us and some of these doves are very common while others we rarely see. Earlier, I shared with you Laughing Dove (or Palm dove)  and Rock dove (or Pigeon) which we commonly found around us. Today, I am going to share with you another dove or Pigeon, Spotted Dove, with whom I met in Himchal Pradesh.  I noticed that a pair of doves is commonly coming to our home and nearby fields. I took my camera and captured some of its pictures. By studying it, I found that it is a long tail pigeon (dove) and it is called Spotted Dove. Its scientific name is Spilopelia Chinensis). It is also called Mountain or Pearl necked or Lace Necked Dove. Spotted Dove With some efforts, these birds become my friend and they started coming close to me and I took some of their nice pictures. These are native birds of Asia and we can easily spot them in India. Spotted doves have also establishe

Pair of Indian Grey Hornbill Birds Indian Grey Hornbill Pictures and Detail (Ocyceros birostris) Indian Grey Hornbill is common Hornbill found in Indian Subcontinent. The scientific name of this bird is Ocyceros birostris. These birds, mainly live in the trees and hardly descend to the ground. When I first saw Indian Grey Hornbill, then noticed that it is a Hornbill; however, I was not confirmed about its original name.  However, I easily found that it is an Indian Grey Hornbill. I saw these birds at many locations from the foothills of Himalaya to the plains. Initially, I found it very hard to take their pictures because of their shy nature.  Indian Grey Hornbill on Tree These birds have grey  feathers and the color of the belly is light grey .  They have a dark grey  Horn with some extended part. Indian Grey Harnbill mainly feed on fruits, though they may eat small insects, reptiles, molluscs, scorpions etc. Indian Grey  Hornbill on Electricity Wire Th

Barn Swallow  Barn Swallow (Hirundo Rustica) Pictures and Detail  During my recent visit to Hiamchal Pradesh, I noticed that a deep blue and white colored bird is feeding its juveniles on the edge of a rooftop. I decided to capture its pictures and finally got many of pictures of adult and juveniles. On some study, I found that the name of this bird is Barn Swallow .  Barn Swallow Juveniles I saw this bird for the first time or at least noticed it for the first time. I found these birds very attractive and they were making dives in the air to catch insects to feed baby Barn Swallows. There were around eight Juveniles of Barn Swallow waiting silently on the edge of the rooftop for their turn to get food from the parents.  --------- Best Books on Indian Birds to Read --------- In the picture above, You can clearly see an adult Barn Swallow feeding its juvenile. It looked that Juveniles were unable to catch insects themselves so the adults were feeding them.

Rock Dove  Rock Dove (Pigeon) Pictures and Detail (Columba livia ) Today, I am going to cover second Dove i.e. Rock Dove also popularly known as Rock Pigeon or simply Pigeon . The first dove, I covered on this blog was Laughing Dove , which we mostly see together with Rock Pigeons.  Rock Pigeons are very common birds because they are very good in adapting to different geographic conditions.   Rock Doves belong to the bird group of Columbidae (the group to which all doves and Pigeons belong). There are total of 310 birds in this group.  Pigeons eating Grains  We are feeding Pigeons from last 15 years, therefore, I am seeing them closely and can easily notice them with the sound they make. It is also common to see Pigeons in captivity and many people breed them. The relationship of humans and Pigeons is very old ( 10,000 years old) and before, the postal system, these birds were used to send essential mails or letters. Rock Pigeon Rock Pigeons are ba

Plumbeous Water Redstart (Male) Plumbeous Water Redstart  (Rhyacornis Fuliginosa) Pictures and Detail During my visit to the small rocky river, I noticed that a small blue colored bird is trying to get my attention. On the first look, I recognized that it is a Redstart; however, I was not aware of it's particular name. Earlier, I covered one more Redstart on this blog, White Caped Redstart . On some search, I found that it is a Plumbeous Water Redstart which is found near fast flowing water bodies, small river, rocky rivers etc. The scientific name of this bird is  Rhyacornis Fuliginos and it belong to Muscicapidae bird family. This bird is mainly found in South Asia, Southeast Asia and China in countries like India, Afghanistan, China, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Laos, Mynmmar, Thailand and Taiwan. I took the pictures of male Plumbeous Water Redstart because the male birds are in slate blue color and female birds are in Grey color. Male birds do have a rusty red col

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