Tickell's Blue Flycatcher

The Tickell's Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae) is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family. This is an insectivorous species which breeds in tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka to Indonesia. They are blue on the upperparts and the throat and breast are rufous. They are found in dense scrub to forest habitats.

Dunlin & Sanderling

The dunlin and sanderling are small, gregarious waders often seen on our mudflats and long sandy beaches in winter.  The dunlin is one of our smallest wading birds, at a length of about 18cm (7in) or so. Moreover throughout the year it can be seen at almost any estuary, muddy beach or harbor. Inland, it is surprisingly common; sewage farms, flooded fields and the shores of reservoirs are good places to see dunlin in winter, and in summer it can be found in the moorland areas where it breads. Therefore, dunlin is easy to recognize in the summer because it has a characteristic black patch on its belly. The upperparts are a rich Rufous brown streaked and spotted with black. The breast is heavily streaked with brown. In the autumn, the dunlin moults to its winter plumage, losing both its body and wing feathers in spring, when it regains its breeding plumage, only the body feathers are moulted and replaced. The dunlin’s winter plumage is quite drab and inconspicuous, the upperparts being grey brown and the underparts a dull white. 

Dark-shouldered sanderlings, the sanderling are slightly larger than the dunlin and usually inhabit sandy estuaries and ling sandy beaches. In Britain, it is most often seen in its winter plumage, which is much more striking than that of the dunlin. Its underparts and much of its head are pure white and its back and wings are pale grey. Often, there is a dark patch on the shoulder of the wing, mostly called the wrist.  Like the dunlin, the sanderling moults its body feathers in the spring. Its summer plumage resembles that of the dunlin, except that it has a white belly. The best chance of seeing a sanderling in full breeding plumage is in spring, when many birds migrate north along our coasts, having just grown a new set of body feathers. 

Beak differences a good way to tell the difference between the dunlin and the sanderling is to look at the beak. British dunlins have downward curving beaks about 3cm (1-4/5) long, whereas the sanderling has a shorter (2.5cm/1in), straight beak. There is considerable variation in beak lengths among dunlins, the British birds in general having shorter beaks than those breeding further north. For example, Canadian dunlins have beaks averaging about 4.5cm.

The beaks of these two species are different because they have different methods of feeding. The dunlin, when feeding, walks with a purposeful air, head held low, constantly pecking at the surface of the mud and probing for tiny molluscs. The tip of its beak is particularly sensitive and allows the bird to detect, by touch food lying below the surface of the mud. The sanderling, on the other hand, feeds at the water’s edge, hurrying back and forth like a clockwork toy following each wave as it breaks and recedes. It can be seen skillfully snatching small creatures such as san hoppers from the edge of the surf. The dunlin and sanderling both in summer and winter plumages, in flight, both show a white wing-bar throughout the year; though on the sanderling it is much more prominent. In winter, flocks of dunlin can be seen flying along the coast and flashing grey or white as the bird’s man-oeuvre in unison. 

Both dunlins and sanderlings feed until high tide and then fly off to special roosting sites on shingle banks and marshes or sometimes, on grassy fields. There the birds gather in their thousands for two or three hours until the tide has retreated and they can return to feed. Both on the ground and in flight the two species form their own groups. In the winter, a large flock of dunlin’s flying to or from the feeding and roosting areas can be a marvelous spectacle. Each bird in the flock flies in precise formation only a few inches from its neighbor, and with each change of direction the color of the flock changes. 

First you see the bird’s dark upperparts then as they swerve to one side, the dark changes to the white of their underparts. Migration routes are normally seen in Britain, and all sanderlings are winter visitors or passing migrants. Migrating sanderlings arrive in the British Isles each July and August from their breeding grounds in Greenland and Siberia. Some spend the winter here and the remainders fly on South to France, the Iberian Peninsula and Africa. In May, our wintering sanderlings return to their summer grounds, joined by migrants passing through Britain from further south. Britain is one of the few countries in the world with both breeding and wintering dunlins, so their passage throu\gh Britain is not as distinct as sanderling migrations. Nevertheless, dunlins breeding in Greenland, Iceland the Netherlands and around the  Baltic Sea all migrate through Britain on their way to or from their wintering areas in southern Europe and North Africa. 

Dunlins breeding here also fly south for the winter, but this loss is more than compensated for by the arrival in Britain for the winter of large numbers of dunlin from Scandinavia and Russia. As hard weather sets in further north, so more and more dunlin arrives on our coasts; their numbers usually reach a maximum in January. In spring our wintering dunlins return to their breeding grounds, to be replaced by our own breeding population. Most of our breeding dunlins settle in Scotland and Northern England, but a few nests in Wales and Ireland and there are even some on Dartmoor the most southerly breeding dunlins in the world. 

Moreover, the breeding season for dunlins usually starts in April or May. A typical site is a damp, peaty, upland moor, though some nest beside lakes and others in salt marshes. The nest is a tiny hollow, hidden among heather or a grassy tussock to provide shelter. The female lays four eggs the typical number for a wader at the rate of one every day or two. Both parents help to incubate the eggs until they hatch after about three weeks. Dunlin chicks are superbly well camouflaged with yellow, butt, black and white down. When danger threatens they lie down and become almost invisible. They feed mainly on midges and crane fly larvae, which are plentiful at the time of year. The chicks grow quickly and can fly after about 25 days, when they leave for the coastal feeding sites. 

Occasionally, dunlins manage to raise two broods in a season, but this is rare. The sanderling on the other hand, normally succeeds with two broods by laying one clutch of eggs in a first nest, followed immediately by another clutch in a second nest. Both clutches contain four eggs; one is incubated by the female and the other by the male. Sanderling chicks have the same camouflaged down as dunlin chicks and they fledge in much the same length of time. Soon after, they begin their long migration south. Some of the birds still have their winter plumage but most have moulted ready for the breeding season. Soon they will be migrating to their breeding grounds far to the north.  Source: Charismatic Planet.com

White-Faced Buffalo-Weaver

 The white-headed buffalo weaver or white-faced buffalo-weaver (Dinemellia dinemelli) is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to East Africa. The buffalo part of its name derives from its habit of following the African buffalo, feeding on disturbed insects.
 

Pileated Woodpecker

This Pileated Woodpecker showed up at the parking lot of the Marsh Trail this morning just as I was leaving the area. He paused, looked back, and flew on to the next tree.

The Eclectic Parrots

(Eclectus roratus) is a PARROT native to the Solomon Islands, Sumba, New Guinea and nearby islands, northeastern Australia and the Maluku Islands (Moluccas).It is unusual in the parrot family for its extreme sexual dimorphism of the colours of the plumage; THE MALE having a mostly bright emerald green plumage and THE FEMALE a mostly bright red and purple/blue plumage. The adult female Eclectus is 452 grams with a range of 383 - 549 grams. The weight information is based on an average of the four commonly available Eclectus subspecies - the Solomon Island, Grand, Red-sided, and Vosmaeri Eclectus. Beautiful Eclectus parrots : Such beautiful colors are used in nature. Little Red, Nature, Little Birds, Colors, Beautiful Birds, Red Birds, lory , Feathers Friends, Animal Love these beautiful birds, in my favorite color.

Black-naped monarch

Black-naped monarch or Black-naped Blue Flycatcher (Hypothymis Residhotel Azurea Hotel ) is part of the monarch flycatcher family slender and flexible passerine birds. They aresexually the back dimorphic with a unique black patch of the head, a black narrow half- ring ( necklace) male and female is dull and lack black markings. They have a phone that is similar to the Asian paradise flycatcher and tropical forest habitats for species may join mixed foraging flocks . Stocks slightly different plumage color and size .

Rose-Ringed Parrot

The rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri), also known as the ring-necked parakeet, is a gregarious tropical -rose Asian parakeet species that has an extremely large range.The rose ringed parakeet is sexually dimorphic The adult male sports a red or black neck ring and the hen and immature birds of both sexes either show no neck rings, or display shadow-like pale to dark grey neck rings Both sexes have a distinctive green color Rose-ringed parakeets measure on average 40 cm 16 in in length, including the tail feathers, a large portion of their total length. Their average single-wing length is about 15–17.5 cm (5.9–6.9 in). In the wild, this is a noisy species with an unmistakable squawking call. It is herbivorous and not migratory.One of the few parrot species that have successfully adapted to living in disturbed habitats, it has withstood the onslaught of urbanization and deforestation. As a
popular pet species, escaped birds have colonist a number of cities around the world.

The Yellow-Shafted Flicker Bird

The yellow-shafted flicker (Colaptes auratus auratus) resides in easternNorth America. They are yellow under the tail and underwings and have yellow shafts on their primaries. They have a grey cap, a beige face and a red bar at the nape of their neck. Males have a black oustache. Colaptes comes from the Greek verb colapt, to peck. Auratus is from the Latin root aurat, meaning "gold" or "golden" and refers to the bird's underwing.

Yellow Streaked Lory

The yellowish-streaked lory (Chalcopsitta scintillata), also known as the streaked lory or yellow-streaked lory, is a species of parrot in the Psittaculidae family. Copyright : Irawan S
ubingar

Diamante de Gould

 

Malabar Parrot

The Blue Winged Parakeet known as Malabar Parakeet is endemic to the Western Ghats of India. The Malabar Parakeet has beautifully colored plumage, female Malabar Parakeet has a grey face, a black beak and a single black collar.

Asian paradise flycatcher bird

The Asian paradise flycatcher is a medium-sized passerine bird native to Asia. Males have elongated central tail feathers, and in some populations a black and rufous plumage while others have white plumage. Asian paradise flycatchers feed on insects.Paradise-flycatchers used to be classified with the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae, but are now placed in the family Monarchidae together with monarch flycatchers.

Fischer's Lovebird

The Fischer's Lovebird (Agapornis fischeri) is a small parrot species of the Agapornis genus. Fischer's Lovebirds are native to a small area of east-central Africa, south and southeast of Lake Victoria in northern Tanzania.

Orange-cheeked Waxbill

The orange-cheeked waxbill lives in small family parties or flocks of thirty of more individuals. Their high-pitched peeps are the best clue of their presence. Like most estridids, they are very acrobatic in their movements on twigs and grass stems, "climbing" up and down verticals and hanging upside down while feeding. Males usually have brighter orange patches on the abdomen.

Spanish Wildlife Kingfisher

This is the first of a series of shorts about spanish wildlife. Just image and sound, 90 seconds into our natural world.
Featuring: The European Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis).
We spent several days with this female trying to document its amazing hunting skills. It was really a pleasure to work with such cooperative individual.
Photography: Alberto Saiz & Nacho Ruiz
Editon: Nacho Ruiz
Postproduction: Alberto Saiz
Shot on the Red Epic.
Special thanks to Paco Segarra & César Pastor.
Produced by NaturaHD Films for Fundación Aquae.

WILDLIFE IN 90 SECONDS:The European Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) from NaturaHD Films on Vimeo.