Birds Life

India - Wildlife - Bird Population in India

Bird Population in India

	Indian Shag Also known as the Indian cormorant, the Indian shag is found almost throughout the Indian subcontinent excluding the higher reaches of the Himalayas and on the island country of Sri Lanka.

	Darter The Darter, also known as the Snake-bird because of its long slender snake-like neck crowned with a velvety brown head is another bird commonly found on the water bodies throughout the Indian sub-continent.

	Little Cormorant This waterfowl has a shimmering black feathered coat with a white patch on the throat, a long stiff tail and a slender bill sharply hooked at the tip.

	Green Bee Eater Bee eaters as known to most as small, brightly colored, tropical Old World coraciiform birds (birds with a strong, sharp bill, fused front toes, and usually bright coloration including- kingfishers, hornbills and bee-eaters).

	Indian Roller This delightful bird is a collage of colours. The bird is of a striking blue color with a rufous brown breast and a pail blue abdomen and under tail.

	Grey Shrike This bird inhabits the semi-desert areas scattered with thorny bushes all along the dry areas of Pakistan and Western India and also a small area in eastern India.

	Common Myna This is one of the various tropical starlings found in South and Southeast Asia.

	Magpie- Robin This is a sleek looking bird with a tapering tail. The male is predominantly black with white patches on the wings and belly. In the female the black is replaced by a slate grey or a brown.

	Pond Heron The pond heron is an egret like marsh bird found throughout the Indian subcontinent. You are likely to find it wading the shallows and the marsh for food wherever there is water.

	Chestnut Bittern The bird is found throughout the greater part of the Indian subcontinent including the islands of andaman, Nicobar, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. It roams in solitude among its favorite haunt- the reedy marshes.

	Sarus Crane This is a large grey bird with long bare red legs, and naked red head and upper neck. It is an impressively large bird that stands as tall as a man.

	Openbill Stork This is a bird whose flight catches immediate attention. It is one of the most common storks and is found all over the subcontinent.

	Little Egret Standing at the height of a village hen, the little egret can be found all over the Indian subcontinent. It is very much like the large egret and displays the same cunning nature while standing in marshes, water ponds, rivers and tidal mudflats.

	Painted Stork Standing from a distance, heronries of painted storks look like cluttered dirty blobs of white on the tree tops. One really has to strain his eyes to make out what exactly the entire scene represents.

	Rosy Pelican This bird is found in great congregations on jheels and lagoons, it is white or rose tinged with a tuft of yellow feathers on the breast, has a slight crest and the feathers of the forehead end in a point above the bill.

	Lesser Adjutant Slightly larger than the vulture and a bit smaller in size than an adjutant, the lesser adjutant is glossy metallic black in colour with an ugly featherless head.

	White Ibis White Ibis is a large marsh bird with naked black head and neck, and long, stout, black, down curved curlew like bill. The bird is found throughout Indian Subcontinent and Myanmar.

	Spoonbill Stork Spoonbill stork is a beautiful bird, perhaps the most easy to identify because of it ‘spoon-shaped’ bill.

	Purple Moorhen As the name indicates, the bird is more or less the size of a village hen. It is purple-blue in colour with long red legs and toes.

	Lapwing The bird is found all over the Indian Union upto about 1800 m in the Himalayas and peninsular hills.

	Parakeet Large flock can be found all over the Indian Sub-continent, from the foothills of Himalayas to the southern parts of the country.

	Black Drongo The bird is found all over the Indian subcontinent, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

	White Kingfisher This is one of the birds that can never fail to catch your attention. A brilliant turquoise blue with deep chocolate-brown head, neck and under parts, a long bright red ‘kingfisher-like’ bill and white front catches immediate attention.

	Crow Pheasant Called ‘Mahoka’ in Hindi, Crow Pheasant or Coucal stands at the height of 48 cms. It’s a clumsy, glossy black bird with conspicuous wings and long, broad, black, graduated tail.

	Pied Kingfisher The size of Pied Kingfisher is between Myna and Pigeon, but it ‘looks’ stout and is black and white in colour. The bill is typical ‘kingfisher-like’