Birds in Kanha - 2

S. No.

Bird Name

Short Description

Rose ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)

Its Indian name is Lybar Tota. It is slightly larger than Myna. In appearance it is smaller edition of the Alexandrine Parakeet, but lacking the maroon shoulder-patches. Female lacks black and rose-pink collar of male. They are commonly seen in lightly wooden area, farms etc. Their noisy flocks often indicates their presence in the area. Their nesting season is from February to April. They make their nests in hollow tree trunks and lays 4-6 eggs at a time. 

Common Hawk-Cuckoo or Brainfever Bird (Cuculus varius)

Due to its call, it is popularly known as Brainfever bird. It seems quite similar to Shikra bird. Hawk-cuckoo is a medium to large size cuckoo approx. 34 cm. They are  nest-parasitic and lay their eggs in Babbler nest. Their breeding season is March to June and lays single egg at a time.

Indian Cuckoo (Cuculus mocropterus)

Indian Cuckoo is a 33 cm long bird of cuckoo family of birds. Its appearance is above dark slaty grey, brown tinged, pale ashy and white below barred with broad black bands. It produces a loud, far-reaching fluty whistle with a wide range of suggestive renderings. Its breeding season is from March to August and lays eggs on nest of drango, orioles etc.

Crow Pheasant or Coucal (Centropus sinensis)

It is also known as Greater Coucal and is a non-parasitic member of cuckoo family of birds. Its size is similar to Jungle crow with long and broad tail. They feed caterpillars, large insects, snails, lizards etc. Their nesting season is from February to March and lays 3-4 eggs at a time.

Barred Jungle Owlet (Glaucidium radiatum)

It size is equivalent to Myna. It has general effect of Spotted Owlet, but dark brown above and conspicuously barred with pale rufous. Underpart rufous and white, closely barred with blackish brown. They call loud and hears pleasant. They mainly feeds beetles and other insects. Their nesting season is from March to May months and lays 2-4 oval eggs at a time.

Whitebreasted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)

Also known by the name of White throated Kingfisher. They are approximately 27cm in length. Their appearance is bright blue from back, wings & tail. Head and lower belly is brown in colour with reddish long bill. Their throat and breast has white colour. Both sexes seem similar. They can be commonly seen in bare tree tops, close to ponds, wires etc. Their breeding season is from March to July and lays 4-7 eggs at a time.

Black-capped Kingfisher (Halcyon pileata)

Its size is between Myna and Pigeon, similar to White breasted Kingfisher about 28cm in size. Its appearance is deep cobalt blue from above and pale rusty from below. A velvet black cap on head separated from back by a prominent white collar on hindneck. Bill is bright coral red. They can be seen in sea coasts, swamps, water sources etc. They feed large insects, frog, small fishes etc. Their nesting season is from May to July and lays 3-5 eggs at a time.

Small Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis)

Its size is equivalent to Sparrow about 16-18 cms. Both sexes are alike. His entire plumage is strike green with bluish area on chin and throat. Its iris is crimson and the black line extension from beak to back of eye helps in its identification. Their breeding season is from March to June and lays 3-5 eggs at a time.

Indian Roller or Blue Jay (Coracias bengalensis)

It is a stocky bird of length 26-27cm. Its breast is golden brown with blue blue tail and rest of the body. The feed insects. Their breeding season is from March to June and lays 3-5 eggs at a time. Indian Roller is most commonly seen roller family bird in almost all major Wildlife & Bird sanctuaries of North India. Their sighting is quite common close to grasslands, ponds and other water sources in countryside sites.

Hoopoe (Upupa epops)

The size of Common Hoopoe is almost close to size of Myna. Its appearance is fawn coloured bird with black and white zebra markings on back, wings & tail. Both sexes are alike. They feed insects, grubs and pupae and thus helpful in agriculture. Their nesting season is from February to May and lays 5-6 eggs at a time.

Common Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros birostris)

It is also known as Indian Grey Hornbill and equivalent to size of black kite. Their field characters are : a clumsy brownish grey bird with an enormous black and white curved bill surmounted by a peculiar protuberance or casque and long graduated tail. In female, casque is smaller. They feed fruits, large insects, lizards and small mice. Their nesting season is from March to June and lays 2-3 eggs at a time.

Large Green Barbet (Megalaima zeylancia)

It is also known as Brown headed barbet. Size is equivalent to Myna. In appearance it is chubby, heavy-billed grass green, arboreal bird with head, neck, upper back and breast brown, streaked with white, lower breast and abdomen green. Both sexes are alike. They feed ficus figs and other drupes and berries. Their nesting season is from February to June and lays 2-4 eggs at a time.

Crimson-breasted Barbet Cooopersmith (Megalaima haemacephala)

It is a bird with crimson forehead and throat. Their size is equivalent to sparrow. They feed mainly fruit like figs, berries and insects. They fly straight with rapid flaps. Their nesting season is from February to April and lays 3-4 eggs at a time.

Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker (Dinopium bengalense)

Its size is more or less equivalent to Myna about 26-29cm. Its upper plumage is golden yellow and black, lower buffy white streaked with black, more boldly on breast. Its crown is red in colour and underpacks are white. It can be seen in urban areas also. Call of this bird is loud, harsh and chattering. Their nesting season is from March to August and lays 2-3 eggs at a time.

Rufousbacked Shrike (lanius schach)

It is also known as Long-tailed shrike and is member of bird family Shrike. Its physical features are : smaller than grey shrike, underparts are white, long tail with rufous edges. Its bill and legs are almost black. In size, it is smaller than Myna and almost equivalent to Bulbul. They feed grasshoppers, lizards and young mice. Their nesting season are from February to July and lays 3-6 eggs at a time.

Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)

Its hindi name is Karkata. In size it is more or less equivalent to the size of Bulbul. Field Characteristics are: reddish brown above except for white forehead and supercilium. A black line through eye to ear coverts, tail is rufous brown. Wings are brownish black. They feed large insects, small birds, lizards etc.

Blackheaded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus)

It is an African Passerine. It has a brilliant golden yellow body, jet black head and fleshy red beak. Its size is similar to Myna. Its nesting season is from April to July and eggs are smaller, more pinkish, less glossy. They can be seen in Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Bharatpur, Mount Abu and southern India.

Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus)

Its local Hindi name is Peelak and size is equivalent to Myna. Its physical features are: brighten golden yellow with black in wings and tail. Its black streak through the eye enhances its beauty. They can be seen in forested area of Kanha Tiger Reserve in Central India. They feed insects, banyan and peepul figs along with other fruits and berries. Their nesting season is from April to July.

Racket tailed Drango (Dicrurus paradiseus)

It is popularly known in India with the name of Bhimraj or Bhangraj. It size is equivalent to Myna. In appearance: it is glossy black drango with prominently tufted forehead and two long wirelike spatula-tipped features. They can be commonly seen in semi-urban areas, electricity wires, parks etc. Their nesting season is from March to June and lays eggs from 3 to 4 at a time.

Indian Treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda)

Its Indian name is Mahalat. Its body size is almost equivalent to Myna but tail is about 30 cm long. Physical features are: long tailed chestnut-brown bird with sooty head and neck. Black-tipped grey tail and grayish white wing patches conspicuous in flight. They are omnivorous by nature and can have fruits, insects, lizards, frogs, helpless young birds etc. Their nesting season is from February to July (summer) and lays 4-5 eggs at a time. Eggs can be of variable sizes and colour.

Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhunchos)

In India it is popularly known as ‘Kala (black) Kowwa(Crow)’. It is slightly larger than the size of House crow. Its bill is heavy, deep and hoarse. Both male & female appears similar from distance. It can  be easily seen in adjoining village  & resorts in Kanha. At the central point of Kanha National Park, we can find them in abundance. In Northern India, its breeding season is from March to April. It lays 4-5 eggs at a time and often Koel lays its eggs in nest of Crow.

Scarlet Minivet (Pericrocutus flammeus)

It is popularly known as ‘Pahari Bulbul’ in India. Its size is equivalent to pigeon but little bit more slim. By look, adult male glistening black and orange-red to deep scarlet. Female and yound male grey and olive-yellow above, yellow below with two yellow bars in the black wings. Their common food are insects, flies, larvae etc. Their voice is like whistling wee-tweet or whiriri-whiriri etc. Nesting season is from April to July. They can lay upto 4 eggs in season. Here both the sexes share their parental duties.

Jungle Babbler (Turdoides striatus)

Jungle babbler  is equivalent in size of Myna. Its physical features are earthy brown frowzled and untidy looking bird with a longish tail which gives the impression of being loosely stuck into body. Both sexes are alike.  They are non-migratory. They can be found in semi-urban areas, throughout the India. In Kanha national Park we can find them in courtyard of wildlife resorts, villages etc. They are very common in Central India. They feed spiders, cockroaches and other small insects. Their nesting season is irregular throughout the year and lays 3-4 eggs at a time.

Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassina)

Its local Hindi Indian name is ‘Puthir chitta’. Its body size is more or less equivalent to sparrow. In appearance, its female is different from male in being duller and greyer. They can be seen in wooded country, hawking flies from exposed tree tops.Their nesting season is from April to July and lays 4 eggs of pale pink colour.

Shama (Copsychus malabaricus)

Often known by the name of White-rumped Shama. Its Indian name is Shama. Its size is almost equivalent to Bulbul but tail is long. In outlook, it seems cousin of Magpie-Robin with chestnut underparts instead of white. There are white patches above root of black and white graduated tail diagnostic in flight.They can be seen in deep dense forest. They feed insects from bushes and ground. Their nesting season is from April to June and lays 3-4 eggs at a time.

Indian Tree Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni)

Also known by the name of Olive Backed Pipid is a passerine bird of pipid genus. Its size is similar to sparrow. It is migratory bird that travels long distance in winters. It appears greenish brown with slim bill, whitish buff, dark brown breast and flanks. Their nesting season is from May to July and lays 4-5 eggs at a time. It can be seen throughout India.

Red Munia or Avadavat (Estrilda amandoava)

It is a sparrow sized bird of Munia family. Male have speciality of colour change during breeding season. Normally we can find them in grasslands, fields and rural sites. Their beak turns to red in May and become more dark during November & December months. Their nesting season is from July to October.

Blossomheaded Parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala)

It is also known as Plum-headed parakeet. Its local Indian name is Tuiya Tota. Their size is about 30 cm and tail is up to 18cm. They are different from Rose ringed Parakeet as their size is smaller then them, bluish red head and maroon shoulder patches. Their nesting season is from January to May and lays 4-6 eggs at a time.

Bush Lark (Mirafra assamica)

It is also known as red-winged Bushlark. Its size is equivalent to sparrow. Its distinguishing feature is large chestnut patch on their wings. It is commonly seen in arid places. Its nesting season is from April to October and lays 3-4 pale grayish white eggs at a time.

Spotbill Duck (Anas poecilorhuncha)

Its size is equivalent to domestic duck. By look, it is a large sized, scaly plattered light and dark brown plumage and the white and metallic green wing-bar or speculum are leading pointers. Its bright orange-red legs, yellow tipped bill and two orange-red spots enhances its beauty. They feed vegetable matter etc. They are herbivorous. Their nesting season is from July to September. They can be seen in marshy areas. At a time they can lay 6-12 eggs at a time.

Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia)

Its size is equivalent to sparrow. Physical characteristics are : black and yellow tit-like bird with two white wing bars. They can commonly seen are gardens, grooves, village outskirts, adjoining village of Kanha National Park etc. We can find them thorough out Central India. They feed insects, eggs, larvae etc. Their breeding season is from April to September (in Monsoons) and lays 2-4 eggs at a time.

Brahminy Myna (Sturnus pagodarum)

Brahimny Myna is also known by the name of Brahminy Starling and is member of starling family. This myna is pale buff creamy with yellow bill and blue bill base. Upper region of head is black. They can is seen close to human habitations, farms, dry forest etc. In Kanha National Park we can find them in resort campus and surrounding areas.

Pied Myna (Sturnus contra)

Indian name is Bulbul. Pied Myna is also known by the name of Asian Pied Starling is species of Starling. They are basically black & white in colour having red circle around eye to beak.Pied myna makes noisy, communal roosts and can be seen circling around the area in large flocks. They feeds largely on the ground, digging, yet also eating grain, flower-matter, ripe fruit etc. They are wide spread resident of Northern & Eastern India. Their breeding season is from March to September and lays 4-5 eggs at a time.