Grey Francolin

I saw this small flock of Grey Francolins by the road side during our drive from Jodhpur to Osiyan in October 2011. The bird looks simply awesome. They are very vocal. However, they routinely become victims of road kills on the highways of Rajasthan.

Purple Swamphen

t

Went to Barkul to witness the hatching of Olive Ridley turtles. Had driven down from Calcutta on Friday, 5th April 2013 and Saturday was a free day when we went to Manglajodi. Recorded the Purple Swamphen's interesting calls and here it is for a listen. The image was taken from an earlier trip to Manglajodi.  

Black-tailed Godwit

Went to Barkul to witness the hatching of Olive Ridley turtles. Had driven down from Calcutta on Friday, 5th April 2013 and Saturday was a free day when we went to Manglajodi. There recorded the calls of the flagship bird of Manglajodi. This photograph was taken at Barkul on Chilika though. This particular bird, though very commonly found in Manglajodi, is a "near-threatened" species as per IUCN red list. Here are two particular vocalisations of the bird.

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

This is one of the most ubiquitous birds in Goa's Bhagwan Mahabir WLS and they are very loud and garrulous. It doesn't take any special talent to record them. You just hold the microphone in their direction :-) When I was recording this bird I didn't have the external microphone. This image and the call is of the same individual bird. 

Black-hooded Oriole

I love the Bengali name of the black-hooded oriole. Bene Bou. It means the goldsmith's wife. Traditionally they wear a lot of gold ornaments. With its golden colour the bird is quite aptly named. These birds have a wide repertoire of calls. Here are three of them from my collection. 

I recorded the first one at Shyamkhola on a quiet morning. One of those rare occasions when there was no loudspeaker playing in the distance blaring some religious song. 

This is another type of vocalisation recorded at Dhakuria Lake And this is yet another different vocalisation.  CKBS.

Oriental Pratincole

As we were coming back from Kharibari (31st March, 2013) through Rajarhat we decided to check out if the Oriental Pratincoles could be seen. Construction activity in Rajarhat has increased considerably and we weren't too hopeful. Suddenly one of our friends spotted a flock of them swoop down on an open grassland. We immediately got out from our car for a good sighting. With the recorder on I was lucky to get the vocalisation of a lone bird that was encircling a small area overhead. Later, while uploading on Xeno-Canto I was surprised to find that this is the first recording of the species from India !!!
Incidentally this photograph was taken in Manglajodi in January 2012.
To listen to the recording click here

Wood Sandpiper

Went to Kharibari on Sunday, 31st March and made a number of recordings. This species offered both - an opportunity for a good photograph and a decent sound recording that I uploaded today (the pic and the vocalisation is not of the same individual) on Xeno-Canto. I must confess that when I saw and heard the bird in flight I couldn't identify it but knew it was some sandpiper - from the shape of its body. Later, while matching the calls I realised I had recorded a Wood Sandpiper :) That's the beauty of internet and modern technology. 

To listen to the recording click here or the embedded file below

Flame-throated Bulbul

My first bird in Goa's Backwoods Camp on 8th March 2013 was this bird. Light condition being very poor I couldn't get a decent image of the bird. After that it remained elusive for the rest of my stay there only to reappear on the last morning when a pair sat on a branch right outside the main building of the resort and happily sang for a long time.

This bird was earlier considered a sub-species (Gularis) of Black-headed Bulbul. Now it has been split.

Blue-throated Barbet

The blue-throated barbet is perhaps the most vocal bird in this part of the world. No matter which bird you try to record, you are bound to get a blue-throated's call in the background. It is my ring tone in the phone right now :-)

White-throated Kingfisher

This is a very common call for anyone from this part of the world. In fact often it is difficult to avoid this bird's call (possibly territory marking) from the background.

A note on the photograph. I had taken it almost full frame in Santragachhi. 

Spotted Dove

I recorded the vocalisation of the spotted dove long ago. This was perhaps one of my first recordings made with the Edirol. No matter where in the world I hear this sound, it always reminds me of an idle afternoon in Calcutta.

Common Hawk Cuckoo - Juvenile Begging

In Piyali Island (near Sunderban) I saw this wonderful sight of a juvenile common hawk cuckoo begging for food (often successfully) from its foster parents - jungle babblers. The photograph and sound is of the same individual. This was in November 2012.

Common Iora

I saw and recorded this common iora at Shyamkhola on March 17, 2013. The common iora has a large repertoire of calls. This is one of them. This bird responds very well to playback. However, it is unethical to do so during the breeding season. The common iora's display flights is unique. It looks like a fluffy blackish ball when it does that. Hope to catch that sight with the camera some day.

In the background there is a trill of a lineated barbet and the song of a blue-throated barbet in this recording.

Lineated Barbet

Recorded these calls of Lineated Barbet at Shyamkhola last Sunday, 17th March 2013. These are two different vocalisations. While one is common and is often heard, the other one isn't so common. 

While the call above is quite common, the second one isn't as commonly heard. The first one has too much of a blue-throated barbet also calling incessantly, as is their wont. It is impossible to record anything in Bengal during spring without the background sound of this extremely commonly heard bird :-)

Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker

Last Sunday, 17th March 2013 we went to Shyamkhola and Chintamani Kar Bird Sanctuary near Narendrapur. Here I saw and recorded this fulvous-breasted woodpecker's vocalisation and also the sound it made on the tree trunk with its beak.

Those who might not know - the very first sound that you hear is the call of the woodpecker. It is a very soft chuck chuck sound. Unless you are careful you will soon be drowned in the other calls of background species. The sound of the beak on the trunk is like a creaky door being opened. I hope this helps.