Striated Grassbird

I clicked this Striated Grassbird at Nalban in February 2011. The bird was singing beautifully. I didn't have the recorder at that time to record it. Ever since I wanted to record it. I got the chance in Kaziranga at last when I saw it again in Burapahar. Didn't get a photograph of the bird as it was perched at a distance. But the call came loud and clear, albeit a little marred by some cicadas in the background. There were some hoolock gibbons shouting in the background. But these add to the overall effect in a positive way, I suppose.

The recording was done with my Marantz and Sennheiser K6/ME66. The sound is post processed on Soundforge with some fade in and out and basic volume raising.

Northern Lapwing, Kaziranga, January 2015

I saw my first Northern Lapwing in Kaziranga National Park, Assam where I spent 3 days from 23rd to 25th of January, 2015. I got lucky with the bird's call as well. However, the credit for the call ID goes to our guide cum driver Jhunnu who told me it was a Northern Lapwing that was calling. I saw the bird but couldn't make out if it was calling.

It is funny that although Xeno-Canto has a lot of Northern Lapwing calls, all of them are from Europe. There is almost nothing from their wintering grounds like India. There is one of zero second and another of one second. I could hear nothing when I played them.

I recorded this call with my Marantz PMD 661 Mk II and Sennheiser K6/ME66 combination in a Rode blimp. 

Black-faced Laughingthrush

Towards the end of March 2014 I went to Sandakphu for the third time in life. This time with Mampu and Monisha and two other friends. Among other birds, the black-faced laughingthrush was commonly seen in Sandakphu and Gairibas. However, when I recorded this call in Gairibas I wasn't aware of the identity of the singer. It was a commonly heard call. Later on Xeno-Canto, I discovered its identity.

The attached photograph above was taken in Sandakphu on a particularly sunny morning. The call, however, was recorded a couple of days later in Gairibas, which is way below Sandakphu. The sound was recorded with the Edirol and its own built-in microphone.

Nesting Colony @ Keoladeo NP, October 2014

Bharatpur is famous for its heronries where painted storks, Eurasian spoonbills, black-headed ibises, Asian Openbills, darters, Indian cormorants etc nest together. It is quite a spectacle. When we went there on 2nd October, 2014 although not a single migratory duck was visible (they were yet to arrive), we could see these bustling heronries. These are on clump of small land masses that looked like tiny islands in the middle of water bodies. The trees on those islands are taken over by these birds and together they make quite a noise. It is like music to me. As one of my friends put it, "untamed symphony".

Laughing Dove At Keoladeo National Park, October 2014

The laughing dove is plentiful in Rajasthan. Wherever you go you see them. They look very pretty. They are not quiet at all and it is very easy to record their vocalisation. I recorded this particular bird in the morning of October 2, 2014 at Keoladeo National Park with my Marantz PMD 661 Mk II and Sennheiser K6/ME66. There was some wind and the noise is audible as I was using only the foam cover as windscreen.

The accompanying image of the bird was shot during our previous Rajasthan trip in 2011.

Sarus Cranes @ Keoladeo National Park

In September-October of 2014 I had gone to North India and among other places visited Keoladeo National Park. Here I got lucky with the mating calls of a pair of Sarus Cranes - the star attraction of the park. The first time when I heard this call I got a start, because I couldn't see the birds and was certainly not prepared for the sound. After that I took out my recorder and waited ready for it. After about six minutes they suddenly called out. It was really worth the wait. The time shown in Xeno-Canto is wrong. It was recorded in the late afternoon at around 4.30 pm on 2nd October, 2014.

The recording turned out to  be very clean, clear and crisp. I didn't do any editing whatsoever. Not even volume push up. This is the first time I used the new Marantz PMD 661 Mk II with the Sennheiser K6/ME66. It's a fantastic combination. 

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.