Zahoor-Salmi
Shikra
The shikra is found in a range of habitats including forests, farmland and urban areas. They are usually seen singly or in pairs. The flight is typical with flaps and glides. During the breeding season pairs will soar on thermals and stoop at each other. Their flight usually draws alarms among smaller birds and squirrels. They feed on rodents (including Meriones hurrianae, squirrels, small birds, small reptiles (mainly lizards but sometimes small snakes and insects. Small birds usually dive through foliage to avoid a shikra and a Small Blue 8Kingfisher has been observed diving into water to escape. Babblers have been observed to rally together to drive away a shikra. They will descend to the ground to feas on emerging winged termites,[ hunt at dusk for small bats (such as Cynopterus sphinx[ and in rare instances they may even resort to feed on carrion. In one instance a male wa`s found feedin on a dead chick at the nest.[1 Their calls are mimicked by drongos and this behaviour is thought to aid in stealing food by alarming other birds that the drongos associate with.
The breeding season in India is in summer from March to June. The nest is a platform similar to that of crows lined with grass. Both sexes help build the nest, twigs being carried in their feet.Like crows, they may also make use of metal wires. The usual clutch is 3 to 4 eggs (when eggs are removed they lay replacements and one observer noted that they could lay as many as 7 in a season[21]) which are pale bluish grey stippled on the broad end in black. The incubation period is 18 to 21 days
Shikra
The shikra is found in a range of habitats including forests, farmland and urban areas. They are usually seen singly or in pairs. The flight is typical with flaps and glides. During the breeding season pairs will soar on thermals and stoop at each other. Their flight usually draws alarms among smaller birds and squirrels. They feed on rodents (including Meriones hurrianae, squirrels, small birds, small reptiles (mainly lizards but sometimes small snakes and insects. Small birds usually dive through foliage to avoid a shikra and a Small Blue 8Kingfisher has been observed diving into water to escape. Babblers have been observed to rally together to drive away a shikra. They will descend to the ground to feas on emerging winged termites,[ hunt at dusk for small bats (such as Cynopterus sphinx[ and in rare instances they may even resort to feed on carrion. In one instance a male wa`s found feedin on a dead chick at the nest.[1 Their calls are mimicked by drongos and this behaviour is thought to aid in stealing food by alarming other birds that the drongos associate with.
The breeding season in India is in summer from March to June. The nest is a platform similar to that of crows lined with grass. Both sexes help build the nest, twigs being carried in their feet.Like crows, they may also make use of metal wires. The usual clutch is 3 to 4 eggs (when eggs are removed they lay replacements and one observer noted that they could lay as many as 7 in a season[21]) which are pale bluish grey stippled on the broad end in black. The incubation period is 18 to 21 days