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The Indian Chestnut Bellied Sandgrouse, Male
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@ Sulur, Coimbatore Dist
Tamil Nadu, India
12 Aug 2022
Description Credit – Birds of the World (The Cornnel Lab) & Wiki
About the Bird - The Indian Chestnut Bellied Sandgrouse is a small to medium-sized, plump, and dovelike bird, overall plumage is light reddish brown, providing the bird with wonderful camouflage against the arid dry environment. It has an elongated and pointed tail when in flight or while sitting. When grounded, they appear as very short-legged birds, with a small head. They will stretch out their long necks when wary. It's irises are black and the bare skin around the eyes is light green. The bill is small, slightly curved and pale gray in color.
The Indian Chestnut Bellied Sandgrouse male's upper parts, from the crown to upper tail are a covert isabelline-grey/brown colour. The male Sandgrouse is slightly larger and weighs 170 to 300 grams. The lores, cheeks, chin, and throat are a dull yellow-ochre and often tinged with orange-buff that extends around the neck like a collar and shading off towards the scapular and interscapular feathers, shading into ocherous-buff at the tips and edged with brown. The wing feathers are a buff or ocherous-buff shading into olive towards the inner bottom wing. The bird's upper breast is a vinous-buff and separated by a narrow band of black boarded with white. The lower breast has a dull yellow-buff that changes gradually into a chocolate colour, with the centre of the abdomen is black. The under tail and tarsus in a creamy-buff. The centre tail is the same isabelline-grey/brown as the upper tail feathers, becoming black towards the prolonged narrow portions.
The female's whereas weighs 140 to 240 grams and it's upper plumage is a dull-buff streaked with dark brown marks at the back of the neck, increasing to blotches, with other parts becoming broad bars. The wing feathers are the same as the back, but the feathers are tipped broadly with buff, with some coverts edged with brown. The neck, breast and sides of the head are vinous in colour, with black spots. The lower breast is a dull pale ochre-buff, with the abdomen to the vent closely barred with dark brown. And the under-tail covert feathers are creamy buff.
The Indian Chestnut Bellied Sandgrouse is sedentary, unlike most species of sandgrouse who are migratory. However, the species exhibits extensive local movements. During the summer, when water is scarce, the birds will move to nearby areas where water is still available. The birds also appear to periodically move over long distances based on the availability of food supplies. Flight is fast and direct; often seen in flocks. Inhabits semidesert, dry plains, and sparsely vegetated scrubby areas. They like all species of sandgrouse, feeds on small seeds, small insects and fallen berries. Their diet primarily consists of small seeds, often consumed in large quantities, mostly from leguminous plants. The environment these birds tend to inhabit is often arid, and water is scarce. However, these birds water regularly every day and will tend to concentrate around available water sources. They prefer to water once a day at sunrise but have been observed to water a second time before sunset, although this is less common.
The Indian Chestnut Bellied Sandgrouse flight call a rhythmic three-note phrase “whit!-kt-arrr”, first note a staccato over-slurred whistle, while the second and third are lower-pitched, goose-like and guttural. In flocks, birds call simultaneously, resulting in a constant nasal duck-like squabbling.
Smart City project has created some nice features in the city
This was taken at Sunset with pink skies in the west
11014 Coimbatore - Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Mumbai Express curving into Ghorawadi with KJM WDP-4 20060.
On short final Runway 23 at Coimbatore International airport arriving as "SRILANKAN 193". Painted with the special One World colours.
IFLY 375 on short final for Runway 23 at Coimbatore International Airport arriving from CSIA Mumbai.