This wild rooster is an ancestral stock of the domestic chickens. They are found across much of Eastern India and often heard, but pretty difficult to sight given their amazing camouflage.

The birds are a bit larger than the domestic chickens and much more bold in the colors. They frequent the under bush and we can probably get a glimpse of the head or tail sometimes. During our last trip, we heard maybe around 4-5 calls every day for over 4 days, but they are quite hard to get out in the open. This particular shot was taken from long distance while 2 of these birds were calling each other - probably competitive / territorial calls. We spent a while watching them and getting few shots before they disappeared!

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback Much appreciated.

A resident bird of the jungles and forests at higher altitude found in our neighbouring state. They were sighted in good numbers in the forest areas and unlike their common cousins, the common Myna, these birds are relatively quiet and mostly minding their own business.

During that time when we visited the area, they were busy tending to their chicks since it was the peak nesting season. The nests were inside tree burrows - which we could see - but we could not see the chicks. The birds were quite wary as the area had lots of predators. We sighted several Malabar Pied Hornbills, Rufous Bellied Eagles, Hobby, Falcons etc... The Mynas were landing on multiple perches before going on to their nests so as to deter the predators.

Thank you so much in advance for your views and feedback.

One of the more uncommon Mynas that is found in woody, forest areas and not found in my resident state. This one is a lifer for me and we sighted plenty in the large forest area we visited.

The birds are social in nature and often found in numbers of 2 and more. The behavior is similar to Common Myna, but these birds are less vocal and noisy than its common cousin. We sighted them trying to build nests and carrying nesting materials I suppose. They had small pieces of leaves / twigs in their beaks.

This was part of the 3 day birding trip to a remote forest area that is very vast, but lacked wild animals. There is no mobile network in the entire region which was a blessing in many ways. The heat was scorching, but the place was amazing and I had around 25 lifers few of which are incredibly rare. Unfortunately, the place was incredibly tough for photograph and managed to get few decent shots. But nevertheless, I was absolutely delighted at seeing so many new amazing birds.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback. Much appreciated.

One of 5 varieties of minivets in the forest we visited and a lifer!. Not the rarest, but definitely quite an uncommon one. It looks similar to the common Scarlet Minivet, but has a rosy frontside due to which it derives that name.

Similar behaviour as that of the other minivets except that it prefers small groups, usually 2 where both the male and female forage together. It is also a high canopy bird and prefers to come out to the open at the top!

ebird doesn't list the forest we visited as a native range of this bird, but since we sighted it during the non-migratory season, assume its resident there. The last trip we even sighted it nesting.

Thanks so much in advance for your views, faves and feedback.

Looking for the final meal of the day I suppose. There were plenty of them that day and the perches were beautiful.

One of my favorite birds, these small birds are a delight to watch anytime. The birds are social and are always seen in groups. These are resident birds and found throughout the subcontinent. Due to their vivid colors and beautiful eyes, pretty much everyone loves to photograph them!

Thanks so much in advance for your views, faves and feedback.

A resident bird of the jungles and forests at an altitude found in our neighbouring state. They were everywhere and unlike their common cousins, the common Myna, these birds are relatively quiet and mostly minding their own business.

We saw several in the forest we visited last week. Almost all of them were busy carrying food several times to their chicks. The nests were inside tree burrows - which we could see - but we could not see the chicks. The birds were quite wary as the area had lots of predators. We sighted several Malabar Pied Hornbills, Rufous Bellied Eagles, Hobby, Falcons etc... The Mynas were landing on multiple perches before going on to their nests so as to deter the predators.

Thank you so much in advance for your views and feedback.

The bird was unusually quiet for a cuckoo. It wasn't singing in its beautiful voice, but just looking around quietly. I suppose it was looking for a partner.

A locally migratory Cuckoo very rare in our state, but apparently not uncommon in the region we visited. We came upon this bird at several places. They are here in time for the breeding season of the resident birds where they find a host to lay their eggs in.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback.

One of the two Avadavats found in India, one being Red and other being Green. These are endemic to India and are incredibly rare to sight. The birds are fast disappearing due to rampant wild life trade of these birds where it is known as Green Waxbill.. The birds are currently categorized as "Vulnerable" in IUCN List and found only in a few places across the country.

The birds are around 10 cms long and always forage in flocks. A fellow birder found them quite by chance and we made a beeline to that place to get a glimpse of this beauty. The bird was foraging in open fields and it was impossible to get a view of it from far. We started walking very slowly and carefully only to see them appear right in front of our eyes and fly away into the bush.

Thank you very much in advance for your views and feedback.

Another rarity that we sighted during this recent trip. These birds are found in South India and Sri Lanka albeit in a very small range. It is a bit common in the forests of Western Hills and in a small part of the Eastern Hill range in our neighbouring state.

This is a lifer and we found this in the most unexpected way on the road while returning. It is the only munia found close to forests and I confused it for a common one. The birds were found foraging on the roadsides walking on the road and flying away into the bushes on the side. I had time to lay down on the roadside for a few shots and requested the few vehicles passing on the narrow road to give me a minute or two for shots which they obliged.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback. Much appreciated.

A resident bird of the jungles and forests at an altitude found in our neighbouring state. They were everywhere and unlike their common cousins, the common Myna, these birds are relatively quiet and mostly minding their own business.

We saw several in the forest we visited last week. Almost all of them were busy carrying food several times to their chicks. The nests were inside tree burrows - which we could see - but we could not see the chicks. The birds were quite wary as the area had lots of predators. We sighted several Malabar Pied Hornbills, Rufous Bellied Eagles, Hobby, Falcons etc... The Mynas were landing on multiple perches before going on to their nests so as to deter the predators.

Thank you so much in advance for your views and feedback.

Looking for the final meal of the day I suppose. There were plenty of them that day and the perches were beautiful.

One of my favorite birds, these small birds are a delight to watch anytime. The birds are social and are always seen in groups. These are resident birds and found throughout the subcontinent. Due to their vivid colors and beautiful eyes, pretty much everyone loves to photograph them!

Thanks so much in advance for your views, faves and feedback.

A medium sized woodpecker found in thick forests usually on the mid to upper canopy.

They were found in plenty in the area we visited and heard easily. The birds would drum often which was a giveaway to their presence. The drumming was quite loud and slow. They were quite busy foraging! One thing though is that we saw solo birds many times unlike most woodpeckers which are always found in pairs. Maybe the other gender was quiet and not seen - I am not sure of that yet!

Thank you so much in advance for your views and feedback.

A typical nuthatch found much of the subcontinent in tropical dry forests foraging on the dry trunks of trees. Last year, I struggled to see them due to their small size, but now I see them everywhere and they are more common than I thought.

In the forest we spent last week, they were sighted in good numbers. Summer is the breeding season and hence we sighted many in pairs. The birds were actively foraging on tree trunks and the forest was unusually lush due to some rains in the dry season. That would breed insects in the bark which is food to many birds. This is a photography lifer as I couldn't manage a shot before this.

Thanks so much in advance for your views, feedback and faves.

A small bird and I think the only member of the Hanging Parrot / Lorikeet species in India. They are small maybe around 14-15 cms long, have no tail and the beak is pretty small. The birds are often seen around fruiting trees in small groups of 2 usually.

The birds are resident birds in the forests we visited and they are found in a small part of South India and Himalayan regions, but common across much of South East Asia.

We found them on lovely perches in the morning, but not in the best of position against the sun. I was still happy to see them and spend time with them!

Thanks so much in advance for your views, feedback and faves.

The bird was unusually quiet for a cuckoo. It wasn't singing in its beautiful voice, but just looking around quietly.

A locally migratory Cuckoo very rare in our state, but apparently not uncommon in the region we visited. We came upon this bird at several places. They are here in time for the breeding season of the resident birds where they find a host to lay their eggs in.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback.

One of the more uncommonly found Kingfishers that we stumbled across during our last birding trip. This is not found in our state, but there were only 1-2 sightings prior to our trip in our neighbouring state. And we sighted 3-4 of them - all of them hunting and possibly nesting on the walls of the small river banks. It could be called a stream maybe, 20 feet wide at best and very less water in the summer.

This is small Kingfisher - 15-16 cms tall maybe and is very similar to the Common Kingfisher with some notable differences. One - the Blue color on the body is a much darker shade and a white / orange patch on the ear that is seen in Common Kingfisher is missing for this species. The habitat too is quite different - this is found in the forest areas, specifically around streams that flow through the forests. I think what we sighted is an adult male.

Thanks in advance for your wonderful feedback and likes.

The area was full of Bee Hives and small birds. I didn't realize it then, but now when I think of it, glad this raptor who loves Honey combs didn't attack a hive. We could have been sitting targets for the deadly wild bees.

A Bronzed Drongo continuously troubled this Buzzard so much that it soon flew away. These large raptors are migratory, but in our part of the country, they are resident birds seen throughout the year. In this forest we visited, they were seen everywhere in good healthy numbers.

Unfortunately, while the light was soft, the sun was against us, so the white balance in this image is a bit off!

Thanks so much in advance for your views, faves and feedback.

I know almost nothing about Damselflies except that they are so amazing and beautiful insects. So when we walked down to a forest stream looking for the Blue-Eared Kingfisher, we found not just that, but 30-40 of these Damselflies.

A friend who follows these insects, identified them by name as Streaming Glory. They are metallic green insects that were sparking in the light. The insects were flying above the shallow moving water and would land on the rocks where we took some shots. We didn't get any of the Kingfisher shots nor of any bird the few hours we spent on that day in the stream, but we enjoyed wading in the water and shooting these beautiful damselflies.

Thanks so much in advance for your views, faves and feedback.

A lifer and an uncommon bird found in the forests of South India in a very narrow range. The bird seems to be quite common across South East Asia though.

They are mostly found around Banana trees in the forests where they are sighted darting off on the top and under looking for spiders. We had to just wait near this Banana flower and it was sighted several times there. The bird - a bit bigger than the common sunbird was quite agile and it was hard to keep up with it in the canopy and bush!

Thank you so much in advance for your views and feedback.

A lifer for me in the most unexpected way. We travelled half a day to a bird sanctuary / grassland to see a rare bird. And in the area there were known to be two of these Owls.

When we were driving to the spot, it was spotted on a nice perch on the side of the road waiting for roadkills. Apparently there were two of them and one of them died while collecting roadkill, so only this one was left.

Barn Owls are nocturnal owls and we often find them around granaries and warehouses which often have lots of rats in and around them. But these Owls require night birding and a high powered torch to take some shots. I am happy I saw it and it blew away my expectations. Quite beautiful and large too.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback.

A resident songbird with loud beautiful calls and of course a pretty long tail. They are in the peak nesting / breeding season and hence the forests are filled with their calls.

We found it resting under the canopy trying to beat the heat and at the same time keeping a watchful eye on us. The forest area we visited is notorious for hot temperatures which touch around 114-117 deg F or around 45-48 deg C routinely in summer. Apparently that is the best time to bird in that region since the birds are quite easily visible. In winters, the place is filled with calls, but sightings are quite impossible!

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback. Much appreciated.

A medium sized raptor found in the parts of the country's forests mostly in South India and parts of the Himalayan belt. This is a lifer for me and we saw several - maybe half a dozen in the air - during the last trip.

They often hunt in the tree cover and pick off birds by surprising them. Other birders captured a few such instances. The bird sits silently in the canopy waiting for an unsuspecting prey to let its guard down.

Shot this around noon on the return trip in gusty winds and shimmering heat. Somehow out of the 100+ shots, 2-3 them were sharp beating the hot fumes. The bird was on the edge of a hill on a tall tree surveying the area!

Thanks so much in advance for your views, feedback and faves.

A beautiful and colorful bee eater that is quite uncommon / rare in our region, but a resident bird in the forest we visited last week. Its quite a shy bird unlike its cousins and its hard to get at eye level like this. The bird is just like the Green Bee Eater in pretty much every way except for the habitat - this is a forest bee eater. An insectivorous bird, preferring flying insects like Bees, dragonflies, moths and maybe some type of butterflies.

Shot this in a new forest area around 10 hours away from my place. We were exploring the forest and found dozens of Chestnut Headed Bee Eaters - in fact they were more common than the Green Bee Eaters. The birds were perched on thin branches and were diving to catch insects and coming back to the same perch. We spent an hour watching their behaviour and also trying to get some shots like this.

Thanks in advance for your views, faves and feedback - very much appreciated.

A migrant to the South Indian Forests from Himalayan Foothills, these very beautiful birds are prized among photographers for their beauty. They are called "Navrang" in Hindi language or the "9 colored bird" and fully mature adults display those colors very beautifully - like the one in this shot!.

We shot this on the side of a forest road where they were present in large numbers. They are hard to side, but their calls are audible. We had to stop on the roadside and waited silently to listen for these birds. These birds forage in the upper canopy during mornings, after roosting on the treetops, but during the day come and forage on the ground. They are solo birds or usually seen in 1-2 numbers. Though in a small area, a larger number maybe present, the birds tend to forage solitarily. We couldn't get a closer shot since the bird didn't come down to the ground despite waiting for long.

Many thanks in advance for your views, faves and feedback.

A most sought after bird by photographers down South India. This is a member of the Trogon Family and endemic to the Western range of hills in India and parts of the eastern range as well. We shot this on the Eastern Hill range where it is a common bird - but after 5-6 trips barely have a good photo to show.

The birds are very shy and hard to photograph, but they are quite curious trying to see what happens around. They tend to sit on open branches like this one usually around 5-7 m above ground and scan the heads 180 deg slowly from right to left or left to right. We sighted 2 males and both were doing that 180 deg scan in this forest.

They prefer the lush canopies of primary and secondary broadleaf forests, evergreen, and moist deciduous formations. We sighted the two males well hidden in the lush canopy. I had a good view of the male from a gap in the greens and managed this shot.

The birds are primarily insectivorous, feeding on caterpillars, cicadas, grasshoppers, and beetles and this forest we visited had plenty of these. The birds are often part of "mixed-species foraging flocks," following other birds like jungle babblers to catch insects they flush out. They can even hover or hang upside down to grab prey from bark.

Thank you so much in advance for your views, feedback and faves.

I sighted a pair of rare Watercocks in a relatively young paddy field. Those birds didn't come out into the open, but the kingfisher - which was around 20 feet from them - was busy looking for snails and other insects in the wet fields. This small border fence provided me with a great shot of this bird while I unsuccessfully waited for the Watercocks to come out into the open.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback. Much appreciated.

Another rarity that we sighted during this recent trip. These birds are found in South India and Sri Lanka albeit in a very small range. It is a bit common in the forests of Western Hills and in a small part of the Eastern Hill range in our neighbouring state.

This is a lifer and we found this in the most unexpected way on the road while returning. It is the only munia found close to forests and I confused it for a common one. The birds were found foraging on the roadsides walking on the road and flying away into the bushes on the side. I had time to lay down on the roadside for a few shots and requested the few vehicles passing on the narrow road to give me a minute or two for shots which they obliged.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback. Much appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback. Much appreciated.

A beautiful Drongo with a metallic glossy plumage that shines in the sun. This has been a target for long and though we had seen many of the them several times, still don't have a satisfactory shot.

The birds are found in thick woody forests where they are sighted hunting in the canopies for insects. They have a nice metallic call that is easy to recognize. These are often confused with the other drongoes in the habitat which include the Greater Racquet Tailed Drongo, Hair Spangled Drongo, Black Drongo, Ashy Drongo and the White-Bellied Drongo all of which were present in the forest we visited. Luckily, it was summer and the light was good, so it was easy to identify the glossy plumage.

Thanks so much in advance for your views, feedback and faves.

A very common bird in the grasslands easily heard and seen. They are usually seen on the edges of the road looking for insects on the hard soil in groups of 3-4.

They are resident birds of the subcontinent and can be seen throughout the year. During rainy seasons and onset of winter, they are in breeding mode and hence lot of calls could be heard. The call is distinctive and easy to remember too.

On this day, we sighted this casually crossing the Sanctuary road in front of the safari vehicle. What surprised me was that it just took a casual in front of the dark green colored extremely loud safari vehicle while it ran in front of quiet white SUV. I always suspected the white color of the vehicle scares birds away and confirmed that theory in this trip.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback.

The day was quite hot for a rainy season and the light was harsh much of the day. The evenings though were fantastic and the light was incredible. Alas - there was little activity.

We were treated to a double rainbow on this lovely path which was wonderful. To the left of the image where the cattle strayed into the protected grassland was the place we sighted the very rare and near threatened Lesser Florican. The shepherd also had a couple of dogs which made everyone nervous.

Shot on my mobile while balancing a heavy lens!

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback.

A colorful small flycatcher about 12-13 cms long and mostly found in forested areas in the country. They are easy to identify due to their unique colors.

The bird is thought to be migratory and breeds in the forests down South or in the Himalayan Forests. Imagine our surprise when we found several of them in the forest we visited last week where there are few records of the bird. It confused us since this bird is thought to be a winter resident to the region. Interestingly, we found several other migrants like the Eurasian Hobby and Asian Brown flycatcher during peak summer.

Thank you so much in advance for your views, feedback and faves.

. . . the poor you will always have with you. . . (from the archives)

Spotted in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh, India

A wild rooster that is an ancestral stock of the domestic chickens. They are found across much of Eastern India and often heard, but pretty difficult to sight given their amazing camouflage.

The birds are a bit larger than the domestic chickens and much more bold in the colors. They frequent the under bush and we can probably get a glimpse of the head or tail sometimes. I have sighted them several times mostly running away into the bushes or at too far away. In many trips, we heard their calls a lot often for several days. But I never managed to see them in the open in a forest somehow.

This particular shot was taken from long distance while 2 of these birds were calling each other - probably competitive / territorial calls. We spent a while watching them and getting few shots before they disappeared!

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback Much appreciated.

A common animal in the ever shrinking grasslands of the state. This one is a male and he was overseeing his herd while being watchful of the competition. There were atleast two other males who were eyeing the herd.

The place had a pretty large number of these Blackbucks - maybe 200-300 of them. A pattern we saw is that one male would have a large number of females in its protection along with a couple of other younger males too. When another male wants to lead the females, there is a small fight where each of them lock their horns and push each other. That quick battle decides the winner. I was able to capture some of the action and was happy that the battle was a quick painless affair.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback.

One of 5 varieties of minivets in the forest we visited and a lifer!. Not the rarest, but definitely quite an uncommon one. It looks similar to the common Scarlet Minivet, but has a rosy frontside due to which it derives that name.

Similar behaviour as that of the other minivets except that it prefers small groups, usually 2 where both the male and female forage together. It is also a high canopy bird and prefers to come out to the open at the top!

Thanks so much in advance for your views, faves and feedback.

A common animal in the ever shrinking grasslands of the state. This one is a female and they were basking in the sun for much of the hot day. Since it was a protected area, there is no predator that could hunt them - except of course people. In other areas, they are targeted for their meat. I believe something similar could be happening in the grassland once they cross the imaginary boundaries which the animals don't understand.

The place had a pretty large herd of maybe 200-300 of them. A pattern we saw is that one male would have a large number of females in its protection along with a couple of other younger males too. When the younger males get cocky (literally!!), a quick battle decides the winner. I was able to capture some of the action and was happy that the battle was a quick painless affair.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback.

A little butterfly found in South Asia - this was a first sighting for me and found it in an open clearing in the middle of a forest. They are small, maybe just over an inch.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback. Much appreciated.

One of the few species of birds where males and females are both amazingly beautiful. The male has a rich scarlet color plumage while the female is bright yellow as in this picture.

These are predominantly found in the Himalayan belt and much of North East India. But they are also found in parts of the Eastern India - something I didn't know till recently. The birds behaviour is quite similar to the other minivets and we sighted them foraging on the upper canopy.

Thank you so much in advance for your views, feedback and faves.

A resident bird of the jungles and forests at higher altitude found in our neighbouring state. They were everywhere and unlike their common cousins, the common Myna, these birds are relatively quiet and mostly minding their own business. Somehow they are almost impossible to find in our home state.

We sighted several of them while returning from a boating trip. They were foraging in the flowering plants on the side of a country road. There was a huge family of them and many were at eye level though not at the best angle of light. These Mynas were flying to multiple bushes and finding the little insects and spiders and consuming them.

Thank you so much in advance for your views and feedback.

A very common bird in our region in the grasslands and open areas. An insectivorous bird that flies in short bursts of undulating flying pattern which appears playful.

The birds are seen a lot in grasslands these days and I have trouble differentiating between the various four species of Pipits that can potentially see here. The differences are very subtle and need a sharp eye - I find it impossible to id them in the field.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback.

A Black Kite was hovering above a paddyfield for a catch for a long time. For over next 30 mins she was was diving and trying to catch something, but the Drongoes would chase it away. The field saw a whole lot of action which was quite thrilling. Finally the Black Kite dived into the field and picked this thing up, not sure what it is, but it is not a prey for sure. And it rested on this boundary pillar for a while making it sure its not watched and then flew away to its nest atop a Palm tree I think. I had seen it landing there several times, but didn't go any closer since I didn't want to disturb it.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback. Much appreciated.

I wasn't sure of this bird which appeared to be a Stilt to me. But I was clear of the differences and was sure it was not the very common Black Winged stilt. So took a couple of shots and turned out to be a Marsh Sandpiper. The bird was found near a marsh on the edge of a bird sanctuary.

Thanks in advance for your views and wonderful feedback. Much appreciated.

These are large pigeons found only in thick forests. I had seen them several times, but never been able to get a shot. This time too, I had too shoot from the drivers side through the back seat window.

They are generally found in groups and on the top most branches of bare trees. They just perch and keep watching in a relaxed fashion. A behavior that is found in Yellow-Footed Green Pigeons as well. Due to this habit, both these pigeons are often seen in the claws of forest eagles like Changeable Hawk Eagles, Bonelli's and even Peregrine Falcons.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback.

A beautiful long tailed song bird with a wonderful voice and easily heard than sighted. I had heard these birds calls several times, but never had a good sighting. This bird is found in the thick dense forests of South India and South East Asia.

We sighted the bird in the twilight period and literature suggests that the bird is "Crepuscular" (a new term for me) - which means active during twilight period. The birds are sexually dimorphic - meaning male and female look different. This picture is that of a male, blackish body and long tail. Females are more grayish on the neck and till middle of the back.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback.