Naman Bastar's green and vibrant landscape makes it home to a variety of bird species both residential and migrating . Every year, Naman Bastar resort is host to some very unique and colourful birds through out the year. Best time to do some bird-watching is between 6 am to 9 am, the earlier, the better. We have identified some of the frequent visitors to our resort, and it is a delight to see so many new (to us) and colourful birds making Naman Bastar their home. Observe and admire the variety of species around the resort, or venture out to spend the day training your eagle eyes with our incredible Bird Watching adventure.
The Purple Sunbird
Found mainly in Western Asia through Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, the males appear dark blue at a glance but have metallic blue and purple and the female is light grayish brown above and pale yellow below. Purple sunbirds are quite noisy, with a song that is described as a rapid rattle followed by ringing, metallic notes; and calls that sound like chwit, chwin notes or humming zit zit.
The Oriental Magpie Robin
The Oriental Magpie Robin, locally called the Dhayal, was once common in the Indian songbird trade. The Oriental Magpie Robin is a common and tame bird, primarily a distinct black & white. It is terrestrial, hopping along the ground with a cocked tail. The male sings a few melodic notes during courtship. The species remains vulnerable and hence protected by law.
The Red-Vented Bulbul
The Red-vented Bulbul is easily identified by its short crest giving the head a squarish appearance. The rump is white while the vent is red. The black tail is tipped in white. Their vocalizations are usually stereotyped and they call throughout the year. However a number of distinct call types have been identified including roosting, begging, greeting, flight and two kinds of alarm calls.
The Singing Bushlark
Any Indian/Singing Bushlark with ‘white’ in its outermost tail feathers has always been readily identified as a Singing Bushlark. Bushlark has an incredibly complex song and has been known to perfectly mimic over 30 bird species! It is a true songster. If either of these Bushlarks are singing, identification will be remarkably easy. The song of Indian Bushlark – sequences are largely repeated and consists of a series of whistles. Indian Bushlark songs can also contain other combinations of whistles and trills (check video).
The Ashy-crowned sparrow-lark
A small, stocky bird with a heavy, finch-like bill. Males have a gray head that contrasts with a black eye-stripe, and black on the collar, throat, and underparts. The song is often given in display flight, and consists of monotone whistles interspersed with buzzy notes. The ashy-crowned sparrow-lark is a small sparrow-sized member of the lark family.
The House Sparrow
One of the most widespread and abundant songbirds in the world today, the House Sparrow has a simple success formula: it associates with humans. House sparrows are native to parts of Asia, North Africa and most of Europe. House Sparrows have a rather simple song of one or a series of cheep or chirrup notes. It's mainly given by males, who repeat it incessantly during much of the year to announce that they possess a nest and to attract females. Females only rarely use this song, typically to attract a new mate after losing one.
The Indian Mynah
Native to southern Asia, where it is among the most common species. Widely introduced elsewhere in the world, including Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii. Common mynas communicate vocally with other mynas and other bird species. They have a wide variety of alarm calls, that can warn other bird species as well. During the day, pairs resting in the shade also utter songs while half-bowing and bristling their feathers. When under duress, common mynas utter high-pitched screams. Parents sometimes utter a specific trill when approaching their nest with food, which signals the nestlings to begin begging. In captivity, common mynas are able to imitate human speech. Both females and males sing, but males sing more frequently. Common mynas also participate in loud dawn and dusk choruses. (Kannan and James, 2001)
There are countless more birds that are suspected of making Naman Bastar their home. We are still compelling a more thorough list of all the species and will continue to add them in this article. Meanwhile, here are some photos of the birds that are sometimes seen around Naman Bastar resort.
This blog is credited to Mr Amit Mistry, an avid bird watcher who helped in identifying many of the birds by their sounds alone. Naman Bastar truly thanks him for this.