Wood Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) is a small wader. It is the smallest of the shanks, and breeds in subarctic wetlands from the Scottish Highlands across Europe and Asia. It will nest on the ground, or reuse the old tree nest of another bird, such as the Fieldfare.
It resembles a longer-legged, elegant Green, or Solitary Sandpiper with a short fine bill, brown back and longer yellowish legs. It differs from the first of those species in that the white rump patch is smaller and less contrasting, and Solitary lacks a white rump anyway. Its closest relative, however, is the Common Redshank, and together they share a sister relationship with the Marsh Sandpiper (Pereira & Baker, 2005). These three species are a group of smallish shanks which tend to have red or reddish legs, and in breeding plumage are generally a subdued, light brown above with some darker mottling, with a pattern of somewhat diffuse small brownish spots on the breast and neck.
They migrate to Africa and southern Asia, particularly India. This bird is usually found on fresh water during migration and wintering.
These birds forage by probing in shallow water or on wet mud. They mainly eat insects, and similar small prey.
The Wood Sandpiper is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

Common Moorhen

Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) is a bird in the rail family with an almost worldwide distribution outside Australasia as well as deserts, many tropical rainforests, and the polar regions. In North America it used to be called the Common Gallinule, and in Europe it is generally referred to as the Moorhen.
This is a common breeding bird in marsh environments and well-vegetated lakes. It is often secretive, but can become tame in some areas. Populations in areas where the waters freeze, such as southern Canada, the northern USA and eastern Europe, will migrate to more temperate climes.
It is a distinctive species, with dark plumage apart from the white undertail, yellow legs and a red facial shield. The young are browner and lack the red shield. It has a wide range of gargling calls and will emit loud hisses when threatened.
This species will consume a wide variety of vegetable material and small aquatic creatures. They forage while swimming, sometimes upending to feed, or walking through the marsh.
The nest is a roofed basket built on the ground in dense vegetation. Laying starts in spring, between mid-March and mid-May in N hemisphere temperate regions. 8-12 eggs are usually laid per female early in the season; a second brood in summer usually has only 5-8 or even less eggs; nests may be shared by females. Incubation lasts about three weeks. Both parents incubate and feed the young. These fledge after 40-50 days, become independent usually a few weeks thereafter, and may raise their first brood the next spring.(Snow et al. 1998). Despite loss of habitat in parts of its range, the Common Moorhen remains plentiful and wides
About one dozen subspecies are today considered valid; several more have been described which are now considered junior synonyms. Most are not very readily recognizable as differences are rather subtle and often clinal. Usually, the location of a sighting is the most reliable indication as to subspecies identification, but the migratory tendencies of this species make identifications based on location not completely reliable. Old World birds have a frontal shield with rounded top and fairly parallel sides; the tailward margin of the red unfeathered area is a smooth waving line. American birds have a frontal shield that has a fairly straight top and is less wide towards the bill, giving a marked indentation to the back margin of the red area.
Despite being a bountiful species, small populations are of course more prone to extinction. The Mariana Common Moorhen or pulattat (G. c. guami) is very rare nowadays due to destruction of habitat. Only some 300 adult birds remained in 2001, and it is listed as Endangered both federally (since 1984) and locally (Takano & Haig 2004).
In addition to the extant subspecies listed below, there are two Pleistocene paleosubspecies known from fossils. These were distinct (generally larger) forms and probably the direct ancestors of some of today's Common Moorhens: Gallinula chloropus brodkorbi from the Ichetucknee River, Florida, and an undescribed Early Pleistocene form from Dursunlu, Turkey (Louchart et al. 1998).

The White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) also known as the White-breasted Kingfisher or Smyrna Kingfisher, is a tree kingfisher which is widely distributed in south Asia from Turkey east to the Philippines. This kingfisher is essentially resident over much of its range, apart from seasonal movements.
The first of the alternative English names is to be preferred because the geographical name is too restrictive for this widespread bird, and the easternmost race lacks a white breast.
This is a large kingfisher, 28 cm in length. The adult has a bright blue back, wings and tail. Its head, shoulders, flanks and lower belly are chestnut, and the throat and breast are white.
There are four races differing mainly in plumage shades, but H. s. gularis of the Philippines has only the neck and throat white. The flight of the White-throated Kingfisher is rapid and direct, the short rounded wings whirring. The large bill and legs are bright red.
In flight, large white patches are visible on the blue and black wings. Sexes are similar, but juveniles are a duller version of the adult. The call of this noisy kingfisher is a chuckling chake-ake-ake-ake-ake.
White-throated Kingfisher is a common species of a variety of habitats with some trees, and its range is expanding. It perches conspicuously on wires or other exposed perches within its territory, and is a frequent sight in south Asia. This species mainly hunts large insects, rodents, snakes, fish and frogs. It is reputed to eat tired migratory passerine birds like Chiffchaffs where the opportunity arises.
White-throated Kingfisher has a striking display in which the wings are spread to show the white patches. The nest is a 50cm tunnel in an earth bank. A single clutch of 4-7 round white eggs is typical.

Golden Oriole or Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus) is the only member of the oriole family of passerine birds to breed in northern hemisphere temperate regions. It is a summer migrant to Europe and western Asia, wintering in the tropics.
It is a bird of tall deciduous trees in woodland, orchards or parks. The tiny British population breeds in commercial Black poplar plantations, notably at the RSPB Lakenheath Fen nature reserve, where a watchpoint is operated during nesting.
The neat nest is built in a fork in a tree, and contains 3-6 eggs. The food is insects and fruit, found in the tree canopies where the orioles spend much of their time.
The male is striking in the typical oriole black and yellow plumage, but the female is a drabber green bird. Orioles are shy, and even the male is remarkably difficult to see in the dappled yellow and green leaves of the canopy.
The flight is somewhat like a thrush, strong and direct with some shallow dips over longer distances.
The call is a screech like a jay, but the song is a beautiful fluting weela-wee-ooo or or-iii-ole, unmistakable once heard.
The name "oriole" was first used in English in the 18th century, and is an application of the scientific Latin genus name, which is ultimately from the Classical Latin "aureolus" golden. Various forms of "oriole" have existed in Romance languages since the 12th and 13th centuries.[2] Albertus Magnus used the Latin form oriolus in about 1250, and stated, erroneously, that it was onomatopoeic, from the song of the Golden Oriole.
The New World orioles are similar in appearance to the Oriolidae, but are icterids unrelated to the Old World birds.

Black-rumped Flameback, (Dinopium benghalense), also known as the Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker, is a woodpecker which is a widespread and common resident breeder in much of South Asia.
This flameback is a species associated with open forest and cultivation. It nests in a tree hole, laying three white eggs.
Like other woodpeckers, this species has a straight pointed bill, a stiff tail to provide support against tree trunks, and zygodactyl or "yoked" feet, with two toes pointing forward, and two backward. The long tongue can be darted forward to capture insects.
The Black-rumped Flameback is a large species at 26-29 cm in length. It is a typical woodpecker shape, and has a golden yellow back, with paler wings. The rump and tail are black. The underparts are white with dark chevron markings. The black throat immediately separates it from other golden backed woodpeckers in the Indian region. The head is whitish with a black nape and throat, and there is a greyish eye patch. Unlike Greater Flameback, Chrysocolaptes lucidus, it has no dark moustache stripe.
The adult male Black-rumped Flameback has a red crown. Females have a dark forecrown, with red only on the rear half. Young birds are like the female, but duller.
The Sri Lankan subspecies D. b. psarodes has a crimson back and all the dark markings are blacker and more extensive. It is sometimes considered a separate species from the nominate Indian form.

Hoopoe (Upupa epops) is a bird in the same order of often colourful near passerine birds as the kingfishers, bee-eaters, and rollers
However, in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, the Hoopoe is separated from the Coraciiformes as a separate order, the Upupiformes. It is the only extant member of its family, although what are now considered subspecies, such as the resident African form U. e. africana, were formerly sometimes given specific status.
Hoopoes are widespread in Europe, Asia and North Africa, as well as Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. They migrate from all but the southernmost part of their range to the tropics in winter.
Their habitat is open cultivated ground with short grass or bare patches. They spend much time on the ground hunting insects and worms. That diet may have been among the reasons the Hoopoe is included on the Old Testament's list of unclean birds (see Leviticus 11:19 and Deuteronomy 14:18).
The Hoopoe is 25–29cm long, with a 44–48cm wingspan. This black, white and pink bird is quite unmistakable, especially in its erratic flight, which is like that of a giant butterfly. The crest is erectile, but is mostly kept closed. It walks on the ground like a starling.The song is a trisyllabic "oop-oop-oop", which gives rise to its English and scientific names.
The nest is in a hole in a tree or wall. Like those of its relatives the kingfishers, the nest tends to contain copious amounts of faeces and smell very foul as a protection against predators. Nesting hoopoes are capable of squirting fecal matter at intruders.The long-extinct Giant Hoopoe, U. antaios, lived on the island of St Helena

Common Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) is a wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae, breeding in southern Eurasia from Spain to Japan, and also in North Africa. Most birds migrate to the tropics in winter, with European breeders mainly going to Africa, but a few remaining in mild winter areas of western Europe north to the United Kingdom
This species is almost unmistakable in most of its range. The breeding bird is all white except for its dark legs, black bill with a yellow tip, and a yellow breast patch like a pelican. It has a crest in the breeding season. Non-breeders lack the crest and breast patch, and immature birds have a pale bill and black tips to the primary flight feathers. Unlike herons, spoonbills fly with their necks outstretched.
The Common Spoonbill differs from the African Spoonbill with which in overlaps in winter, in that the latter species has a red face and legs, and no crest.
The Common Spoonbill occurs in marshy wetlands with some open shallow water, nesting in colonies in trees or reedbeds. It does not usually share colonies with storks or herons.
The Common Spoonbill usually lays four eggs. It feeds on various fish, frogs and other water creatures.
The Common Spoonbill is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) is a medium-sized heron.Adults are 64 cm long and weigh 800 g. They have a black crown and back with the remainder of the body white or grey, red eyes, and short yellow legs. Young birds are brown, flecked with white and grey. These are short-necked and stout herons
The breeding habitat is fresh and salt-water wetlands throughout much of the world. The subspecies N. n. hoactli breeds in North and South America from Canada as far south as Patagonia, and the nominate race N. n. nycticorax in Europe, Asia and Africa. Black-crowned Night Herons nest in colonies on platforms of sticks in a group of trees, or on the ground in protected locations such as islands or reedbeds. Three to eight eggs are laid.
This heron is migratory outside the tropical parts of its extensive range, where it is a permanent resident. The North American population winters in Mexico, the southern United States, Central America, and the West Indies, and the Old World birds winter in tropical Africa and southern Asia.
These birds stand still at the water's edge and wait to ambush prey, mainly at night. They primarily eat small fish, crustaceans, frogs, aquatic insects, and small mammals. During the day they rest in trees or bushes. The New World race is more gregarious outside the breeding season than the nominate race.They are often found nesting or roosting within cities in avenue trees on busy roads.

Spotted Owlet (Athene brama) is an owl which breeds in tropical Asia from India to Southeast Asia. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping is the barn owls, Tytonidae.
Spotted Owlet is a common resident bird in open habitats including farmland and human habitation. It nests in a hole in a tree or building, laying 3-5 eggs.
The Spotted Owlet is small (21cm) and stocky. The upperparts are grey-brown, heavily spotted with white. The underparts are white, streaked with brown. The facial disc is pale and the eyes are yellow. There is a white neckband. Sexes are similar. The flight is deeply undulating.
This

Stone-curlews or Thick-knees are a group of largely tropical waders in the family Burhinidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia.
They are medium to large waders with strong black or yellow black bills, large yellow eyes—which give them a reptilian appearance—and cryptic plumage. The names Thick-knee and Stone-curlew are both in common use, the preference among authorities for one term or the other varying from year to year. The term Stone-curlew owes its origin to the broad similarities with true curlews (which are not closely related). Thick-knee refers to the prominent joints in the long yellow or greenish legs and apparently originated with a name coined in 1776 for B. oedicnemus, the Thick-kneed Bustard.
Despite being classed as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats. They are largely nocturnal, particularly when singing their loud wailing songs, which are reminiscent of true curlews.
The diet consists mainly of insects and other invertebrates. Larger species will also take lizards and even small mammals.
Most species are sedentary, but the Stone Curlew is a summer migrant in the temperate European part of its range, wintering in Africa.

Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis), also known as the Spotted Turtle Dove, is a pigeon which is a resident breeding bird in tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to south China and Southeast Asia. They are also known as the (Indian/Chinese) Spotted Turtle Dove.
It is a common and widespread species in open woodland, farmland and habitation over a good deal of its natural range, and this successful bird has also been introduced to the U.S. in the Los Angeles, California area. other countries it has been introduced to include northern Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, it was introduced in Melbourne in the 1860s and has since spread, often replacing native doves. In Australia, they are now found in streets, parks, gardens, agricultural areas and tropical scrubs, from Hobart, Tasmania to Cooktown, Queensland to Port Lincoln, South Australia. They can also be seen in Perth, Pemberton, Kalgoorlie and Esperance, in Western Australia. The species' range is expanding.
This species builds a stick nest in a tree and lays two white, glossy eggs. In southern Australia, they breed mostly from September to January, and in the north in Autumn. Its flight is quick, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings which are characteristic of pigeons in general.
Spotted Dove is a long-tailed, slim pigeon, ranging in length from 28 to 32 centimetres (11.2 to 12.8 inches). Its back, wings and tail are pale brown, heavily spotted with buff. In flight, it shows blackish flight feathers bordered on the inner edge with pale grey. Sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller than adults often lacking the patchy neckband when very immature.
The head and underparts are pinkish, shading to pale grey on the face and lower belly. There is a black neck patch finely spotted with white. The legs are red. The call is a low and gentle coo-coo-croo, with the emphasis on last note. The call occasionally is "coo-coo krrroo, krook!"
Spotted Doves eat grass seeds, grains and other vegetation. They are fairly terrestrial, foraging on the ground in grasslands and cultivation. It breed all year round with nests commonly found in trees, edge of buildings or even on the ground.
Like some other doves in this genus, they are not particularly gregarious, and are usually alone, or in pairs. It is tame but sudden noises flush them into flight. Flight patterns are similar to the Crested Pigeon. Upon landing, birds tilt their tail upwards. Males on display obtain a steep angle and circle down displaying their wings and tail by spreading them out.

White-browed Wagtail, also known as the Large Pied Wagtail, (Motacilla madaraspatensis), is a medium-sized passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. The species name is derived from the Indian city of Madras, which is now known as Chennai
The White-browed Wagtail is a resident breeder in India and is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. It is found in open freshwater wetland habitats. It is one of the few Motacilla wagtails that has adapted well to urban habitats and is often found perched on overhead water storages in residential buildings.
This species appears to belong to the white-bellied black-throated superspecies like the White Wagtail. It is most similar in external appearance to the Japanese Wagtail and to Hodgson's Wagtail, a subspecies of the White Wagtail (M. alba alboides). Its song much resembles that of the recently-described Mekong Wagtail, which may or may not be a coincidence. mtDNA cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 sequence data is not able to robustly resolve the relationships of these birds, especially in respect to the Blue-headed Wagtail and its relatives (Voelker, 2002).
The White-browed Wagtail is the largest species of wagtail at 21 cm length. It is a slender bird, with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. It has black upperparts, head and breast, with a white supercilium and large white wingbar. The rest of the underparts are white. The female has the black coloration less glossy than in the male. Juveniles are brown-grey where the adult is black.

Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii) is a small heron. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Iran and east to India, Burma and Sri Lanka.
This is a stocky species with a short neck, short thick bill and buff-brown back. In summer, adults have long neck feathers. Its appearance is transformed in flight, when it looks very white due to the colour of the wings. It is very similar to the Squacco Heron, Ardeola ralloides, but is darker-backed. To the east of its range, it is replaced by the Chinese Pond Heron, Ardeola bacchus.
The Indian Pond Heron's breeding habitat is marshy wetlands in warm countries. They nest in small colonies, often with other wading birds, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs. 3-5 eggs are laid. These herons feed on insects, fish and amphibians. During the breeding season, there are records of individuals with red legs. The numbers do not suggest that this is the normal change during the breeding season and some have suggested the possibility of it being genetic variants
This is a very common species in India, where it is often quite tame and easily approachable. It can often be seen foraging around rubbish heaps on the outskirts of villages, as well as in more natural habitats.
This bird was first described by Colonel W. H. Sykes in 1832 and given its scientific name in honour of John Edward Gray.

Eurasian Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto, also called the Eurasian Collared-Dove or simply the Collared Dove, is one of the great colonisers of the avian world. Its original range was warmer temperate regions from southeastern Europe to Japan. However, in the twentieth century it expanded across the rest of Europe, reaching as far west as Great Britain by 1953, and Ireland soon after. It also now breeds north of the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia. It is not migratory.
It was introduced into the Bahamas in the 1970s and spread to Florida by 1982. Its stronghold in North America is still the Gulf Coast, but it is now found as far south as Veracruz, as far west as California, and as far north as British Columbia and the Great Lakes. Its impact on native species is as yet unknown; it appears to occupy an ecological niche between that of the Mourning Dove and Rock Pigeon; some have suggested that its spread represents exploitation of a niche made available by the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon.
It breeds wherever there are trees for nesting, laying two white eggs in a stick nest. Incubation lasts 14-18 days, and young fledge after 15-19 days. It is not wary and is oftenWhite-browed Wagtail, also known as the Large Pied Wagtail, Motacilla madaraspatensis, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. The species name is derived from the Indian city of Madras, which is now known as Chennai
found around human habitation.
This is a small dove, buff grey with a darker back and a blue-grey wing patch. The tail feathers are tipped white. It has a black half-collar on its nape from which it gets its name. The short legs are red and the bill is black. The iris is reddish brown, but from a distance the eyes appear to be black, as the pupil is relatively large and only a narrow rim of reddish-brown eye colour can be seen around the black pupil.
This is a gregarious species, and sizeable winter flocks will form where there are food supplies such as grain. The song is a coocoo, coo repeated many times. It is phonetically similar to the Greek decaocto ('eighteen'), to which the bird owes its name. Occasionally it also makes a harsh loud mechanical-sounding call lasting about 2 seconds, particularly when landing in the summer.
The Eurasian Collared Dove is one of two species (the other, and the more likely, being the African Collared Dove, Streptopelia roseogrisea) that have been argued to be the wild ancestor of the domestic Barbary Dove, S. risoria. It is able to interbreed with the Barbary Dove.