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Bunting Count
Join the 3rd edition of Bunting Count where Asian countries are teaming up to monitor buntings for conservation. The goal is to raise awareness and conduct baseline studies on key bunting sites..
WINGS—Birds of India
India Bird Races has been rebranded as WINGS—Birds of India. This new identity reflects their expanded focus as a nature awareness program dedicated to celebrating and protecting India’s incredible birdlife.
Dawn Chorus Day 2025
Join us to experience the magic of morning bird songs! Be part of the Dawn Chorus on Sunday, 23rd March 2025.
Himalayan Bird Count
Join the 2025 Himalayan Bird Count on 10th May! Help document bird diversity across the majestic Himalayan regions of India, Nepal, and Bhutan through this collaborative citizen-science initiative.
Endemic Bird Day
Join the 2025 Endemic Bird Day on 10th May! This special day is dedicated to documenting South Asia's 236 unique endemic and near-endemic bird species..
Pied Cuckoo
Pied Cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus) is one of the most iconic migrants in the Indian Subcontinent, and their arrival in north India is considered to herald the first monsoon rains.
Great Backyard Bird Count 2025—Preliminary Results
The 13th edition of the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) 2025 in India concluded with remarkable success, with 6,612 eBirders documenting 1,084 bird species across the country. Participation peaked on Day 3 with 3,956 observers, and for the first time, Brazil tied with India for the third-highest number of species recorded globally. This year’s event featured over a thousand bird walks, participation from every state and union territory, and an estimated 5,000+ new enthusiasts introduced to birdwatching. Complete results will follow in April 2025.
Identifying Indian and Singing Bushlarks: White on the tail is not diagnostic!
By Ashwin Viswanathan Indian Bushlark and Singing Bushlark are very similar species that share many morphological features. Identification can be a real challenge. Luckily, one feature has often served as a shortcut out of this identification conundrum - the...
Bird Atlases
A bird atlas is a citizen science project intended to map the distribution and abundance of a region’s birds. In an atlas project, the region of interest is typically divided into cells that are often subdivided into smaller cells, a design that can ensure uniform sampling in space by volunteer birdwatchers.
ID Articles
A series of articles to help with the identification of difficult birds.
Some tips on vocal identification of Jungle and Rock Bush-Quails in Peninsular India
By Anand Krishnan and Sarthak Malusare Introduction Two Perdicula bush-quails—Jungle Bush-Quail (Perdicula asiatica) and Rock Bush-Quail (Perdicula argoondah), are widespread in Peninsular India in scrub-jungle and grassland habitats. Like many quails, they are...
Is that a Pipit or a Lark?
By Ramit Singal Few birds are as confusing to the beginning birder as Pipits and Larks. The first step towards identifying the species within the two families is to be able to tell between a pipit and a lark. Here is a short guide to telling apart these confusing...
ನೊಣಹಿಡುಕಗಳ ಗುರುತಿಸುವಿಕೆ: ನೆತ್ತರುಗಲ್ಲದ ನೊಣಹಿಡುಕ, ಬೂದು ನೆತ್ತರುಗಲ್ಲದ ನೊಣಹಿಡುಕ ಮತ್ತು ಕಾಶ್ಮೀರಿ ನೊಣಹಿಡುಕ
ನೆತ್ತರುಗಲ್ಲ ನೊಣಹಿಡುಕ (Red-breasted Flycatcher), ಬೂದು ನೆತ್ತರುಗಲ್ಲ ನೊಣಹಿಡುಕ (Taiga Flycatcher) ಮತ್ತು ಕಾಶ್ಮೀರಿ ನೊಣಹಿಡುಕಗಳು (Kashmir Flycatcher) ಫಿಸೆಡುಲಾ (Ficedula) ಎಂಬ ಪ್ರಬೇಧಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರಿರುತ್ತವೆ. ಈ ಮೂರು ನೊಣಹಿಡುಕಗಳು ನೋಡಲು ಒಂದೇ ರೀತಿ ಕಾಣುವುದರಿಂದ ಸಹಜವಾಗಿ ವೀಕ್ಷಕರನ್ನು ಗೊಂದಲಕ್ಕೀಡು ಮಾಡುತ್ತವೆ. ಆರಂಭದಲ್ಲಿ, ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಮೂರು ಜಾತಿಯ ನೊಣಹಿಡುಕಗಳನ್ನು ನೆತ್ತರುಗಲ್ಲ ನೊಣಹಿಡುಕದ ಉಪಜಾತಿಗಳೆಂದೇ ಪರಿಗಣಿಸಲಾಗಿತ್ತು, ಈಗ ಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಜಾತಿಯವು. ಇತ್ತೀಚಿಗಿನ ಆಣ್ವಿಕ ಸಂಶೋಧನೆಯು ಇವೆಲ್ಲವೂ ಒಂದೇ ಸೋದರಿಯ ಗುಂಪಿಗೆ ಸೇರಿದ್ದವೆಂದು ಅದನ್ನು ತೋರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ, ಅಂದರೆ ಇವೆಲ್ಲವುದರ ಇತ್ತೀಚಿಗಿನ ಮೂಲ ಪೂರ್ವಜರು ಒಂದೇ ಎಂದು ಅರ್ಥ.
Cormorants Clarified
By Ramit Singal Ever seen a V-shaped flock of black birds flying purposefully in the sky near a water body? Or a black bird sitting still with its wings spread out in a small village pond? Or a bird's head sticking out of the water at a lake or pond? Did you notice...
Leafbirds – Golden-fronted, Jerdon’s and others
By Ramit Singal There are four species of leafbirds (also known as chloropsis) found in India and they never fail to enthral a birder. Each of them is largely green, slender in build, with a medium-length tail and the habit of dwelling in the top or mid-canopy....
Dark egrets can be white…
By Ramit Singal The previous article focussed on the 4 regularly occurring white egrets from India. In this follow-up post, the attention will shift to egrets that happen to be dimorphic, i.e., they have a dark morph as well as a white morph. The Reef-Egrets are...
Identifying Waders: Part 1
In the first part of the series related to identifying waders, we try and tackle an often misidentified group consisting of the Tringa sandpipers.
Identifying Swallows: Red-rumped, Barn, Streak-throated and Wire-tailed Swallow
By Kaushik Sarkar and Ashwin Viswanathan Presented here is an easy guide to help identify the four most common Swallow species in India. You can also download just the photographic guide to this article: PDF format (345 KB). In India, there are 15 species of...
फ्लाईकैचर की पहचान करना: रेड-ब्रेस्टेड, टैगा और कश्मीर फ्लाईकैचर
रेड-ब्रेस्टेड, टैगा और कश्मीर फ्लाईकैचर तीनो एक जैसे दिखने वाले फ्लाईकैचर हैं। लेकिन इन तीन प्रजातियों के बीच अंतर करना मुश्किल हो सकता है! हालाँकि नर की पहचान करना काफी आसान है परन्तु मादा और पहले शीतकालीन पक्षियों को अलग-अलग बता पाना बेहद मुश्किल है। हालांकि यह आलेख उन प्रमुख विशेषताओं का वर्णन करता है जिससे पहचान करने में मदद मिलती हैं, याद रखें कि पृथक्करण के लिए इनमें से कई विशेषताएँ अपर्याप्त हैं। इन तीन बहुत समान दिखने वाली फ्लाईकैचर को अलग करने के लिए आपको अक्सर कई विशेषताओं के संयोजन पर विचार करने की आवश्यकता होगी।
Dark egrets can be white…
By Ramit Singal The previous article focussed on the 4 regularly occurring white egrets from India. In this follow-up post, the attention will shift to egrets that happen to be dimorphic, i.e., they have a dark morph as well as a white morph. The Reef-Egrets are...
फ्लाईकैचर की पहचान करना: रेड-ब्रेस्टेड, टैगा और कश्मीर फ्लाईकैचर
रेड-ब्रेस्टेड, टैगा और कश्मीर फ्लाईकैचर तीनो एक जैसे दिखने वाले फ्लाईकैचर हैं। लेकिन इन तीन प्रजातियों के बीच अंतर करना मुश्किल हो सकता है! हालाँकि नर की पहचान करना काफी आसान है परन्तु मादा और पहले शीतकालीन पक्षियों को अलग-अलग बता पाना बेहद मुश्किल है। हालांकि यह आलेख उन प्रमुख विशेषताओं का वर्णन करता है जिससे पहचान करने में मदद मिलती हैं, याद रखें कि पृथक्करण के लिए इनमें से कई विशेषताएँ अपर्याप्त हैं। इन तीन बहुत समान दिखने वाली फ्लाईकैचर को अलग करने के लिए आपको अक्सर कई विशेषताओं के संयोजन पर विचार करने की आवश्यकता होगी।
Identifying Indian and Singing Bushlarks: White on the tail is not diagnostic!
By Ashwin Viswanathan Indian Bushlark and Singing Bushlark are very similar species that share many morphological features. Identification can be a real challenge. Luckily, one feature has often served as a shortcut out of this identification conundrum - the...
Identifying Pipits: Blyth’s and Richard’s Pipits
Blyth's and Richard's Pipits winter across the region and are easily confused with Paddyfield Pipits. Here's how to ID them.
What’s that White Egret sp?
By Ramit Singal Egrets are beautiful and elegant birds to watch. You'll often see them standing still over water and, in a flash, using their long, pointed bills to stab a fish or pick out an insect. No matter where you are in India, it is common to see one or many...
Some tips on vocal identification of Jungle and Rock Bush-Quails in Peninsular India
By Anand Krishnan and Sarthak Malusare Introduction Two Perdicula bush-quails—Jungle Bush-Quail (Perdicula asiatica) and Rock Bush-Quail (Perdicula argoondah), are widespread in Peninsular India in scrub-jungle and grassland habitats. Like many quails, they are...
Is that a Pipit or a Lark?
By Ramit Singal Few birds are as confusing to the beginning birder as Pipits and Larks. The first step towards identifying the species within the two families is to be able to tell between a pipit and a lark. Here is a short guide to telling apart these confusing...
माशीमार कसे ओळखावे
माशीमार कसे ओळखावे: लाल छातीचा माशीमार (Red-breasted Flycatcher), लाल-कंठाचा माशीमार (Taiga Flycatcher) आणि काश्मिरी माशीमार (Kashmir Flycatcher) इंग्रजीत प्रकाशीत झालेल्या मूळ लेखाचा हा मराठी अनुवाद आहे. लेखक : तरुण मेनन आणि अश्विन विश्वनाथन, अनुवादक : स्वरूप...
Identifying Flycatchers: Red-breasted, Taiga and Kashmir Flycatcher
By Tarun Menon and Ashwin Viswanathan This article is available in Hindi, Kannada, and Marathi Red-breasted, Taiga and Kashmir Flycatcher are three very similar looking flycatchers belonging to the Ficedula genus. Initially, all three were considered to be...
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