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.
Frequency Matters: Acoustic Identification of Barbets
By Anand Krishnan Barbets are some of the most ubiquitous of India’s fruit-eating birds, even occupying most major cities where fruiting trees remain. These sluggish, largely green birds are often heard before they are seen, their loud, repetitive calls betraying...
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...
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.
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...
Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker and Stripe-breasted Woodpecker: How can they be told apart?
By Pritam Baruah and Ashwin Viswanathan Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker (FBWO) and Stripe-breasted Woodpecker (SBWO) and are variable woodpeckers that form a species pair in the genus Dendrocopos. Both species can be distinguished from other similar co-occuring...
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...
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।
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...
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.
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