Orange-headed Thrush learns from Red-whiskered Bulbul

An early morning in January, Orange-headed Thrush, a new visitor arrived at the water-hole. It seemed hesitant about getting into water.

The Red-Whiskered Bulbul that you can see in the video is a resident and a regular visitor. It arrived on the scene and sipped water. Thrush almost immediately followed suit and took a sip of water.

Once the Bulbul leaves, Thrush goes around exploring the water-hole and it seemed to contemplate whether the water is safe to take a dip. Bulbul drops in again and this time it takes a dip. Though Thrush seemed to have noticed this, it is still puzzled.

Bulbul drops in for the third time and takes an elaborate bath. This time thrush observes the Bulbul’s actions thoroughly. Watch the video to see how these events unfold and what happens next…

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Perennial Valentines: Oriental White-eyes

I had the opportunity to observe a pair of Oriental White-eye from quite some time. They love spending quality time with each other: whether it is just sitting side by side sharing warmth, grooming each other or taking a dip in the waterhole.

Generally, Oriental White-eyes are considered sociable birds and seen foraging in small flocks, but this pair seems to believe that two is company and anything more is crowd! They have successfully raised many broods in past two years, however the moment the chicks are old enough to fend for themselves, they are sent away. The pair resumes their wonderful twosome life.

Watch and enjoy some of their moments together!

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A glimpse of Kaveri Backwaters

The lush green grass and year around fresh water from Kaveri backwaters provides a good ecosystem for numerous local as well as migratory birds.

This video shot at Kaveri backwaters of Mysore shows some of of the birds that frequent this serene and beautiful place: Little Cormorants, Cattle Egrets, Intermediate Egrets, Large Egrets, Grey Herons, Black-winged stilts, Painted storks, and Spot billed ducks.  (Video best viewed in High resolution)

Fortunately we still have such undisturbed places quite close to the cities, where the only sound we can hear is that of birds and insects. Though a train passes by and a few fishermen are fishing, somehow they seem to merge into the scenary and the birds are unperturbed. This makes me think that maybe we can still find a way to live without causing any disturbance to the wonderful creatures with whom we share this earth.

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