Its a new passion. Bird spotting.

The  pied bush chat  ( Saxicola caprata ) is a small  passerine   bird  found ranging from  West Asia  and  Central Asia  to the  Indian subcontinent  and  Southeast Asia .  They pick up insects mainly from the ground, and were, like other  chats , placed in the  thrush  family Turdidae, but are now considered as  Old World flycatchers .  The males are black with white shoulder and vent patches whose extent varies among populations. Females are predominantly brownish while juveniles are speckled. The whistling call is somewhat like that of an  Indian robin  and has been transcribed as  we are tea for two  with  tea  at higher note.  Pied Bushchat (female) A tiny brown bird was swinging on the diwali lighting in my lawn.  I didn't see it the first time, but then the movement caught my attention. It swiftly sat on the bricks behind it... And then after some 5 mins of foraging, it flew across the lawn to perch upon the top of the branch...

Rosy Starlings are commonly seen in lawns and gardens in Jaipur. 

The birds in my lawn in Jaipur, India. Purple Sunbird (Male, eclipse plummage)

The Eurasian magpie is one of the most  intelligent  birds, and it is believed to be one of the most intelligent of all non-human animals.  The expansion of its  nidopallium  is approximately the same in its relative size as the brain of chimpanzees, orangutans and humans.  These birds are mainly found throughout Europe,  Asia  and northwest  Africa .

I was walking towards the Ballfield's cafe in central park when I saw this bird inside the bushes. It was perched on a high branch. When I stopped to click its picture, it flew and sat on a branch very close to me. It wasn't shy and was very busy searching for seeds.  This bird is not the Indian roller as the name might confuse some Indian birdwatchers. At first, I thought this bird did not look like the Indian Roller one bit. Later I read that this is a native North American Bird also known as the jaybird.

This is from my first birding trip to Central Park. This bird looked like the starling but I wasn't sure. Later when I checked the Central Park birds list and found out about European starling, it was clear. Location- South-Mid Central Park, spotted on my walk towards the Carousel.

The  Red-wattled Lapwing has characteristic loud alarm calls which are variously rendered as  did he do it  or  pity to do it  leading to colloquial names like the  did-he-do-it  bird. Red-wattled lapwings are large  waders , about 35 cm long.  The diet of the lapwing includes a range of insects,  snails  and other invertebrates, mostly picked from the ground.  In parts of Rajasthan it is believed that the laying of eggs by the lapwing on high ground was an indication of good rains to come. These birds are very commonly spotted in Jaipur. They are extremely shy and it is hard to click their picture.

The  Oriental darter  or  Indian darter  is a water bird of tropical  South Asia  and  Southeast Asia . It has a long and slender neck with a straight, pointed bill and, like the cormorant, it hunts for fish while its body submerged is in water. It spears a fish underwater, bringing it above the surface, tossing and juggling it before swallowing the fish head first. The body remains submerged as it swims, and the slender neck alone is visible above the water, which accounts for the colloquial name of  snakebird . During my trip to the Keoladeo National Park, I was staring at the river when  suddenly  this bird emerged from the water. It almost looked like a snake. It swallowed the fish and then dipped into the river again.  They typically inhabit  fresh water  lakes, rivers, marshes, swamps, and are less often found along the seashore in  brackish  estuaries, bays,  lagoons  and  mangrove .  The Oriental darter is a  Near Threatened  species. 

The Black-winged Stilt is a  is a widely distributed very long-legged  wader. They  have long pink legs, a long thin black bill and are blackish above and white below, with a white head and neck with a varying amount of black.  The breeding  habitat  of all these stilts is  marshes , shallow  lakes  and  ponds .  The breeding  habitat  of all these stilts is  marshes , shallow  lakes  and  ponds . 

The Grey francolin is  species of  francolin  found in the plains and drier parts of  South Asia .  They are found in open cultivated lands as well as scrub forest and their local name of  teetar  is based on their calls, a loud and repeated  Ka-tee-tar...tee-tar  which is produced by one or more birds.  They are weak fliers and fly short distances, escaping into undergrowth.  Food includes seeds, grains as well as insects, particularly termites and beetles. They may occasionally take larger prey such as snakes. They roost in groups in low thorny trees. After spotting them in Bharatpur, I saw these birds again in Jaipur. On an afternoon, I spotted two grey francolins foraging on insects in the vegetable garden in my backyard. They were shy. The noise of my footsteps scared them badly and they quickly vanished in the bushes. "They run very swiftly and gracefully; they seem to glide rather than run, and the native lover can pay no higher compliment to his mistre

While treading the trail in the forest, this bird flew across me and perched on the wood. This is the closest I could get before it flew away.

From the swamps in Bharatpur. The Plain Prinia is a passerine bird  typically found in wet lowland grassland, open woodland, scrub and sometimes gardens. The plain prinia builds its nest in a shrub or tall grass

During my trip to the Keoladeo National Park, which is famous for it's migratory birds, I spotted this bird. I was walking on a muddy trail flanked by swamps on both sides. This bird was perched on a tree in the swamp, with the golden sunlight in the background. I would not have guessed which bird it was, as it's very similar to a robin. Our tour guide told that this was a Pied Bush chat. 

The Black Drongo has a distinctive fork-tail. It  feeds on insects, and is common in open agricultural areas and light forest throughout its range, perching conspicuously on a bare perch or along power or telephone lines.  The species is known for its aggressive behavior towards much larger birds, such as crows, never hesitating to dive-bomb any bird of prey that invades its  territory . This behavior earns it the informal name of king crow . Smaller birds often nest in the well-guarded vicinity of a nesting black drongo!

The Indian Robin is the most common bird in Jaipur. There are less Mynahs and more Robins in my garden.  They are commonly found in open scrub areas and often seen running along the ground or perching on low thorny shrubs and rocks.   The long tail is usually held up and the chestnut undertail coverts and dark body.  They feed mostly on insects.

On a cold winter morning, I spotted a  Hoopoe in my garden.  I happened to look at the zebra wings, laid out like a fan on the ground. It got up to forage on the insects and then laid down again. It was basking sun.  The beak was sharp and hooked, almost like that of the woodpecker.  I noticed that it only foraged near the vegetable garden near my lawn. It kept knocking its beak in the soil, the action reminding of a woodpecker. It was later that I came to know of the Hoopoe species. The Hoopoe has distinctive crown of feathers. From it's 'Upupidae' family, the hoopoe is the only existing species today, all of the rest are extinct.  Hoopoes generally forage on insects and seeds. The hoopoe is widespread in Europe, Asia, and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar.   They have been seen at high altitudes during migration across the  Himalayas . One was recorded at about 6,400 m (21,000 ft) by the first Mount Everest expedition.