Its a new passion. Bird spotting.

Like most starlings, the chestnut-tailed starling is fairly  omnivorous , eating fruit, nectar and insects. They fly in tight flocks and often rapidly change directions with great synchrony. The chestnut-tailed starling has rufous underparts, grey  upper parts and a light grey head.

The house sparrow is the most widely distributed bird. It is associated with human habitations and can live in urban or rural settings. Though found in widely varied habitats and climates, it typically avoids extensive  woodlands ,  grasslands , and  deserts  away from human development. It feeds mostly on the seeds of grains and weeds, insects and many other foods. Its predators include  domestic cats ,  hawks ,  owls , and many other predatory birds and  mammals . The house sparrows are very social birds and usually fly in large groups.  Females and young birds are colored pale brown and grey, and males have brighter black, white, and brown markings.

The Jungle babbler lives in flocks of seven to ten or more, and for that reason they are often called 'Sath Bhai' in Hindi. It's a noisy bird, and the presence of a flock may generally be known at some distance by the harsh mewing calls, continual chattering, squeaking and chirping produced by its members. The Jungle Babblers are gregarious and very social.  They feed mainly on insects, but also eat grains, nectar and berries.    For their size, they are long lived and have been noted to live as long as 16.5 years in captivity.  Birds fledge and females tend to leave their natal group after about two years.  Birds within a group often indulge in  allopreening , play chases and mock fights.  When threatened by predators, they have been said to sometimes  feign death .  Here is a short film on jungle babblers I shot sometime back :- ).  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRVxAGaDkHs

I spotted this bird in the middle of the afternoon when I heard a unique (kinda metallic) bird call. It moved with the celerity of a tailor bird; vanishing, appearing and then vanishing again.  Hence, I could hardly see the bird just knew that it was a new one.  I noticed it's bill only after I reviewed the pictures that I clicked.  The purple sunbird  is a small  sunbird .  A sunbird typically has a long thin down-curved beak.  Like other sunbirds, purple sunbirds feed mainly on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Their fast and direct flight makes clicking their photographs quite a challenge.  They  can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird but often perch at the base of flowers. The males appear all black except in some lighting when the purple iridescence becomes visible. Females are olive above and yellowish below.

Hello to all the viewers! I am moving from Calcutta. Calcutta will remain special since my passion for bird spotting started here and so did this blog. All the birds that I would spot and read about would periodically go into this blog. I must have spotted and clicked some 30 species of birds by now. I have learnt much about the birds. Whenever there is an oriole or a bulbul or barbet singing outside my window, I know without looking that it's an oriole or some other bird for that matter. I recognize bird calls. I hope Jaipur is as exciting as Calcutta was. Chirping trees to all.. :)

The  Indian pond heron  or  paddy bird  is a small heron.  They are common in India and usually forage alone. Their camouflage is great due to their  cryptic streaked olive and brown body. They are, however, distinctive when they take off as they flash bright white wings. I spotted it searching food in the bushes near my house. It was singular and shy. I was able to spot it only when it moved.  Indian pond herons primarily feed on aquatic insects, fishes, tadpoles and sometimes leeches.  Outside wetlands, these herons feed on  insects  (including crickets, dragonflies   and bees   ).