Painted Stork

Painted Stork an apt name for this bird, one might even say slightly poetic. I saw this beauty in the wide Puttenahalli Lake in Bangalore in June 2019. It is not easy to ignore them and move away as  they stand tall with colours of white, black, pink and an orange head with a yellow beak. I thought that is it, a one time wonder and beauty to see.

 

But I saw them again right here in Delhi. In our very own Sanjay Lake, what caught my eye was the spread of its wings and the ease of its flight as it came down to very close to where I stood. I was like a kid who had been given her favourite toy!  I somehow got a picture of the stork flying too in all that excitement.

The painted stork is found in the wetlands of the plains of Tropical Asia and extends into South-east Asia. They forage in flocks in shallow water near rives or lakes. The long yellow bill slightly curves like that of an Ibis. They forage in quest of frogs and fish. Nesting season is between August and January varying with local conditions and lay 3 to 5 eggs.

I thought they were migratory birds as I had never seen them in Delhi before, or maybe it's because I didn't frequent a lake in Delhi as recently in past three years. However, they are not migratory birds and fly very short distances in their range depending on the weather or food or for breeding. They are seen to soar on thermals like other storks. It is amongst the 17 species of storks found around the world.

The species is currently classified as Near Threatened, wouldn't it be a shame to loose such a beautiful bird? These two pictures are of the stork standing on the opposite side of the lake.

 

 In these pictures it is very close to where I was standing. :)

Common Tailor Bird

While chasing the sun bird, I saw another small bird. After few close up shots, I saw it to be the Common Tailor Bird.

It's chirp is distinct like the sunbird and cannot be missed. It has this constant chewy- chewy- chewy or cheup -cheup sound which I feel is at the same pitch and is a repetitive call.

The name itself tells us why it is famous, it is known widely for its skill to tailor its nest made out of leaves. I have seen you tube videos of how they do it, but haven't seen a nest to capture their handiwork.

It is a common resident in the urban gardens. They seem to be shy and usually hide under the vegetation.

The one I saw and shot as you see has rust coloured forehead, green upper body plumage and an upright tail. This here is a male tailor bird. Females are usually described as dull in colour or fully green.             

This bird reminds me of another bird I saw a Wren. They are almost similar in their appearance and their upright tails. They are insectivorous.They feed on beetle and bugs. They also have nectar from some flowers. The breeding season is March to December peaking from June to August in India. There are at least 13 species of the tailor birds. Their nests are like deep cups.  Tailor birds keep flitting so it can be a task to capture them. Well I have more reasons to capture them for more decent shots next time, I see this tiny friend.

This was taken when it was flying from one branch to another.

The flower from where I saw it collect its nectar.

The last spot where I saw it before it disappeared.