sparse winter visitor

Common Stonechat

Male: black above; white rump, wing-patch and sides of neck/breast (collar); black throat; orange-rufous breast. In winter, black feathers broadly edged
buff-rufous-brown. Female: rufous-brown above, streaked darker; unmarked yellowishbrown below; white wing-patch and rufous rump. Solitary or in pairs in open country; perches on small bush tops, fence-posts and boulders; restless, makes short trips to ground to capture insects, soon returning to perch.

Black Redstart

Male: black above (marked with grey in winter); grey crown and lower back; rufous rump and sides of tail; black throat and breast; rufous below. Female: dull brown above; tail as in male; dull tawny-brown below. The eastern race rufiventris has a black crown, and is the common wintering bird of India. Mostly solitary in winter, when common all over India; easy bird to observe, in winter and in its open high-altitude summer country; perches on overhead wires, poles, rocks and stumps; characteristic shivering of tail and jerky body movements; makes short dashes to ground, soon returning to perch with catch; rather confiding insummer, breeding in houses, under roofs and in wall crevices.

Bluethroat

Distinctive, dusky grey chat with long, slender legs, upright posture, white supercilium, rufous panels near base of tail; breeding male unmistakable; bright blue throat, variable blue, white, black, chestnut-red breast bands, with white, red or mixed central spot; inter- and intra-racial variations; female duller, often lacking breast pattern; black submoustachial stripe joining breast band of broken blue, black spots; singly, or in pairs; loose, scattered flocks in winter; shy, quiet; mainly terrestrial; runs in short rapid bursts, in characteristic chat fashion; cocks tail.

Brown Shrike

Uniformly rufousbrown upperparts; black band through the eye with a white brow over it. Pale creamy underside with warmer rufous flanks; rufous tail. Wings brown without any white ‘mirror’. Female has faint scalloping on the underside. Solitary; keeps lookout from conspicuous perch or tree stump for prey on the ground, often returning to the same perch after hunting; territorial.

Grey Heron

Sexes alike. A long-legged, long-necked bird of open marshes. Ashygrey above; white crown, neck and underparts; black stripe after eye continues as long, black crest; blackdotted band down centre of foreneck; dark blue-black flight feathers; golden-yellow iris at close range. Mostly solitary except when breeding; occasionally enters shallow water; usually stands motionless, head pulled in between shoulders, waiting for prey to come close; characteristic flight, with head pulled back and long legs trailing.

Great Cormorant

Sexes alike. Breeding adult: black plumage with metallic blue-green sheen; white facial skin and throat; bright yellow gular pouch and white thigh patches; silky white plumes on head and neck. Non-breeding adult: no white thigh patches; gular pouch less bright. First year young: dull brown above, white below. Aquatic. Not a gregarious species outside breeding season; usually one or two birds feeding close by; dives underwater in search of fish.

Common Kestrel

Male: black-streaked, ash-grey crown, sides of neck and nape; rufous mantle, black-spotted; cheek-stripe; grey tail has white tip and black subterminal band; streaked and spotted buffy underbody. Female: pale rufous above; streaked head and narrowly barred back; paler buff below, densely streaked. Young: like female; thickly streaked below. Solitary or in pairs; on exposed perches overlooking open country; circles in air and pounces into grass and scrub; often hovers when hunting.

Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Small raptor, similar in size to Shikra, but darker; adult male dark slate grey above, with more pronounced rufous-orange barring on underparts, barred tail, no mesial stripe, no contrasting wing-tips; in flight, barred underwing conspicuous; female darker grey-brown above, brown-barred below, with white supercilium; juvenile dark brown streaked with rufous above; racial variations; solitary, or in pairs; hunts like Shikra, though methods differ between sexes: male surprises small prey by swooping from cover, female larger prey in the open, after survey flight.

Eurasian Marsh Harrier

Male: dark brown plumage; dull rufous head and breast; silvery-grey wings, tail; black wing-tips (best seen in flight). Female (and young): chocolate-brown; buff on head and shoulders; like Black Kite, but tail rounded (not forked). Solitary or in pairs; sails low over a marsh, grassland or cultivation; often drops onto ground, frequently vanishing in dense grass and reed growth; perches on mounds or edges of marshes.

Whiskered Tern

Sexes alike. Black markings on crown; silvery-grey-white plumage; long, narrow wings and slightly forked, almost squarish tail; short red legs and red beak
distinctive. Summer: jet-black cap and snow-white cheeks (whiskers); black belly. At rest, closed wings extend beyond tail. Large numbers fly about a marsh or tidal creek, leisurely but methodically, beak pointed down; dive from about 5m height but turn when just about to touch the ground, picking up insects in the process; also hunts flying insects over standing crops.

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