Male: verditer-blue plumage, darker in wings and tail; black lores. Female: duller, more grey overall. The Nilgiri Flycatcher E. albicaudatus of W Ghats is darker blue with white in tail; the Pale Blue Flycatcher Cyornis unicolor (16cm) male is uniform blue, with white on belly; female is olive-brown. Solitary or in pairs in winter, sometimes with other birds; restless, flicking tail; swoops about, ever on the move, occasionally descending quite low; rather more noticeable than other flycatchers because of its continuous movement and habit of perching in open exposed positions, like a bare twig on a tree top.

Sexes alike. Glossy black plumage; long, deeply forked tail. Diagnostic white spot at base of bill. The Ashy Drongo D. leucophaeus (30cm) is grey-black, and more of a forest bird, breeding in Himalaya and a winter visitor to the peninsula. Usually solitary, sometimes small parties; keeps lookout from exposed perch; most common bird seen on rail and road travel in India; drops to ground to capture prey; launches short aerial sallies; rides atop grazing cattle; follows cattle, tractors, grass-cutters, fires; thus consumes vast numbers of insects; bold and aggressive species, with several birds nesting in same tree.

Male: dark grey head, back and throat; orange-yellow patch on black wings; black tail; flame-orange breast; orange-yellow belly and undertail. Female: paler above; orange rump; dusky white throat, breast tinged with yellow; yellowish belly and under tail. Pairs or small flocks; keep to tree-tops, actively moving amidst foliage; flutters and flits about in an untiring hunts for small insects, often in association with other small birds; also hunt flycatcher style.

Sexes alike. Black plumage; grey collar, upper back and breast; glossy black on forehead, crown and throat. The Eurasian Jackdaw C. monedula (33cm) is  similar to the House Crow, but is smaller, thicker-necked and white-eyed; it is common in Kashmir. Described as an extension of man’s society; street-smart, sharp, swift, sociable, sinister, the crow is almost totally commensal on man; snatches food from tables and shops; mobs other birds, even large raptors; performs important scavenging services; occasionally flies very high into skies, either when flying long distance, or simply for fun; communal roost sites.