A large, square-headed duck, the male has a deep orange-crested head with red bill and black neck and breast, brown back, white flanks and black stern. Female is more coffee coloured with pale cheeks and dark bill. In flight, both sexes display broad white wing-bars; male looks black below. Swims high and proud.
Small duck with large grey bill. Male has dramatic white eyebrows on a brown head and pearlygrey flanks contrasting with the brown breast and spotted brown stern. Displays silvery-blue forewings in flight. Female similar to Common Teal, mottled brownish but with distinct eyestripes and pale supercilia, loral and chin spots and larger bill. A fast and agile flyer. Habits: Gregarious and very social, mixing with other species.
A miniature pied duck with a very small black bill. Breeding male has green-black upperparts, white underparts with black cap and breast band and pale grey flanks. Striking white wingbars are visible in flight. Non-breeding plumage resembles the drabber, browner female (also shown) but retain the white wingbars. Habits: Feeds on aquatic vegetation and animals. Engages in aerobatic courtship chases.
A large, pied duck with a broad chestnut breast band that wraps around the upper back, glossy green-black head and neck, red bill, black flight feathers, back and belly stripes, chestnut vent, green specula and dark pink legs. Size varies; females smaller but otherwise similar. A strong flier on long pointed wings.
A medium-sized duck, mainly orange-brown in colour with scaly pattern on back, large head, thin neck and long legs. Sexes alike. In flight, the large rounded wings look black below and distinct maroon patches are visible on the forewings and rump. Nests in treeholes, abandoned bird nests and reedbeds. A gregarious bird, frequently seen perching on open tree branches.
The male is similar to the Jungle but has white underparts heavily barred with black, a rufous stripe above pale eyebrows, vermiculated beige and black underparts and pale undertail coverts. The female has a plain rufous face, whitish chin and pale supercilium. Habits: Similar to Jungle.
Smaller than the Japanese and Common Quail, the male has a very noticeable stripe on the crown and supercilium with a black and white pattern on the head and neck, a black ‘anchor’ mark on the throat and a prominent black patch on the breast. A black border highlights the white neck. The flanks are streaked with black. The female is very similar to the female Common, except that it has no barring on the primaries. Found in small coveys. Builds shallow, grass-lined nests in standing crops.
A profusely spotted medium-sized game bird. Male has a chestnut head, beige-edged dark brown upperparts with a finely striped black and white rump and tail. Neck and underparts densely spotted with white. Female is similar to the male, but paler on the head. Extremely shy and secretive and not easily flushed. Rarely flies. Active at twilight or just before dawn.
Sexes alike. Overall plumage grey; black head and neck; prominent white ear tufts; long black feathers of lower neck fall over breast; brownish- grey secondaries sickle-shaped and drooping over tail. Young birds have grey head and much shorter drooping secondaries over tail than adults. Huge flocks in winter, often many thousands; feeds early mornings and early evenings in cultivation; rests during hot hours on marsh edges and sandbanks; flies en masse when disturbed.
Small, relatively long-tailed owl, with darkly barred body; similar to Jungle, but larger, with buff, not rufous, primaries; body not so finely barred; longer, broader tail; lower flanks streaked not barred; heavily barred crown contrasts with spotted of Collared; also, no hind neck ‘face’; solitary, or in pairs; diurnal; often perches in open to search for prey; wags tail from side to side when disturbed or alarmed; undulating flight.
