widespread resident

Oriental White-eye

Sexes alike. Olive-yellow above; short blackish stripe through eye; white eye-ring distinctive; bright yellow throat and under tail; whitish breast and belly. Small parties, occasionally up to 40 birds, either by themselves or in association with other small birds; keeps to foliage and bushes; actively moves amongst leafy branches, clinging sideways and upside-down; checks through leaves and sprigs for insects and also spends considerable time at flowers; calls often, both when in branches and when flying in small bands from tree to tree.

Plain Prinia

Sexes alike. Pale brown above; whitish supercilium and lores; dark wings and tail; long, graduated tail, with buff tips and white outer feathers; buff-white underbody; tawny flanks and belly. In winter, more rufous above. The Yellow-bellied Prinia P. flaviventris is olivishgreen above, with a slaty-grey head; yellow belly and whitish throat distinctive. Pairs or several move about in low growth; skulker, difficult to see; jerky, low flight, soon vanishing into bush; tail often flicked.

Ashy Prinia

Sexes alike. Rich, ashy-grey above, with rufous wings and long, whitetipped tail; whitish lores; dull buffy-rufous below. In winter, less ashy, more rufousbrown; longer tail; whitish chin and throat. Mostly in pairs; common and familiar as Common Tailorbird in some areas; actively moves in undergrowth; often flicks and erects tail; typical jerky flight when flying from bush to bush; noisy and excited when breeding.

Zitting Cisticola

Sexes alike. Rufous-brown above, prominently streaked darker; rufous-buff, unstreaked rump; white tips to fan-shaped tail diagnostic; buffy-white underbody, more rufous on flanks. Diagnostic calls. Pairs or several birds over open expanse; great skulker, lurking in low growth; usually seen during short, jerky flights,
low over ground; soon dives into cover; most active when breeding, during rains; striking display of male, soaring erratically, falling and rising, incessantly uttering sharp, creaking note; adults arrive on nest in similar fashion.

Red-vented Bulbul

Sexes alike. Dark sootybrown plumage; pale edges of feathers on back and breast give scaly appearance; darker head, with slight crest; almost black on throat; white rump and red vent distinctive; dark tail tipped white. Pairs or small flocks, but large numbers gather to feed; arboreal, keeps to middle levels of trees and bushes; a well known Indian bird, rather attached to man’s neighbourhood; pleasantly noisy and cheerful, lively and quarrelsome; indulges in dust-bathing; also hunts flycatcher-style.

Red-whiskered Bulbul

Sexes alike. Brown above, slightly darker on wings and tail; black perky crest distinctive; crimson ‘whiskers’ behind eyes; white underbody with broken breast-collar; crimsonscarlet vent. Sociable; pairs or small flocks, occasionally gatherings of up to 100 birds; lively and energetic; feeds in canopy, low bush and onground; enliven its surroundings with cheerful whistling notes; tame and confiding in some areas.

Wire-tailed Swallow

Sexes alike. Glistening steel-blue above; chestnut cap; unmarked, pure white underbody distinctive; two long, wire-like projections (tail-wires) from outer tail feathers diagnostic. Solitary or small parties; almost always seen around water, either perched on overhead wires or hawking insects in graceful, acrobatic flight, swooping and banking; often flies very low, drinking from the surface; roosts in reed beds and other vegetation, often with warblers and wagtails.

Great Tit

Sexes alike. Grey back; black crown continued along sides of neck to broad black band from chin along centre of underbody; white cheeks, nape-patch, wing
bar and outer feathers of black tail; ashy-white sides. The White-naped Tit P. nuchalis of W India lacks black on neck sides; has extensive white in wings and sides of body. Pairs or small bands, often with other small birds; restless, clings upside down, and indulges in all sorts of acrobatic displays as it hunts amongst leaves and branches; holds food fast between feet and pecks at it noisily; tame and confiding.

Chestnut-tailed Starling

Medium-sized grey and chestnut starling, with white irises; head and neck pale grey, usually with whitish shafts or hackles; upperparts grey; underparts rufous chestnut; hackles on breast; prominent blue base to yellow bill; tail chestnut, with central feathers grey; female duller, paler; racial variations; very gregarious;
usually in noisy feeding flocks; mainly arboreal, though will descend to lower fruiting, flowering shrubs, or to ground; acrobatic feeder.

Brahminy Starling

Sexes alike. A grey, black and rufous myna; black crown, head and crest; grey back; rich-buff sides of head, neck and underbody; black wings and brown tail with white sides and tip distinctive in flight. Female has a slightly smaller crest, otherwise like male. Small parties, occasionally collecting into flocks of 20 birds; associates with other birds on flowering trees or on open lands; walks typical myna style, head held straight up, confident in looks; communal roosting-sites, with other birds.

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