INTRODUCTION

When we pay a visit to a zoo or park or wildlife Sanctuary the group of organisms which fascinate us are ‘Birds’. Why are we attracted by them so much? It is because they are among the most colourfull and musical creatures inhabiting the Earth.

Birds occur in every habitat from polar ice to tropical deserts. Some have also adopted to live in water. Birds started to flight some 150 million years ago.

This class includes the vertebrates which are adopted for aerial or volant mode of life. Birds are one of the most fascinating and widely known animals distributed all over the world. More than 8,600 species of birds are known.

Birds share with mammals the rank of the highest vertebrates .In many respects birds are the most highly specialized of craniata.They show perfect adaptation for aerial life and almost every part of their organization is modified. This include non-conducting covering of feathers, the modification of the forelimbs as wings of the sternum and shoulder girdle to serve as origins of the wing muscles and of the pelvic girdle and hind limbs to enable them to support the weight of the body. The respiratory system is also perfected for aerial modification.

Some other characteristic features include the absence of teeth, the loss of left aortic arch and right ovary and oviduct, the specialized character of the brain, the poorly developed olfactory organs and large and perfect eyes. All these characters combined together, give a unique place to the group ‘Aves’ in the animal kingdom.

BAYBACKED SHRIKE

Scientific Name: Lanius vittatus

Habitat : Dry – deciduous open thorn scrub jungle, outskirts oof cultivation.

Size : Bulbul- 18cm

Feeding : Locusts and other insects, lizards etc.

Breeding : 3-6 eggs

Nesting : April - Sepember.
Nest- a neat compact cup of grass, rags, wool and feathers bound
outside with cobwebs.

Feathers : Chestnut maroon back, white underparts, black and white gradu
ated tail. Grey and white head with broad black band across fore
-head and through eyes

Egg colour : Greyish colour

Call : Harsh churring notes.

BLACK HEADED MYNA

Scientific name : Sturnus pagodarum

Local name : Goravanka

Habitat : Open deciduous forest and scrub jungle and near cultivation and
habitations.

Feeding : Chiefly berries , wild figs and insects , but it largly omnivorous.

Breeding : 3-4 eggs.

Nesting : May-July
Nest – a pad of grass, rags etc., in a hollow in a tree.

Feathers : Grey above , reddish fawn beliw, glossy black crown and long recumbent crest.

Egg colour : Pale blue.

Call : Several merry creaking or chattering notes .

COMMON BABLER

Scientific Name: Turdoides caudatus

Local Names : Haratemalla, Gigagaarlu hakki

Habitat : Thorn scrub jungle, rambling compounds etc, in semi-desert and dry plains.
Size : Bulbul+23cm

Feeding : Insects, berries, grain and flower nectar.
:
Breeding : 3 or 4 eggs

Nesting : Generally between March and July .
Nest-a neat compact cup of grass and rootlets in a low thorny bush

Feathers : Earthy brown babbler, with upper plumage streaked darker.

Egg colour : Turquoise coloured, glossy

Call : A series of short pleasant trilling whistles- “which-which-which- ri-ri-ri-ri-ri.”etc.

Clutch : 6-7

CRIMSON BREASTED BARBET(COPPERSMITH)

Scintific Name : Megalaima haemacephala

Local Names : Kempede Gutra,Thamrakaara hakki

Habitat : Trunks or brancdhes of trees, commonly on Baniyan tree.

Feeding : Small fruits, winged insects.

Breedidng : It lays 3 white coloured eggs.

Size : Sparrow +

Nesting : January – June.
It drills a hole in the trunks or branches where it nests.

Feathers : A heavy billed grass-green barbet.

Egg Colour : white coloured eggs.

Call : A familiar, loud, ‘tik-tik’ or ‘tuk-tuk’.

Clutches : 3 – 4

CROW PHEASANT OR COUCAL

Scientic Name : Centropus sinensis

Local Names : Kembuotha, Kuppulu.

Habitat : Deciduous scrub jungle and gardens .

Feeding : Caterpillars,large insects, snails, lizards, young mice and bird eggs.

Bredding : 3 – 4 eggs

Size : Crow +48 cm

Nesting : February- September.

Feathers : Glossy black bird with conspicuous chestnut wings and long black graduated tail

Egg Colour : Chalky, glossless white

Call : A deep, resonant coop - coop-coop etc, in series of 6 or 7.

Clutches : 2 or 3 .

CROW PHEASANT OR COUCAL

IORA

Scientic Name : Aegithina tiphia

Local Names : Arishina gubbi , Madura kanta.

Habitat : Open forest , cultaviation and scrub jungle.

Size : Sparrow +/_ 14cm

Feeding : Insects , their eggs , and larvae .

Breeding : 2 or 4 eggs .


Nesting : May - September
Nest – a compact cup of grasses , neatly and copiously plastered with cobwebs in
A fork of twig.

Feathers : Black and yellow tit like bird with two white wing bars male has black tail.

Egg Colour : Pale pinky white , blotched with purplish brown.

Call : Sweet long drawn musical whistles and short chirrups.

INDIAN MYNA

Scientic Name : Acridtheras tristis

Local Names : Myna , Goravaanka

Habitat : It can be seen in city gardens , vicinity of towns and villages.

Size : About 22.5cm

Feeding : Insects and fruits

Breeding : 4 – 5 shining blue coloured eggs .


Nesting : April – August
Myna nests in holes in trees.

Feathers : It has black headed contrasting with its rust brown body.

Egg Colour : Deep blue

Call : Accomplished mimic

Clutches : 2 -3

INDIAN ROBIN

Scientic Name : Saxicoloides fulicata

Local Name : Chittu madivaala

Habitat : Arid and stony country , semi-desert with scattered bushes, cultivations & around
habitations .


Feeding : Insects and their eggs , Spiders etc.,

Breeding : 2 – 3 eggs.

Size : Sparrow +

Nesting : April – June ,
Nest – a pad of grass , rootlets & rubbish lined with feathers or hair , placed under stone in hole in earth bank or tree stump.

Feathers : Black bird with white patch on wing and rusty red under root of cocked tail.
Hen ashy brown without wing-patch.

Egg Colour : Creamy white

Call : Some cheery notes.

KOEL

Scientic Name : Eudynamus scolopacea

Local Names : Kogile

Habitat : Mainly an arborial bird

Size : House crow

Feeding : The bird feeds on fruits , seeds and insects.

Breeding : 2 – 3 lays

Nesting : April - August


Feathers : Male Koel is black clolured and has red eyes where as
Female is brown coloured with white patches.

Egg Colour : Partially grey

Call : Melodious “Kuoo- Kuoo” and “Kik- Kik- Kik- Kik”.

Cluthes : 3 – 4

MAGPIE ROBIN

Scientic Name : Copsychus saularis

Local Names : Makaranda chame , Kenneli hugubbi

Habitat : Dry and moist deciduous forest secondary houses.

Size : Bulbul +/_ 20 cm

Feeding : Insects , flower nectar etc,

Breeding : Male black and whete , grey or brown.

Nesting : April – July

Feathers : Male black and white ,
Female black replaced by grey or brown


Egg Colour : Blue

Call : ‘Tuck- Tuck’


Cluthes : 2

PARADISE FLYCATCHER

Shortly going to up load

PEACOCK

Scientic Name : Pavo cristatus

Local Names : Navilu , Mayura

Habitat : They live in open forests, tall trees etc,

Size : Vulture (about 3 feet)

Feeding : Feeds chiefly on insects , lizards, snakes and vegetable matter.

Breeding : 3 – 5 eggs


Nesting : January - October
It nests in a depression on the ground.

Feathers : Peacock have attractive blue and green coloured feathers and a metallic blue green
body.

Egg Colour : Glossy pale cream screaming “May – May”


Call : A loud harsh

Cluthes : 3 -5

PURPLE SUNBIRD

Scientic Name : Nectarina asiatica

Local Names : Kenneele hugubbi , Makaranda chame

Habitat : Commonly seen on trees , creepers etc,

Size : Sparrow(-)

Feeding : Feeds on spider , insects , nectar.


Breeding : 2 – 3 eggs

Nesting : Throughout the year.
It builds its nests on the branches of trees and creepers.

Feathers : Male is light brown coloured while
Female is purple coloured.

Egg Colour : Greyish or grayish white

Call : A shrap “Wich- Wich” , in breeding male “Cheewit”.

Cluthes : 2 - 3





REDVENTED BULBUL

Scientic Name : Pycnonotus cafer

Local Names : Pikalaara , Bulbul

Habitat : Commonly found in gardens , scrub and well wooded areas.

Size : Myna- 20 cm

Feeding : Feeds on fruits , vegetables and insects.

Breeding : The bird lays 2 – 3 eggs


Nesting : February – May.
Builds a cup shaped nest of slender twigs and roots placed in low bushes. Feathers : It is brown and white coloured bird with a black crest.

Egg Colour : Pinkish white with purplish brown.

Call : -

Cluthes : 2 – 3

REDVENTED BULBUL

Scientic Name : Pycnonotus cafer

Local Names : Pikalaara , Bulbul

Habitat : Commonly found in gardens , scrub and well wooded areas.

Size : Myna- 20 cm

Feeding : Feeds on fruits , vegetables and insects.

Breeding : The bird lays 2 - 3 eggs


Nesting : February - May.
Builds a cup shaped nest of slender twigs and roots placed in low bushes. Feathers : It is brown and white coloured bird with a black crest.

Egg Colour : Pinkish white with purplish brown.

Call : -

Cluthes : 2 - 3

ROSE RINGED PARAKEET

Scientic Name : Psittacula krameri

Local Names : Gili

Habitat : Mostly arborial bird

Size : Larger than Myna about 25 cms.

Feeding : They feed on a variety of fruits and seeds.


Breeding : 4 - 6 eggs


Nesting : February - April
They commoly nest on trees in groups.

Feathers : The male has a rose coloure ring around the neck where as the female doesn’t have it.

Egg Colour : Pure white

Call : Melodious “Kiyak- Kiyaak”


Cluthes : 3 - 4

SMALL MINIVET

Scientic Name : Pericrocotus cinnamomeus

Local Names : Kiruchitra pakshi , Kiru gulagangi

Habitat : Deciduous forest , open scrub , groves of trees etc,

Size : Sparrow -

Feeding : Insects and their larvae etc,

Breeding : 2 - 4eggs.

Nesting : April - July

Feathers : With longer tail 15 cm
Male black grey & orange-crmson.
Female no black on head and yellow replacing red.

Egg Colour : Pale greenish white.

Call : A feeble musical ‘Swee- Swee’

Cluthes : 2

SMALL GREEN BEE EATER

Scientic Name : Merops orientalis

Local Names : Hasiru jeinonabaaka , Kendelepatanga

Habitat : ofenly seen on electric/telegraph wires , open grounds , fields.

Size : Sparrow +

Feeding : Bees and other insects.

Breeding : 4 - 7 eggs

Nesting : February - May
They nests in horigzontal tunnels which they themselves dig.

Feathers : They are slim green birds.

Egg Colour : Grey

Call : Tit, Tit or trilly tree- tree- tree.

Cluthes : 4 - 5

SPOTTED DOVE

Scientic Name : Streptopelia chinensis

Local Names : Chukke kapotha , Chore hakki

Habitat : Dry and moist deciduous biotope

Size : Pigeon - 30 cm

Feeding : Seeds and grain gleaned on the ground.

Breeding : 2 eggs

Nesting : Season - unidentified, practically all year, by using two crossed sticks low down in
a tree or bush.

Feathers : White spotted pinkish brown and grey upper parts and white black ‘chessboard’ on hind neck.

Egg Colour : White

Call : Repeated kroo - kruk - krukroo….

SPOTTED OWLET

Scientic Name : Athene brama

Local Names : Bettada goobe

Habitat : Ruins , mango tops and village, grooves of ancient trees etc ,

Size : Myna +/_

Feeding : Beetles and other insects , young birds , mice , lizards etc ,

Breeding : 3 - 4 eggs

Nesting : November - April

Feathers : Squat white spotted grayish brown owl with large round headed head .

Egg Colour : White

Call : Harsh chattering , squabbling and chuckling notes.

Cluthes : Alone*

TREE PIE

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TAILOR BIRD

Scientic Name : Orthotomus sutorius

Local Names : -

Habitat : Most commonly seen in ever green hills , near fields and villages.

Size : Sparrow - 13 cm

Feeding : Large insects and berries.

Breeding : 3 eggs

Nesting : April - September
It builds its own nests by weaving the leaves with its sharp edged beak.

Feathers : It is small bird with brown coloured head , white and green coloured body .

Egg Colour : Pale green

Call : Double noted call “ti-eee”

Cluthes : 3 - 4

WHITE BREASTED KINGFISHER

Scientic Name : Halcyon smyrensis (Linnaeus)

Local Names : Minchulli

Habitat : Mostly seen on the trees which grow near banks of water body.

Size : Between Myna and pigeon

Feeding : Feeds on small fishes , frogs and water insects.

Breeding : 4 -7 eggs

Nesting : March - June
It builds its nest by digging the soil near the banks of the rivers.

Feathers : It is small most attractive blue coloured bird with long sharp pointed beak.

Egg Colour : Shining white coloured eggs .

Call : A loud chattering song.

Cluthes : 3 - 4.

ORIGIN OF BIRDS

The study of fossils indicates that the birds evolved from the reptiles long long ago. The discovery of the ‘Archaeopteryx’, the earliest fossil bird and the skeleton of the modern birds, as well as the recent researches have confirmed this belief .Birds are called winged bipeds.

The oldest bird Archaeopteryx is in many ways a connecting link between the two classes. Yet the gap between Archaeopteryx and actual reptilian ancestor is yet to be filled. The development of some birds reveals many remarkable resemblances to that of reptiles. Therefore we conduct conclude that birds evolved from a reptilian stock.

UNIQUE FEATURES OF BIRDS

The birds differ from all other vertebrates in having certain unique characters.
(Characteristics) as follows.

1) Birds are homeothermic (warm blooded) animals their body is covered by feathers which forms an insulator.

2) The epidermal exoskeleton is represented by feathers and a few scales as the legs similar to those of the reptiles.

3) The limbs are modified as wings. The hind limbs are attached forward to balance the weight of the body.

4) The endoskeleton is mostly spongy containing air cavities so that the body becomes light. The bones of the skull undergo early ankylosis . Only the lower jaw, quadrate,
Columella and hyoid are movable. There is only one occipital condyle. The premaxillae are large and form most of the beak. In modern birds there are no teeth.

5) There is a well developed sternum with the keel. In flying birds, the clavides to form well developed and are connected by an interclavicle to form furcula. The forelimb has only three digits.

6) The three metacarps age gused and there are only two separate carpels, other fuse with the metacarpels to form the carpomet acarpus. The thumb is often clawed.

7) In the digestive system, the gullet is dilated into a crop and the stomach is divided into a glandular proventriculum and muscular gizzard. A cloaca is also present.

8) The non exspansible lungs are provided with air sacs which many extend into the bones. The trachea has bony rings. A special vocal organ in the form of syrinx is present

9) The heart is four chambered, the right auriculo-ventricular valve is muscular. There
is only right aortic arch. The renal portal system is not well developed. The red blood corpuscles are oval and nucleated.

10) The brain has large cerebellum and cerebral hemispheres and the optic lobes are laterally displaced. The kidneys are three lobed. There is no urinary bladder.

11) Compared to other animals, birds have the wonderful capacity of adjusting their eyes vary quickly from a distant object to a nearby object.

12) Their ears are too small little holes on either side of the head. As they are covered by feathers, they are not easily visible. However their sense of hearing is very sharp and they use it for hunting self protection and mating purposes.


The smallest bird is the bee-humming bird while the largest is the Ostrich which weighs 180 kg.


The fastest of all creatures is the Spain tailed swift. The Ostrich is the fastest bird on legs and has a sped of 80 km/hr. The fastest mountain climber is the Chamois. It can climb 1000 m in 15 minutes. At this rate it can be climb Mount Everest in just over 2 hours.

BIRDS Km/h

Spine tailed Swift 171

Frigate bird 153

Spur-winged goose 142

Red breasted merganser 129

White rumped swift 124

Canvas bouk duck 116

Eider duck 113

Teal 109

Mallard 105

Pintail 105

TYPES OF BIRDS

There are about 8,600 Species of birds of which about 1,200 Species are known to occur in India. The birds (modern) can be conveniently divided into two categories.

1)Flightless Birds: These are birds which cannot fly. They have either rudimentary or vestigial wings. The most familiar examples are Ostrich, Emu, Rheu, Cassowary , Kiwi etc.


2)Flying birds : These are the birds which can fly, can be grouped into several homogenous groups such as
· Swimming birds and diving birds
· Shore and wading birds
· Birds of prey
· Arboreal birds
· Aerial birds
· Terrestrial birds

BIRD WATCHING

Dr. Pujar Sir & Arun involved in bird watching

Bird watching is itself an interesting term. It does not mean that simply seeing the birds or only learning about birds but a channel for study of the natural world as a whole. Bird watching means observation of birds in a scientific way.

Bird watching is also simple for the beginners to take up as if requires no special equipment although binocular are great help in identification.

To see birds most easily one should be quite careful inconspicuous. It is best to wear sub duel colours to walk slowly and make use of covers such as banks, trees and bushes. It is often a good idea to take up position on the edge of a forest clearing as near a fruiting tree.

In order to identify a bird it is essential to have binocular, notebook, pencil (or pen), field guide and good SLR camera with tele lense. In the notebook the notes should be recorded in the following systematic fashion:


· The date

· The location

· The time

· Weather condition

· Habitat

· Details of birds observed like size, colour etc,


For bird observation one should try to get identification of size not in terms of inches or centimeters but in a relative sense. For example in relation to common birds like Sparrow, Myna, Pigeon etc,

During bird watching in the field, the birds are identified based on the following features:

· Length of tail (feathers)

· Size of bill(beak)

· Presence of crest

· Legs and Fest(claws)

· Prominent colours - chiefly red, green, blue, black, white, dull coloured


In the present work, the survey was done in the local CHITRADURGA Forest Area i.e., AADU MALLESHWARA AND JOGIMATTI forest area. The susrvery was done early in the morning because the best to look for birds is eiter early in the morning or in the evening before dusk. After sunrise birds go out of their nest, in search of food and after sunset they will arrive to their nest.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

· The Book Of Indian Birds - Salim Ali

· Common Birds - Salim Ali and L. Fathe Ali

· Watching Birds - Jamal Ara

· Our Birds - Rajeshwar Prasad

· Birds Of Dakshina Kannada - N.Geeta Nayal

CONCLUSION

The assignment is on an attempt to survey the avian diversity in “CHITRADURGA”.The birds are beautiful winged bipeds. Their coloration, call, and behavior gives great satisfaction and pleasure, to observe then in the field. The birds enlisted from Chitradurga include predominantly coloured active and large birds. The birds like Parakeet and Red vented bulbuls and Indian Robin and Babblers were more frequented than other birds. The other birds observation was numerically limited. The reason may be the non - availability of fruit bearing trees or key stone species in the area or the season may be lean period as the quantity of fruits produced. The study gives an insight into bird population and their diversity and this is a sample survey of peninsular avian biodiversity. The nocturnal birds like owlets were also more frequented in the crevices of the forest and holes of Tree- trunks. The study instills greater interest in students and laymen to take up bird watching as a lively hobby.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

· The Book Of Indian Birds - Salim Ali

· Common Birds - Salim Ali and L. Fathe Ali

· Watching Birds - Jamal Ara

· Our Birds - Rajeshwar Prasad

· Birds Of Dakshina Kannada - N.Geeta Nayal