INDIAN BIRDS

White-bellied Drongo

  This drongo is black without any glossy on the upperside and greyish on the throat and breast while the belly and vent are entirely white in the Indian form which is the nominate subspecies. The fork of the tail is less deep than in the Black Drongo which is often seen in the same habitats. Young Black Drongo's can have a lot of white on the underside but it is usually scaly in appearance. 

 The Sri Lankan forms insularis of the northern 

dry zone and leucopygialis of the southern wet zone have the white restricted to the vent. Birds that are less than a year old lack the white on the underside but are browner above and greyish below

Indian Peafowl

The Indian peafowl or Blue peafowl (Pavo cristatus) is a large and brightly coloured bird of the pheasant family native to South Asia, but introduced and semi-feral in many other parts of the world. The peacock (male) is predominantly blue with a fan-like crest of spatula-tipped wire-like feathers and is best known for the long train made up of elongated upper-tail covert feathers which bear colourful eyespots. These stiff and elongated feathers are raised into a fan and quivered in a display during courtship. The female lacks the train, has a greenish lower neck and has a duller brown plumage.

They are found mainly on the ground in open forest or cultivation where they forage for berries, grains but will also prey on snakes, lizards, and small rodents. Their loud calls make them easy to detect, and in forest areas, often indicate the presence of a predator such as a tiger. They forage on the ground, moving in small groups and will usually try to escape on foot through undergrowth and avoid flying. They will fly up into tall trees to roost, however. It is a bird that is celebrated in Indian and Greek mythology and is the

 national bird of India

Verditer Flycatcher 

The Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus) is an Old World flycatcher found in the Indian subcontinent, especially in the Lower Himalaya. It is named after its distinctive shade of copper-sulphate blue and has a dark patch between the eyes and above the bill base. The adult males are intense blue on all areas of the body, except for the black eye-patch and grey vent.

 Adult females and sub-adults are lighter blue. They are also interesting among the flycatchers in that they forage above the canopy level and perching on electric wires or exposed tree top branches.
This species was earlier placed in the genus Muscicapa and it has been suggested that it is closer to the Niltava flycatchers