Black Head with Purple

Black Headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus) at Malyadi Bird Sanctuary along with Purple Swamphen (Prophyrio porphyrio). Black Headed Ibis is a species of wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae which breeds in South Asia and Southeast Asia from Pakistan to India, Sri Lanka east up to Japan. It builds a stick nest in a tree and lays 2–4 eggs.

It occurs in marshy wetlands inland and on the coast, where it feeds on various fish, frogs and other water creatures, as well as on insects.

Adults are typically 75 cm long and white-plumaged, with some greyer areas on the wings. The bald head, the neck and legs are black. The thick curved bill is dusky yellow. Sexes are similar, but juveniles have whiter necks and a black bill.

Tern in Flight

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo), photographed at Malyadi Bird Sanctuary. Post processing and cropping was necessary as the Backlighting made the exposure difficult. Shot using Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM on Canon EOS 5D mark II.

Small Pratincole

Small Pratincole (Glareola lactea) or Little Pratincole is a resident breeder in India, Western Pakistan and southeast Asia. It breeds on gravel or sand banks in rivers, laying 2-4 eggs in a ground scrape. Breeding areas include small areas in northern Karnataka and northern Kerala near Kannur. This was Photographed in Malyadi Bird Sanctuary.
This species is only 16.5-18.5 cm in length, with a 15-16 cm wingspan. Because of its small size, the Little Pratincoles can be briefly confused in flight with swifts or swallows.

This bird has short legs, long pointed wings and a short tail. Its short bill is an adaptation to aerial feeding. On the ground, it looks mainly pale grey (hence lactea, milky). The crown of the head is brown.

The wings are grey above with black primaries and black and white bars at the rear edge of the inner flight feathers. The underwings are mainly black. The tail is white with a black terminal triangle. The belly is white.

The most unusual feature of the pratincoles is that although classed as waders they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground.

The Little Pratincole is a species of open country, and is often seen near water in the evening, hawking for insects.

Barn Swallow

Last Sunday (15th Feb 2009) I went to Malyadi Bird Sanctuary. This is an abandoned clay query 9 kms away from Kundapura inhabited by water birds for the swampy land created by collected rain water in the left over clay fields. This year I was little late to reach there. Usually I used to go in the month of January. This birds were much less in number as well as variety.

Here is a common swallow (also called Barn Swallow) Hirundo rustica sitting on the wooden post beside the swamp. Shot using Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM using Giottos Monopod as support.