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Birds in the Campus! The Spirit of living with Nature
Today there are very few places left around Bangalore which are good bird habitats. After some decades there will hardly be any area left around Bangalore that can provide shelter to the birds. We should be proud because our campus has been able to retain this bird richness and diversity. If these places are gone, it is impossible to bring them back. We all should thrive to protect these natural habitats and resources.
It was three years ago, that birds caught my interest. They somehow fascinated me. Their colors, their songs and calls attracted me to look at them more closely. So naturally, when I joined engineering, I also started looking at birds in our campus. I have come across more than a hundred species of birds here, which is nearly one third of the number of species recorded in Bangalore.
But before that, for the benefit of those who might be reading our college magazine before exploring our campus, I have described the features below.
But before that, for the benefit of those who might be reading our college magazine before exploring our campus, I have described the features below.
Our college is in the South-Western part of the Bangalore city, about 3.5 kilometers from the Bangalore-Mysore Road. From the approach road to our college, the spectacular views of the Savandurga and Ramanagaram hill ranges can be seen. These are some of the very few hillocks that are located close to Bangalore, being haven to some of the very rarest of the bird species in the world.
Our college is in a very well wooded area, with an area of around 13 acres. The campus has Mango groves, Sapota orchards, and areca nut-coconut plantations. The campus also has an undisturbed area of bamboo clumps and other wild varieties of trees. A down-stream of Kommaghatta tank flows through the campus adding to the natural beauty. Our college is surrounded with plantations and orchards, and there is a big patch of continuous grassland measuring more than 200 acres. The place also has a few hillocks and perennial streams, with trees.
The college building, canteen, playground and the parking areas are the places which are frequented by students, teachers and others. These are the places with considerable noise and disturbance; rest of the campus is quiet and serene, which has a quieter and undisturbed area compared to the places of human activity. This is one advantage for the birds to stay in our campus.
The quieter places are the stream, the vegetation around it, and the thickets on the other part of the stream, the mango and Sapota orchard, and the areca and coconut plantations next to the canteen. Birds require places for feeding, roosting and nesting. The extent and variety of habitats encourage a good variety of bird species and our campus has had about 103 different species of birds. This shows how rich our campus is in its bird life.
The following is a list of the birds recorded in our campus so far, and I bet that you wouldn't know half the birds listed here if you are a novice! (and I want to warn you that the list is loong, so you might want to come back to this list often if birds interest you):
1. Grey Francolin (Francolinus pondicerianus)
2. Rain Quail (Coturnix coromandelica)
3. Jungle Bush-Quail (Perdicula asiatica)
4. Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus)
5. Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker (Dinopium benghalense)
6. Black-shouldered Woodpecker (Chrysocolaptes festivus)
7. White-cheeked Barbet (Megalaima viridis)
8. Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala)
9. Common Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
10. Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis)
11. Small Blue Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
12. White-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)
13. Small Bee-eater (Merops orientalis)
14. Pied Crested Cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus)
15. Common Hawk Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius)
16. Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea)
17. Small Green-billed Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris)
18. Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis)
19. Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)
20. House Swift (Apus affinis)
And yes there are more!
21. Collared Scops Owl (Otus bakkamoena)
22. Spotted Owlet (Athene brama)
23. Blue Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
24. Little Brown Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis)
25. Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis)
26. White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus)
27. Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus)
28. Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
29. Yellow-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus malabaricus)
30. Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)
31. Oriental Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus)
32. Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus)
33. Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
34. Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)
35. Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela) (?????)
36. Shikra (Accipiter badius)
37. Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus)
38. Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
39. Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger)
40. Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
41. Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
42. Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii)
43. Jerdon's Chloropsis (Chloropsis cochinchinensis)
44. Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)
45. Rufous-backed Shrike (Lanius schach)
46. Indian Treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda)
47. House Crow (Corvus splendens)
48. Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos)
49. Ashy Woodswallow (Artamus fuscus)
50. Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus)
51. Black-winged Cuckoo-Shrike (Coracina melaschistos) (?????)
52. Small Minivet (Pericrocotus cinnamomeus)
53. White-browed Fantail Flycatcher (Rhipidura aureola)
54. Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus)
55. Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus)
56. Asian Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi)
57. Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia)
58. Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica)
59. Tickell's Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae)
60. Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis)
61. Indian Robin (Saxicoloides fulicata)
62. Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata)
63. Brahminy Starling (Sturnus pagodarum)
64. Rosy Starling (Sturnus roseus)
65. Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
66. Jungle Myna (Acridotheres fuscus)
67. Great Tit (Parus major)
68. Common Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
69. Red-rumped Swallow (Hirundo daurica)
70. Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)
71. Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer)
72. White-browed Bulbul (Pycnonotus luteolus)
73. Streaked Fantail Warbler (Cisticola juncidis)
74. Franklin's Prinia (Prinia hodgsonii)
75. Jungle Prinia (Prinia sylvatica)
76. Ashy Prinia (Prinia socialis)
77. Plain Prinia (Prinia inornata)
78. Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus)
79. Blyth's Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus dumetorum)
80. Booted Warbler (Hippolais caligata)
81. Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius)
82. Greenish Leaf-Warbler (Phylloscopus trochiloides)
83. Spotted Babbler (Pellorneum ruficeps)
84. Rufous-bellied Babbler (Dumetia hyperythra)
85. Yellow-eyed Babbler (Chrysomma sinense)
86. Large Grey Babbler (Turdoides malcolmi)
87. White-headed Babbler (Turdoides affinis)
88. Red-winged Bushlark (Mirafra erythroptera)
89. Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark (Eremopterix grisea)
90. Rufous-tailed Finch-Lark (Ammomanes phoenicurus)
91. Eastern Skylark (Alauda gulgula)
92. Tickell's Flowerpecker (Dicaeum erythrorhynchos)
93. Purple-rumped Sunbird (Nectarinia zeylonica)
94. Purple Sunbird (Nectarinia asiatica)
95. Loten's Sunbird (Nectarinia lotenia)
96. House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
97. Large Pied Wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis)
98. Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
99. Paddyfield Pipit (Anthus rufulus)
100. Baya Weaver (Ploceus philippinus)
101. White-throated Munia (Lonchura malabarica)
102. White-rumped Munia (Lonchura striata)
103. Spotted Munia (Lonchura punctulata)
Happy Bird Watching! Nature is beautiful and we are blessed.
Our college is in a very well wooded area, with an area of around 13 acres. The campus has Mango groves, Sapota orchards, and areca nut-coconut plantations. The campus also has an undisturbed area of bamboo clumps and other wild varieties of trees. A down-stream of Kommaghatta tank flows through the campus adding to the natural beauty. Our college is surrounded with plantations and orchards, and there is a big patch of continuous grassland measuring more than 200 acres. The place also has a few hillocks and perennial streams, with trees.
The college building, canteen, playground and the parking areas are the places which are frequented by students, teachers and others. These are the places with considerable noise and disturbance; rest of the campus is quiet and serene, which has a quieter and undisturbed area compared to the places of human activity. This is one advantage for the birds to stay in our campus.
The quieter places are the stream, the vegetation around it, and the thickets on the other part of the stream, the mango and Sapota orchard, and the areca and coconut plantations next to the canteen. Birds require places for feeding, roosting and nesting. The extent and variety of habitats encourage a good variety of bird species and our campus has had about 103 different species of birds. This shows how rich our campus is in its bird life.
The following is a list of the birds recorded in our campus so far, and I bet that you wouldn't know half the birds listed here if you are a novice! (and I want to warn you that the list is loong, so you might want to come back to this list often if birds interest you):
1. Grey Francolin (Francolinus pondicerianus)
2. Rain Quail (Coturnix coromandelica)
3. Jungle Bush-Quail (Perdicula asiatica)
4. Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus)
5. Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker (Dinopium benghalense)
6. Black-shouldered Woodpecker (Chrysocolaptes festivus)
7. White-cheeked Barbet (Megalaima viridis)
8. Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala)
9. Common Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
10. Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis)
11. Small Blue Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
12. White-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)
13. Small Bee-eater (Merops orientalis)
14. Pied Crested Cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus)
15. Common Hawk Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius)
16. Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea)
17. Small Green-billed Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris)
18. Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis)
19. Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)
20. House Swift (Apus affinis)
And yes there are more!
21. Collared Scops Owl (Otus bakkamoena)
22. Spotted Owlet (Athene brama)
23. Blue Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
24. Little Brown Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis)
25. Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis)
26. White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus)
27. Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus)
28. Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
29. Yellow-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus malabaricus)
30. Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)
31. Oriental Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus)
32. Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus)
33. Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
34. Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)
35. Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela) (?????)
36. Shikra (Accipiter badius)
37. Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus)
38. Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
39. Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger)
40. Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
41. Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
42. Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii)
43. Jerdon's Chloropsis (Chloropsis cochinchinensis)
44. Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)
45. Rufous-backed Shrike (Lanius schach)
46. Indian Treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda)
47. House Crow (Corvus splendens)
48. Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos)
49. Ashy Woodswallow (Artamus fuscus)
50. Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus)
51. Black-winged Cuckoo-Shrike (Coracina melaschistos) (?????)
52. Small Minivet (Pericrocotus cinnamomeus)
53. White-browed Fantail Flycatcher (Rhipidura aureola)
54. Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus)
55. Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus)
56. Asian Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi)
57. Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia)
58. Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica)
59. Tickell's Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae)
60. Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis)
61. Indian Robin (Saxicoloides fulicata)
62. Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata)
63. Brahminy Starling (Sturnus pagodarum)
64. Rosy Starling (Sturnus roseus)
65. Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
66. Jungle Myna (Acridotheres fuscus)
67. Great Tit (Parus major)
68. Common Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
69. Red-rumped Swallow (Hirundo daurica)
70. Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)
71. Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer)
72. White-browed Bulbul (Pycnonotus luteolus)
73. Streaked Fantail Warbler (Cisticola juncidis)
74. Franklin's Prinia (Prinia hodgsonii)
75. Jungle Prinia (Prinia sylvatica)
76. Ashy Prinia (Prinia socialis)
77. Plain Prinia (Prinia inornata)
78. Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus)
79. Blyth's Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus dumetorum)
80. Booted Warbler (Hippolais caligata)
81. Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius)
82. Greenish Leaf-Warbler (Phylloscopus trochiloides)
83. Spotted Babbler (Pellorneum ruficeps)
84. Rufous-bellied Babbler (Dumetia hyperythra)
85. Yellow-eyed Babbler (Chrysomma sinense)
86. Large Grey Babbler (Turdoides malcolmi)
87. White-headed Babbler (Turdoides affinis)
88. Red-winged Bushlark (Mirafra erythroptera)
89. Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark (Eremopterix grisea)
90. Rufous-tailed Finch-Lark (Ammomanes phoenicurus)
91. Eastern Skylark (Alauda gulgula)
92. Tickell's Flowerpecker (Dicaeum erythrorhynchos)
93. Purple-rumped Sunbird (Nectarinia zeylonica)
94. Purple Sunbird (Nectarinia asiatica)
95. Loten's Sunbird (Nectarinia lotenia)
96. House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
97. Large Pied Wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis)
98. Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
99. Paddyfield Pipit (Anthus rufulus)
100. Baya Weaver (Ploceus philippinus)
101. White-throated Munia (Lonchura malabarica)
102. White-rumped Munia (Lonchura striata)
103. Spotted Munia (Lonchura punctulata)
Happy Bird Watching! Nature is beautiful and we are blessed.
Copyrights © 2024 Inspiration Unlimited eMagazine
Any facts, figures or references stated here are made by the author & don't reflect the endorsement of iU at all times unless otherwise drafted by official staff at iU. This article was first published here on 19th November 2013.
