Karnala June 2008

MBC outing reached at 6:30am on 1st June

There had been sightings of Indian Pitta which is a passage migrant in our region from this place.
There has also been one sighting last year of a pitta carrying some nesting material which suggests that it might be breeding here but this is not yet confirmed.
This year there have already been reports of Indian Pitta at Karnala.

Indian pitta


So MBC decided to have an outing on 1st of June.

This is also a good time to see the resident birds as they are very vocal as this is their breeding season like white rumped shama, malabar whistling thrush, orange headed ground thrush.
Though surprisingly today we did not get to see orange headed ground thrush and only heard the call of malabar whistiling thrush.

We started , on the road to the rest house, with a sighting of a white rumped shama pair, crimson sunbirds, pompodour green pigeons, gold fronted chloropsis, purple rumped sunbird.



Then came the main attraction of the day, the Indian pitta.
It was calling away at the top of his voice. Then came another pitta on the other side of the road.


We continued with the rest of the bird watching. Scarlet minivets, rufous woodpecker, again shamas coming very nearby, heard a malabar whistling thrush, common ioras.


Then we started on the hariyal trail. Where we heard a lot of quakker tit babblers, puff throated babblers and baya weavers. A pair of racket tailed drongos was flying from one place to another, most probably nesting somewhere nearby. Also saw a bronzed drongo make a lot of noise.
Also heard the black napped monarch flycatcher ( making similar calls as that of the tailor bird which Adesh explained is the breeding call of the flycatcher).

Somewhere from above the mountains was heard the call of the Changeable hawk eagle and the crested serpent eagle.

Also one of the surprising call which Adesh heard was that of the grey headed canary flycatcher which is not supposed to hear at this time of the year. One possible explanation could be that it was on the way to its breeding grounds in the north.

Forest calotes


Bird List
Redvented Bulbul
Red Whiskered Bulbul
Scarlet Minivet
Small Minivet
Common Iora
Crimson sunbird
Purple rumpled sunbird
Oriental Magpie robin
White rumped Shama
Malabar whistinling thrush(call)
Indian Pitta (Passing migrant)
Quacker tit babbler (also called brown cheecked fulvetta)
Spotted babbler (also called puff throated babbler)
Racket tailed drongo
Black drongo
Bronzed drongo
Rufous woodpecker
White throated kingfisher
Grey breasted prinia
Black naped monarch flycatcher(call)
Crested serpent eagle
Changeable hawk eagle
Gold fronted leaf bird
Green beeater
Brown headed barbet
Crimson breasted barbet
Emerald dove
Pompdour green pigeon
Spotted dove