Young Birdwatcher's Club

Indian Grey-neck Crows (commonly known as Kagdo or Kauva ) are found almost everywhere. Not only in a garden, but in concrete jungles too. It is actually a constant company that we find around, but are now in the list of endangered species due to excessive use of chemicals and pesticides. Crows are very social and are known to create din wherever they are. But, their presence around us marks a healthy environment. Being a scavenger bird, they play an important role in keeping our environment clean.   Crows like human company and are known to form lifelong relationship with humans. They nest on big trees and are ferocious in defending it from invaders. The crows are known for its intelligence. There are many stories dedicated to the crow. Their cousins in the forest are larger in size and darker and are called Raven. Our religious ritual of ' Kagvas ' during the ' Shraaddha ' before Aso Navratri is incomplete without the crows, as the crows symbolized to carry our offe

Magpie - Robins are a common sight around big gardens with trees and are comfortable in human company. They are most active during the Summer and Monsoon seasons.  Magpies love hopping around on the floor and like showing off  their upright tail. Their main food supply being small insects and flower nectar, you can see them hopping around bushes and shrubs. Magpies are known to imitate calls of many other birds and are also known for stealing the eggs of smaller birds.  Although males and females both look similar, males are little bigger in size and has darker shade of stone grey colour while females are light grey. Males jealously guard their territory during mating season.  Our friend Bharat Modh from Gandhinagar has captured beautiful pictures of Magpie nesting in his garden. We thank him for sharing the photographs and video for our blog.

Indian laburnum tree stands inconspicuous through out the year and in summer, that is, during the peak summer it starts flowering. Those yellow flowers are a sight to behold. Beautiful and mesmerizing. If you stand underneath it feels like standing under innumerable bright yellow chandeliers hanging at different heights. The light fragrance of the flowers fills your lungs and mind!   All throughout the Indian Subcontinent and South Asia, especially in India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Sri Lanka this tree is regarded with high esteem.   In our country with varied regional cultures and festivals that are celebrated during the Summer, this tree and its flowers hold an important place.  It is the state flower of Kerala.  It has a great significance during the celebration of  Poila Boishakh, Puthandu and many more celebrating the onset of the new year during Summer time.  But the Laburnum enjoys the most significant place in the celebration of Vishu.   It is a fast growing tree and it is k

Jungle Babblers are noisy birds always flocking together with their like to an extent that it is a collective responsibility to raise their young.   They like hopping around on the ground and look for insects, as it forms the major part of their diet along with grains and fruits.  Jungle Babblers are grey in colour with a yellowish beak and prominent eyes.   Commonly found in the Indian Sub-continent Jungle Babblers have adapted well to Urban Landscapes and are common sites in the cities.   In Gujarati it is commonly known as ' pinjara ' and ' lalleda '.   It seems that these Jungle Babblers must have inspired the characters of Angry Bird animation, they are  always seen having an angry frown.

Dove birds are innocent looking middle sized birds smaller and delicate than the pigeons. Doves love to 'coo' in the morning hours. They produce a distinct coo sound which sets them apart from the other birds and are very shy in nature. Doves are generally of soft and light brown hue with either ring or spots of black on it's neck are the ones which are found around us. They make shallow nests in the trees and love to eat seeds, fruits and leaves. Normally they live in pairs and rear they chicks together.  Eurasian Collared Dove and Red - collared dove are normally found in Ahmedabad.