Young Birdwatcher's Club

Today's blog is dedicated to our new feathered friends, the chicks of Poultry Hen. These Poultry hens are domesticated and reared for the consumption of its meat. We being vegetarians have no such interest at all. For us, cuteness is personified into these little chicks and they have become adorable playmates for our children. For us, the most amazing thing is that they recognize our voices and follow it, so it is like, wherever we go they follow us. It is also great to see them growing into confident young ones as they know it that they will be taken care of very well.  What they love to do throughout the day is peck at everything, even our feet and even at Louie - our pet dog. Their diet consists of seeds, grains and insects in the garden and they love to warm up in morning sun while chattering constantly.  And when they feel sleepy at Sun down they would climb up on our feet and make it cozy.  We didn't knew at all that these birds can be so communicative.

Living in a city like Ahmedabad and waking up to a call of Coppersmith Barbet is enthralling for any nature lover.  Many a mornings we could hear distinct sound of  "tuk... tuk... tuk...", while sipping a cup of tea.  Since then, many a times we saw this beautiful little  bird called Coppersmith Barbet or કંસારો, ટુક ટુકિયો in Gujrati, hopping from one branch to another to avoid our attention.  The "tuk... tuk... tuk..." sounds like a hammer of a coppersmith beating a copper sheet and hence the name Coppersmith of this Barbet. These birds are generally Fruit eaters and are found mainly near the trees of the ficus family.   They are generally solitary birds and shy to show itself around and gets camouflaged in the canopy of trees.  It is the distinct sound which helps you pinpoint the bird.  They carve up a hole in the tree trunk for nesting. Photo courtesy : Noor Rathod  

Ashy Prinia birds are a little bigger in size than that of the tailor birds.  These tiny birds are at the first glance mistaken to be common Tailor birds but then when you observe them more carefully you starting noticing the differences.  They are a common sight in the gardens in the city.  They have a slate coloured back and wings on top. Their winter plumage is dull while the plumage during summer time is brighter. They make a nest which is very similar to the tailor birds by stitching two leaves together and lining with cobwebs and soft fibres to make it soft.  They make nests in the hedges and they eat food for insects. Photo courtesy: Mr. Bharat Modh.