By Ronit Dutta, Pronoy Baidya and Mandar Bhagat What Are Birds?

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By Ronit Dutta, Pronoy Baidya and Mandar Bhagat What are Birds? • Warm blooded animals – body covered with feather – which can fly, swim and walk – lay eggs – shows parental care Diversity of the Birds • There are about 10,000 species of birds found all over the world • Of them 2500 species found in India • 450+ Birds found in Goa • Important note: The bird images depicted are the usual plumage in which the birds are seen, however individual birds of same species can vary in plumage and size. There may be cases of varying differences in the field such as sexual dimorphism (male and female vary in appearance), juvenile birds and worn out plumages. The below guide is a very simple tool for beginers to identify the most common species that may visit a Goan backyard ranging from Vasco city to Keri village. This guide is in no way exhaustive and you can expect birds that don’t figure in the below pages in your backyard! House Crow House Sparrow Rock Pigeon Spotted Dove Indian Pond Heron Greater Coucal Indian Robin- Male Indian Robin- Female Oriental Magpie Robin- Male Oriental Magpie Robin- Female Common Kingfisher White- throated Kingfisher Red Whiskered Bulbul Red VentedBulbul Small Green Bee-eater Jungle Myna Asian Koel- Male Asian Koel- Feale Jungle Babbler Black- rumped Flameback Indian Jungle Crow Blyth’s Reed Warbler Ashy Prinia Common Tailor Bird Purple Sunbird- Male Purple Sunbird- Female Purple- rumped Sunbird- Male Purple rumped Sunbird- Female Rose ringed Parakeet Plum headed Parakeet Indian Roller Eurasian Hoopoe Scaly breasted Munia White rumped Munia Common Stonechat Baya Weaver Long tailed Shrike Spotted Owlet Ashy Drongo Black Drongo White cheeked Barbet Coppersmith’s Barbet Tickel’s Blue Flycatcher Black- hooded Oriole Indian Golden Oriole Shikra Brahminy Kite Black Kite Paddy field Pipit Malabar Crested Lark Indian Peafowl Red wattled Lapwing Common Iora Asian Paradise Flycatcher For suggestions and feedback contact us at: Ronit Dutta: [email protected] Pronoy Baidya: [email protected] Mandar Bhagat: [email protected] .

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