#6 Common Kingfisher: Alcedo atthis.
Not sure which subspecies the bird belongs to. Way too small for real identification.
#7 Grey Heron: Ardea cinerea.
Lovely bird, glided around on top of our boat for quite a while. Note the bent neck, a characteristic while herons and egrets fly. Storks and cranes fly with a stretched neck. Wanted to capture this bird on the ground as well, but alas.
#8 Little Egret: Egretta garzetta.
Closely related to the Grey Heron, but very different in appearance. The black beak and legs distinguish the little egret from other species like Great Egrets and Cattle Egrets, both very common in India and elsewhere. The picture below was not taken at the lake, but at the base of Balamuri falls: there's water splashing everywhere, the quantity of water making up for the lack of height, and there you have this bird, standing silent and still, without a care for the surrounding chaos.
#9 Eurasian Coot: Fulica atra.
Very duck-like, but do not belong to the same family as ducks, geese and swans. The adults are all black, except for a white facial shield that extends to the beak, and a thin red ring around it.
Eurasian Coots and a Little Egret
#10 Spot-billed Pelican: Pelecanus philippensis.
Apparently a very small pelican, it still looked pretty huge when it landed on the water next to our boat. Wish I had captured the landing on camera.
#11 Lesser Whistling Duck: Dendrocygna javanica
These two were going around in circles for at least half an hour. I could see the same pair bobbling up and down there from various parts of the lake. Taken from the observatory tower there.
If you already despair of these, there's a third segment yet to come.
Muhahahaha.
Pictures 5 and 9 courtesy Arun Verghese.
Also see:
A Little Bit of Ornithology: Part 1
A Little Bit of Ornithology: Part 3
And the road becomes my bride.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
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