By Robert Muhoho Published: 4/6/2007

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I grew up in a place surrounded by jungles. My father was a mining engineer, and his job took him from his home state, West Bengal in the east, to the coal mines in the state of Andhra Pradesh, in southern India, to a tiny little place called Kothagudem. The coal mines were built by the British, so were the solid bungalows that we lived in. These bungalows had sprawling gardens full of trees, bushes, flower beds, and lush creepers, which were of course full of the calls and songs of birds, from the ‘chirrup-chirrup’ of the house sparrow to the long drawn out ‘koo-oo koo-oo’ of the koel, or the Indian cuckoo – wild birds filled my life with their music.

The garden was separated from the wilderness of the jungles beyond by just a flimsy fence, which I easily slipped through to wander along narrow paths and listen to and catch sight of more birds – like a brilliantly hued kingfisher suddenly swooping down to dip its beak in a puddle of water, or a golden oriole sunning itself on a branch, or a coucal, with its distinctive reddish-brown wings, clumsily waddling away into the underbrush, or listen to the ‘twit-twoo’ cries of the bulbul, and if very lucky, when the monsoon clouds would growl and darken the skies, suddenly spot a peacock with its beautiful tail feathers unfurled in full bluish-green shimmering splendor!

This early introduction to birds lead me to read the ornithologist, Dr Salim Ali’s – better known as the ‘birdman of India’ – books like ‘The Book of Indian Birds’, ‘Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent’, and his delightful autobiography, ‘The Fall of a Sparrow’ – which opened my eyes to the identification of the wild bird species that I have always lived with, and which has left a lasting thirst in me to learn all about the various wild birds all over the world.

Given below are a few wild birds along with their characteristic identification marks:

The Whooping Crane: Named because of its whooping call, this crane is listed as an endangered bird and is the tallest bird in North America, as well as the only species of crane that occurs solely here. When fully grown, they are white in color. The neck is long, which is kept straight while flying, and they have dark, long legs that trail towards the back during flight. When they fly, the black tips of their wings can be spotted.

The Great Egret: Weighing up to 950 g and standing 101 cm tall, this is a large sized bird indeed, and is also referred to as the Common Egret, White Heron, or Great White Egret. This wading egret occurs in most areas of the world where the climate is warmer temperate or tropical, such as the southern part of Europe as well as in Asia. In New Zealand, it is referred to as Kotuku. Its plumage is fully white, its bill is yellow in color, and its feet and legs are black. Its flight is slow, during which the neck remains retracted, distinguishing them from spoonbills, cranes, and storks, which keep their necks extended.

The Golden Eagle: This bird of prey is one of the most familiar in the northern hemisphere. Once occurring all over Asia, Europe, and North America, nowadays it is no longer seen in areas that are heavily populated. The colors of its plumage range from dark brown to blackish brown, with the nape and crown a dramatic golden color, which accounts for its name. The wingspan of this bird can reach up to 7 feet, or 2 m, while the length of its body can measure up to 3 feet, or 1 m.

Pileated Woodpecker: Almost the size of a crow, this is the largest sized woodpecker, and is found in most parts of North America. Its presence is announced in the forests that range all over the continent by the large, rectangular shaped excavations it makes in dead trees, and its loud calls that ring through the trees. With a red crest on its head, it has white markings on its wings, at the linings of the underwings and the base of the primaries. It has white and black stripes on its face, along with a white stripe that extends from the base of the bill and down the neck. It also has a white stripe below the crown and above the eye, and a white throat. It has yellow eyes and yellowish feathers on the nostrils. Its call is ringing and loud, which goes ‘kuk-kuk-kuk’, along with resonating drumming sound.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak: With bold patterns in rose, white, and black, the male can be identified quite easily. However, the female, which is striped and drab, is more difficult to do so, resembling a larger version of the finch or sparrow. Commonly occurring in forests, the song of the grosbeak resembles the robin’s, except that it is more melodic and softer. The belly of the male is white, the chest is red, and it has a black hood. The bill is cone-shaped, pale, thick, and large.

Northern Mockingbird: It has been given this name because of the way it imitates other birds’ songs. They occur from the southern parts of Canada right down to the southern regions of Mexico, as well as the Caribbean. Its plumage is grayish-brown in color with two white colored bars that run parallel on the wings, along with a white, broad patch on the wings that are visible when the bird flies

Great Black-backed Gull: This is the largest gull in the world. Its head is white, with the underparts being white and the upperparts being black. It bill is large and yellow, with the lower part having a red spot. The eyes are pale, with a red ring, and the feet and legs are pink. It flies with slow, deep beats of the wings and has the ability of soaring on updrafts or thermals. It occurs in the northeastern parts of North America and the northwestern parts of Europe. Its calls are deep, which sound like ‘gawp’ or ‘gowl’, or sometimes going ‘owk-owk-owk’ or ‘hah-hah-hah’. And when it breeds it makes low screeches that sound like ‘kreee-aaahh’.

Sarus Crane: This is the only crane that lives and breeds in Southeast Asia and India, and is also the tallest flying bird in the world. Also, it is the largest bird of India. The plumage of the body is a light gray in color, and a greenish, smooth skin covers the crown. The upper neck, throat, and the rest of the head have reddish-orange skin that is rough. There are grayish-white feathers that are over its ears, and there are black, long hair-like bristles covering parts of the neck and upper throat. The toes and legs are red in color. The female is slightly smaller in size compared to males. Pairs of cranes, which form bonds that last life-long, perform courtship dances that are elaborate, with a combination of prances, bows, and leaps, accompanied with calling to each other in duet.

By anna price Published: 12/22/2008

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Our beautiful, feathered friends can be joyful companions to have in the garden. Birds make any garden look complete. The green leaves swaying in the wind and the soft twittering sounds of the birds have a soothing effect! Bird houses and bird feeders are a great way to attract these chirpy and cute creatures to your flowering gardens. But did you know, birds would also love a quick dip in the water? There are various ways to keep these little birdies happy and birdbaths can provide the much-needed relief in the summer months! The birds, having a wonderful time in birdbaths, also add a beautiful touch to the garden. However, there are certain points you would have to consider if you wish to have these birdbaths in your garden. Take a look at some tips and pointers.

Planning for a Birdbath

Always remember the depth of the water in the birdbath should not be more than 3 inches. The birdbath is bound to attract birds in all shapes and sizes so; you have to consider the safety factor.

Birdbaths should never be placed at a low level. Water is bound to attract other animals such as rabbits and chipmunks and certain animals may prove to be a threat to birds. Therefore, ensure you place the birdbath on a high pedestal away from natural predators.

Place the birdbath in open areas. Birds should feel comfortable about the surroundings so that they can keep an eye on natural predators.

A good supply of food nearby can be a great way to attract birds to the garden. These can be placed in the birdfeeders.

Birdbaths can even be hung from branches. But you would have to ensure leaves and other materials do not fall inside the birdbath.

Movement in the water attracts birds! A dripper or a movement caused by pumps will not only attract birds, but will also keep the water clean. Birds also get attracted to the sound of splashing water. You can look for birdbaths with inbuilt pumps for this purpose.

A clean birdbath will attract more beautiful birds! Always clean and maintain the birdbath as a dirty birdbath can affect birds. Change water frequently and look for specific solutions to cleanse the baths thoroughly. This will ensure you prevent any growth of moss or algae that can affect the quality of water and the birdbath, subsequently.

Tips for a Homemade Birdbath

You don’t have to head to the local store and to shop and add to your expenses! Here are few ideas you can use to keep the birds happy without burning a hole in your wallet.

Are you looking for a natural birdbath? Look for a log in the garden and chisel a hole in the shallow portion. Smoothen the same with sandpaper and add some water. Place it in the garden on an elevation.

Look in your shed for some shallow clay saucers or pots. Upturn these and turn them into useful birdbaths!

Make your own birdbath with these simple steps:

What you will need

Tall Pot

Silicone Glue

Rough Stones

Large Saucer

Procedure

Place the pot in the particular area of the garden, where you would love to have your birdbath. Place the saucer on top of the pot. Use the glue to secure it to the pot. The stones can be placed in the saucer. Pour some water in the saucer. Plant some low growing shrubs around the base of the pot for a natural effect!

Birdbaths will surely add beauty to your garden and multiply the joys for our feathered friends! So, are you ready to welcome them into your garden? Happy bird watching!

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The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is a quite big parrot and has a beautiful white color that has the most gorgeous yellow crest that stands up on the top of their head, it has a black or dark gray beak; there is really no difference between the male and the female except for the fact that the female has a lighter colored eye then the male. When it comes to making noise, they are both winners! The call that they love the most is a very loud screech.

The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is not to be confused with the Corella that can be found in Australia, although there are some similarities: the Corella is smaller and it does not have the crest on the top of his head like the Cockatoo.

This is a bird that is popular all around the world, they can easily learn tricks and are highly intelligent; they have a very good mimicking ability, some owners have reported that they can talk but this is no guarantee that your bird will do any talking, in general they are noisy birds that like to make noise and screech…please consider this if you are living in an apartment. Do not bother trying to train your parrot to be quiet because this is highly impossible with all parrots in general, parrots are loud and if you don’t like loud, then get something else.

Like all true parrots, the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo has a love for chewing, make sure that he always has a lot of toys that can keep him busy…one good idea is to get a big stock of toys and then rotate them every couple of weeks so that the bird always has something new and exciting in his cage to keep him busy and happy; by the way, if this bird gets too bored he will start to pull his feathers out, so beware!

The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is the bird that has the biggest and most beautiful crest out of the entire birdie world…when this bird is excited, the crest rises up to reveal bright yellow feathers that are accented by pearl white ones, it is really a sight to see!

The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is a bird that can be found throughout Tasmania, and northern and eastern Australia, in recent years this parrot has been introduced to New Zealand and Indonesia; these are birds that stay in the same place all year around and usually they can be found in wooded area that are close to human settlements.

The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo has become established around populated areas and made a pest of itself, it can destroy wood paneling and other stuff on houses and basically be a real nuisance. The diet of the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is made up of barriers seeds nuts and roots in the wild, they like to eat in groups, they will bight off branches and twigs when not eating to play with and keep their bills trimmed down when in the wild.

When breeding, the bird will find a nice tree hollow and lay up to three eggs in a nest that has been made by both birds, both of the parents will take turn sitting on the eggs to keep them at the right temperature and the chicks usually hatch after 30 days, they then live in the nest for about 60 days and then start to fly and take care of themselves; but always under the parents supervision for the next year.

The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is considered easy to breed in captivity …the only thing to remember is to move the male to a different cage because he can turn mean. It is also recommended that a large aviary is used to help prevent any accidents…the cost of one of these birds can be up to $2000.

It is really amazing the types of birds that human have found and taken in to become friends and companions, here is a bird that is considered to be quite a pest when it is out in the wild, but then there are people that bring that pests in to their homes and turn him into a lifelong friend! Aren’t humans strange sometimes?