Local Birds

The pretty little bird below was rescued from a group of kids who thought it a fine idea to tie a string around its leg and whirl it about. Fortunately help came and the distressed and shaken little bird was brought to the Animal Shelter where it remained for a couple of days recovering from its unpleasant ordeal. Happily the bird was not permanently damaged and after a brief convalescence, was released back into the wild.

The bird, which is a Coppersmith Barbet, is a fruit eater who particularly enjoys visiting banyan and peepul trees. His favourite snack is wild figs, fruit and berries.

When the Barbet nests it is usually in a hole excavated in dead softwood branches. Both sexes share all domestic duties! The bird's Tamil name is Sinna Kukuravan.

The next bird is a Common Myna which was rescued by neighbours from a local dog (not one of my dogs!). The bird's leg was damaged and the Myna is now recovering from its injury. Hopefully, it will be soon released from its confining cage. However the family who rescued it, are feeding it nice and appropriate snacks, so lets hope the bird's recovery period is short and successful!

This bird is probably not too unhappy to be living temporarily with his human family, as the Myna is a confirmed associate of man and follows him wherever he opens up new habitations. The Myna eats fruits, insects, kitchen scraps, follows the plough for worms and attends grazing cattle for grasshoppers.

When the Myna nests it is usually in a collection of twigs, roots, paper and rubbish in a hole in a tree, wall or ceiling. Both sexes share domestic duties. The bird's Tamil name is Nahanavai.