Once again we decided to take a Riviera trip to India, this time to Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Most of the time in the former was spent looking at temples, joining in festival processions and general tourist stuff - great fun, but not too birdy. Tamil Nadu has also been badly affected by drought, which in turn affected the number of birds. The Kerala leg took us to Periyar National Park and the backwaters, so rather more wildlife. Anyway, it was a great trip and we managed to get a handful of endemics as well as the more common birds. Strangely there weren't nearly the number of passerines around that I expected, which was slightly concerning - possibly an effect of the lack of rain.
Anyway, here's one or two pics for your delectation...
Indian Roller
Common Mynahs
Loten's Sunbird
Yellow-billed Babbler (that was a really good scratch!)
Koel
White-throated Kingfisher
Wild Peacocks
Nilgiri langur
Bath time
Yellow-browed Bulbul
Guar
White-cheeked Barbet
Jungle Mynah
Malabar Grey Hornbill
Asian Openbill
Cattle Egret
Darter
Common Kingfisher
Bronze-winged Jacana
Mongoose
Flying Fox
I'd recommend this holiday if you fancy a mix of culture and wildlife - it was great fun, the food was good, most of the accommodation was too and our tour guides and driver were excellent.
"Let loose the Kraken!"
Great photos! Looks like a great place to visit.
What a fabulous trip and report Stuart, great to see such beautiful and exotic birds and lovely photos of them all; hard to pick a favourite amongst them as they are all rather special but I do love the Indian Roller and the sunbird... oh and the Bulbul, Barbet, ..... in fact, all of them lol Thanks for this post, really lovely to see the birds and wildlife we don't come across.
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Regards, Hazel
Unknown said:Anyway, here's one or two pics for your delectation...
And very delectable they are too, Stuart. I thought you'd gone you'd gone awol from the forum but now I know where you were.
What gorgeous looking birds.The Sunbird is very beautiful; I guess it's the nearest equivalent to the hummingbirds of the Americas.
The White-throated Kingfisher is a big brute of a bird. Puts our European Kingfisher to shame but it always surprises me what a huge range they've got.
Everything I read about Kerala confirms it one of the best places in India to visit. Too far for me these days I'm afraid.
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Tony
My Flickr Photostream
Beautiful birds (and others). Too many unusual ones too pick anything out in particular! Looks like a great place to go although I'd definitely need a guide just to identify what I was looking at!
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Nige Flickr
Some most unusual birds and animals there Stuart, you seemed to have had a lovely time, thanks for sharing.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
What a treat to follow your experiences in India, it is always so interesting to see the birds in another country and India is one of the many places I would have liked to visit. You did very well Stuart with all the different species and all so colourful, even the mongoose was spruced up. Thanks very much for letting us share a little of your holiday.
Lot to learn