Pulli-ponman, Pulli meenkothi

SIZE : Between the Myna and the Pigeon
A speckled and barred black-and-white kingfisher with the typical stout dagger-shaped bill(black). Forehead, crown and nuchal crest black,finely streaked with white. Supercilium and collar on hindneck white. A broad black streak through eye to ear-coverts. Underparts white with a double black gorget across breast in the male. In the female the lower gorget is wanting and the upper broken in the middle. Resident. Common. Low country. Keeps to the coastal backwaters and to the larger placid streams with deep rock pools here and there, north to about Kozhikode . Nesting Season-evidently between November/December and March/April. Nest- a horizontal tunnel, 3 to 6 ft.(1 to 2 m) in length, excavated in the precipitous mud bank of a stream or river. It terminated in a widened egg-chamber, unlined but almost invariably littered with cast-up fish bones. Eggs- 5 or 6, pure white, glossy, roundish ovals. Average SIZE 29.9x21.4mm.

Vezhambal,Ponden vezhambal

SIZE: Larger than the Grey Hornbill. Between the Kite and the Vulture.
Easily differentiated from the Great Indian Hornbill (next) by its smaller SIZE, black neck and white underparts. Tail white with the central pair of feathers black. Casque or helmet high, narrow and sharp-ridged, ending in a single point. Female like the male except in the coloration of the soft parts (see below). Noisy flocks, in lofty tree-tops. Resident. Uncommon. Affects evergreen and moist deciduous forest along the foot of the hills, e.g., Thattakad, Amarambalam (Malabar district). It is also found in Ceylon ; Western Ghats north to about Ratnagiri; the former Hyderabad state, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar , Orissa. Arboreal and mainly frugivorous. Eggs are White in colour becoming brown-stained as incubation proceeds. Average SIZE about 55X38 mm.

Kakka-tampuratti,Anaranchi

A glossy jet black bird with long deeply forked tail. Sexes alike.  Resident. Common. Deciduous low country under 500 ft. (c. 150 m) Affects open fallow and grazing land, and compounds in towns and villages. Very partial to the jack-fruit, cashew and coconut gardens surrounding homesteads along the backwaters, and the dyked paddy cultivation in this neighbourhood. It is also found in Peninsular India south of the Indo-Gangetic plain. Northern India and the Lower Himalayas together with Assam are occupied by the race albirictus, and Ceylon by minor.Single birds commonly seen perched on telegraph wires, dead trees, fence-posts and the like keeping a sharp look-out for grasshoppers and other insects and pouncing on them on the ground or capturing them in the air. If too large to be swallowed entire, the victim is held under foot and torn to pieces with the sharp hook-tipped bill. Their diet is entirely insectivorous; they do considerable good to agriculture by the large quantities of injurious pests they destroy. They have a number of harsh challenging calls, some closely resembling those of Shikra hawk. The birds become particularly noisy at the breeding season, when they frequently indulge in scolding duets, trios and quartets. Nesting: Season – March to June/July. Nest – a flimsy-bottomed cup of fine twigs, grasses and fibres loosely cemented together with cobwebs. Placed in a fork, usually near the extremity of a horizontal branch, or up in the head of a palm at the base of a leaf stalk, 20 to 30 ft. (c. 6 to 9 m) from the ground. A tree standing by itself in the midst of open cultivation and commanding a good view of the surroundings is preferred. Eggs – 3 to 5, variable in colour and markings, the most common type being whitish with brownish red spots. Average SIZE 25.5X19.0 mm. (Fauna).