Birds of Maramjhiri, Betul
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| Thought as Forest Outlet, but seems to be Northern variety of Jungle Owlet. Photo : Mohd. Khalique |
Black headed oriole fairly common in Aranya Vatika, Maramjhiri Photo : Mohd. Khalique |
Maramjhiri is situated in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh. Famous for its rich forest, Maramjhiri has plenty to offer when it comes to birds and birding. Aranya Vatika in Maramjhiri has a variety of avion population yet to be explored. As soon as we entered Aranya Vatika, an Orange headed thrush Zoothera citina cyanotus (as per Krys) was spotted near the well at the start of the trail. In Salim Ali's book this bird is mentioned as White throated thrush that is the cyanotus race of Zoothera citina.
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| Treepie and Small minivet Photo : Mohd. Khalique |
An unidentified cuckoo shrike Photo : Mohd. Khalique |
Grey Hornbills were commonly seen flying from one tree to another near the Green House (a green colored hut like structure for the visitors). Presence of old, large and tall trees might be the reason of Hornbills so common in this place. The call that dominated the area was of Brown headed barbet. It was continuously calling from one area or the other. Black headed Oriole pair was sighted on a large Mahua tree. Unlike golden Oriole, it was not shy and came very close several times throughout the trail. Later, they were seen with an unidentified bird (possibly a cuckoo shrike) and shared the same tree.
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| Alexandrine Parakeet in the Rest house Photo : Mohd. Khalique |
Yellow throated sparrow Photo : Mohd. Khalique |
A call different from that of grey headed barbet was heard and after careful observations an owlet was seen. This possibly a forest owlet (see photograph) was camouflaged in the large tree. This owlet remained there for about 15 min and was fearlessly watching us from wherever it perched. As forest owlets have been recorded in the nearby areas of betul like melghat, pandhurna etc, the possibility of forest owlet in the area cannot be ignored. The habitat of aranya vatika favors the survival of forest owlets and many other birds.This Avi-Fauna study of Betul is the result of initiative taken by Mr. A.K. Bhattacharya, CF Betul. Initially a primary checklist has been created that can be the basis of further study about birds of the area. We would like to thank Mr. Bhattacharya for his help both in terms of resource and motivation. We are also thankful to the forest staff Mr. NR Baraskar and Abhishekh Upadhyay for their help in the field.
Checklist
| SNo. | Common Name | Scientific Name |
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| 1 | BLACK DRONGO | Dicrurus macrocercus vieillot |
| 2 | BLACK HEADED ORIOLE | Oriolus xanthornus |
| 3 | BLACK REDSTART | Phoenicurus ochruros |
| 4 | BRAHMINY STARLING | Sturnus pagodarum |
| 5 | BROWN HEADED BARBET | Megalaima zeylanica |
| 6 | COMMON BABBLER | Turdoides caudatus |
| 7 | COMMON MYNA | Acridotheres tristis |
| 8 | COPPERSMITH BARBET | Megalaima haemacephala |
| 9 | EURASIAN COLLORED DOVE | Streptopelia decaocto |
| 10 | GREATER COUCAL | Centropus sinensis |
| 11 | GREY HORNBILL | Ocyceros birostris |
| 12 | HOUSE CROW | Corvus splendens |
| 13 | INDIAN ROBIN | Saxicoloides fulicata |
| 14 | INDIAN TREEPIE | Dendrocitta Vagabunda |
| 15 | JUNGLE BABBLER | Turdoides striatus |
| 16 | JUNGLE CROW | Corvus macrorhyncos wagler |
| 17 | LAUGHING DOVE | Streptopelia Senegalensis |
| 18 | LESSER WHITE THROAT | Sylvia curruca |
| 19 | ORANGE HEADED THRUSH | Zoothera citrina cyanotus |
| 20 | ORIENTAL MAGPIE ROBIN | Copsychus saularis |
| 21 | PIED BUSHCHAT | Saxicola caprata |
| 22 | PLUM HEADED PARAKEET | Psittacula cyanocephala |
| 23 | PURPLE SUNBIRD | Nectarinia asiatica |
| 24 | RED VENTED BULBUL | Pycnonotus cafer |
| 25 | ROSE RINGED PARAKEET | Psittacula krameri |
| 26 | SMALL GREEN BEE-EATER | Merops orientalis |
| 27 | SMALL MINIVET | Pericrocotus cinnamomeus |
| 28 | SPOTTED DOVE | Streptopelia chinensis |
| 29 | SPOTTED OWLET | Athene brama |
| 30 | WHITE BELLIED DRONGO | Dicrurus caerulescens |
| 31 | YELLOW LEGGED GREEN PIGEON | Treron phoenicoptera |
| 32 | YELLOW THROATED SPARROW | Petronia xanthocollis |
Report and Documentation By : Parag Bakshi
Photographs By : Mohd Khalique
send your comments to parag[at]bhopalbirds.com :: Parag Bakshi- March 13, 2007
