Indian Birds: Being a Key to the Common Birds of the Plains of India

Call

Name of Bird

No. of Bird in Part II

A loud metallic coch-lee, coch-lee, or cogee, cogee

Indian Tree-pie 5

Squeaks like that of a revolving axle that requires oiling

The Seven Sisters 6

A striking whistle, like that of a human being

The Idle Schoolboy 11

A sweet little tinkling song

The Bulbuls 15-22

A cheery whistle, heard chiefly at dawn, which Cunningham describes as "chēyk, ch?chi ch?yk, chē?k ch?chi chē? chē?h"

The King Crow 25

A loud to-wee, to-wee, to-wee

The Tailor Bird 28

A snapping noise

Ashy Wren-warbler 31

A pretty, mellow tanti-tuia

The Woodshrike 38

A loud, mellow, peeho, peeho

The Orioles 44 & 45

Keeky, keeky, keeky . . . churr, churr, kok, kok, kok

The Common Myna 52

A whistle of about six notes, like the first bars of the "Guards Valse"

The Fantailed Flycatchers 58-60

A song like that of a canary

Purple Sunbird 107

A loud, screaming call

Golden-backed Woodpecker 111

A loud, monotonous, penetrating kutur kutur, kuturuk

Green Barbet 113

A monotonous, metallic tonk, tonk, tonk, like the tapping of a hammer on metal

The Coppersmith 114

A loud, rattling scream

White-breasted Kingfisher 120

A low ūk, ūk, ūk

The Hoopoe 123

A shrill, trembling scream

The Swift 124

A sound like a stone sliding over ice

The Common Nightjar 126

Chuk, chuk, chuk, like the tapping of a plank with a hammer

Horsfield's Nightjar 127

A crescendo "brain-fever, brain-fever, BRAIN-FEVER"

Brain-fever Bird 128

A crescendo "ku-il, ku-il, KU-IL"

The Koel 130

A low, sonorous, owl-like whoot, whoot, whoot

The Crow-Pheasant 131

Loud screams uttered during flight

The Paroquets 132-134

"A torrent of squeak and chatter and gibberish," kucha, kwachee, kwachee, kwachee, kwachee rapidly uttered in a shrieking, chattering tone

The Spotted Owlet 135

A weird screech, heard at night

The Barn Owl 136

A single hoot repeated monotonously at regular intervals of ten seconds, oomp

The Scops Owl 138

At early dawn. "Turtuck, turtuck, turtuck, turtuck, turtuck, turtuck, tuckatu, chatucka tuckatuck. The words or dissyllables sounding rather low at first and with considerable pauses between, and the intervals decreasing and the tone getting louder till they end rapidly" (Tickell)

The Jungle Owlet 139

Loud resonant calls uttered when the bird is high up in the air

The Fish-Eagles 148-150

Peculiar squeaking wail uttered while the bird is sailing in the air

The Brahminy Kite 151

A mournful wailing trill, chee-h? h? h? h? h? h?, uttered on the wing

The Pariah Kite 152

A sharp double whistle

The Shikra 158

A plaintive cūkoo-coo-coo

The Spotted Dove 166

A soft subdued cuk-cuk-coo-coo-coo

The Little Brown Dove 167

K?-k?-k?

The Indian Ring Dove 168

A deep grunting coo-coo-coo

The Red Turtle Dove 169

A loud pe-haun, rather like the miau of a cat

The Peafowl 170

A harsh, high-pitched, rapidly uttered juk-juk, tee-tee-tur

The Black Partridge 172

Three single harsh notes followed by a succession of shrill, ringing pateela-pateela-pateelas

The Grey Partridge 173

A very loud, hoarse, reiterated call, not easy to describe

The White-breasted Water-hen 174

Loud, penetrating, trumpet-like calls

The Cranes 177-179

Wild-sounding cry, heard at night

The Stone Curlew 180

A loud, shrill "Did he do it? Pity to do it!"

The Red-wattled Lapwing 183

Like the above, but shorter

The Yellow-wattled Lapwing 184

Clappering of the beak

The Storks 216-221

A soft but penetrating chakwa or á-onk (Stuart Baker)

The Brahminy Duck 229

1. The Indian House Crow (3). (In tall trees.) (Also the Corby (1) in Madras.)

2. The Common Babbler (6). (In a bush; eggs blue.) (Not in Madras.)

3. One or other of the species of "Seven Sisters" (7-9). (In a bush; eggs blue.)

4. One or other of the Red-vented Bulbuls (15-18). (In a bush or plant growing in the verandah; eggs pale pink, blotched with reddish brown.)

5. One or other of the Red-whiskered Bulbuls (20 and 21). (Locally. Nest as in 4.)

6. The White-browed Bulbul (22). (In Madras only. Nest in bush, eggs as in 4.)

7. The King Crow (25). (Tiny cup in fork of tree.)

8. The Indian Tailor Bird (28). (In bush or plant growing in verandah. Two or three leaves stitched together.)

9. The Orioles (44 and 45). (In trees, very frequently quite close to that of a King Crow.)

10. The Brahminy Myna (51). (In hole in building.)

11. The Common Myna (52). (In hole in building or tree.)

12. The Pied Myna (54). (In low tree.) (Not in Punjab or S. India.)

13. The Indian Paradise Flycatcher (57). (In one of lower branches of tree.)

14. One or other of the Fantailed Flycatchers (58-60). (In a low tree or bush.)

15. The Brown Rock Chat (64). (Inside a building on a ledge.) (Not in S. India.)

16. The Indian Robins (66 and 67). (Very often on a window-sill.)

17. The Magpie Robin (68). (In hole in a wall or tree; eggs green with reddish blotches.)

18. The Yellow-throated Sparrow (81). (In hole in tree.)

19. The Common Sparrow (82). (Anywhere on the verandah or inside the bungalow.)

20. The Indian Pied Wagtail (92). (In hole in building.)

21. The Purple Sunbird (107). (Nest suspended from a bush or a rafter in the verandah.)

22. The Purple-rumped Sunbird (108). (Nest as in case of 21.)

23. The Golden-backed Woodpecker (111). (In hole in tree, which the bird hollows out.)

24. The Barbets (113 and 114). (In hole in tree, which the birds hollow out.)

25. The Indian Roller (115). (In hole in tree or building.)

26. The Indian Hoopoe (123). (In hole in tree or building.)

27. The Indian Swift (124). (In verandah or a deserted building.)

28. The Crow-Pheasant (131). (In a dense thicket.)

29. The Green Parrots (132-134). (In holes in trees; sometimes buildings.)

30. The Spotted Owlet (135). (In hole in tree or building.)

31. The Common Pariah Kite (152). (High up in tall trees.)

32. The Shikra (158). (In trees.)

33. The Doves (166-169). (In trees, and in the case of the Little Brown Dove often in the verandah.)

34. The Paddy Bird (224). (High up in tree.)

1. The Crows (1-4).

2. The Drongos (25 and 26).

3. The Shrikes (34-37).

4. The Bush Chats (61-63).

5. The Common Sparrow (82).

6. The Swallows (88-90).

7. The Indian Roller (115).

8. The Bee-eaters (116 and 117).

9. The Kingfishers (118-120).

10. The White-eyed Buzzard (147).

11. The Doves (166-168).