October is tagged as a beautiful among all months various in aged poetry. October mornings in Spiti Valley are reminiscent of beautiful mindfulness. I realized the importance of natural phenomena in the chaotic human world, which is how we humans are living under pressure in one corner of the world. On the contrary, birds roam with open hearts in the sky, over the forest cover, playing hide and seek in gardens/orchards, the point is they live fully each day in spite of having a trivial life span compared to human.
There in the same place
with the same situation, I observe a dozen vibrant birds with my newly bought
binocular -Cason, in the surroundings of Tabo village. Here, the local used term ‘Cha’
which means ‘Bird’ in Bhoti dialect.
Nature empowered me and shifted my vision more to observe it more and again. These positive vibrations are limitless and soothing for the soul. In bad times, I accepted I was struggling, and here I have recognised myself and my soul differently under the spell of nature and peace at the Spiti Valley.
In this blog, I am going to discuss the vibrant Himalayan Spiti birds that migrate from the lower Himalayan region to Spiti Valley during April and to escape the harsh winter, fly back during October and November.
Spiti birds captured through cason:
1. Chirippa, चिरिप्पा, The red-fronted serin- Serinus pusillus
This fire-fronted
serin bird is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae and found
in flocks up to August month and migrate from Spiti valley to escape the harsh
winters.
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| CuC |
2. SN-Streptopelia turtur. This beautiful dove, a threatened Himalayan species, belongs to the family Columbidae. The bird acts as an alert-frontier against any danger for the flying buddies.
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| CuC |
3. 3. Rip-chakoto, रिप-चकोटो – Long-Billed Thrush
The dull brown bird is
4. 4. Chhilmo/Chilba,छिल्मो/चिल्बा -Long Tailed Thrush
The female known as Chhilmo and the term Chilba yagso, where yagso means male bird.
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| CuC |
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| GI |
5. Chiru/Chiltu – चिरु/चिल्टु- House-sparrows
In the local name, Chi- चिल means bird, ल्टु/tu- small. House sparrows in flocks can be seen up to the month of November. Their return to lower altitude coincides with the return of autumn of the year. Captured image shows that sparrow trails are waiting on electric wire to feed on sunflower seeds.
6. Sercha, सेरचा -Himalayan
oriole (
The Indian golden oriole, a vibrant, shy, and beautiful bird, is always found in pairs and usually seen swiftly flying from one tree crown to another in apple tree orchards during fruit setting.
(GI-Male) Brighter (GI-Female) Dull Green
1. 7. Tirpingcha- तिरपिंगचा, hoopoe bird (Upupa epops)
The morning bubbly bird with a beautiful crown and their calls can be heard during dusk and dawn in the Spiti Valley especially in summers when tourist noise is at its peak. The SN is Upupa epops, hardly found after September in Spiti valley. 'Tirping' in Spitian dialect means a bird having tap like beak and an elongated head.
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| GI |
8. Blue rock thrush (Monticola solitarius)
A solitary wanderer bird with a dark blue colour and a distinctive call-voice spotted far away on the Spiti riverside, rarely seen wandering in fruit orchards.
5 9. Yikki tik-tik
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| CuC A common redstart sitting on big boulder near the Spiti River |
(GI -Female) (GI- Male)
10. Chungak/Changche, चुंगक, चांगचे- Alpine Chough
The black crow-like bird with a yellow-orange beak is Pyrrhocorax of the Corvidae family. The bird can be spotted in extreme harsh winters. This bird is ket keystone avian species, as its digestive system helps to break the dormancy of hard seeds and is known to help in the germination of Juniperus spp., Rosa webbiana, Ribes orientale, and many more plant species whose fruit/seeds are eaten by Alpine chough.
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| CuC |
11. Flycatcher - Muscicapa striata
This dull brown bird creates a camouflage effect like as desert soil, hence it is difficult to spot if it is sitting on the ground. This flycatcher is in search of insects and worms as it sits on a pole-wire near to a freshly hoed basin.
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| GI |
12. Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris
Songbird with hairy horn, usually found at an altitude above 4000 m in Kibber and Chicham areas during summer. This year, I observed its halt at Tabo village when I was in pairs, heading back to the lower area in November.
GI
13.
Shikra, शिकारा– the prey bird
SN is Tachyspiza badia is a bird of prey with eagle
eyes in the family Accipitridae.
14. Mukku, मुकु – The Himalayan Pigeon
The scientific name (SN) for the pigeon, Columba livia, belongs to the family Columbidae. This bird is adapted to the Spiti winter and can be observed in flocks during the month of December.
15. Rock bunting- Emberiza cia
The passerine bird belong to family Emberizidae can be distinguished by having linear patches near the eyes and head. The flock has already migrated during August and minimal sightings were observed during September in the Tabo area.
16. Chukar- Alectoris chukar
This partridge family group of 10-12, along with babies, lives under a bushy shrub near the bank of Spiti River. Extremely shy, so I could not capture a single shot throughout the year as they hardly migrate. As I approach their home, they all jump away across the other bank of river with all flying efforts. So, I step back to not disturb family or interfere with their comfort zone. The picture shot is not as important.
Indicators-
CuC- Captured Using Cason and iPhone Cam. (5 and 15)
GI-Google Image- (for illustration)
