Water birds, often regarded as nature’s aquatic wonders, bring grace and resilience to our aquatic landscapes. India, a land of rich biodiversity, has an incredible variety of water birds. Today, in this article we’ll talk about famous water birds name in India and their stunning features.
Water birds are a group of avian species adapted to live in or near marine environments. They usually adapt to long legs, webbed feet and flexible necks for efficient swimming and prey hunting. Let’s look at some of the amazing water birds in India.
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Water Birds Name In India
India is home to a wide number of water birds due to its diverse ecosystems, which includes wetlands, rivers, lakes, and coastal areas. Here are some of the most common and well-known water birds name famous in India are –
Common Kingfisher
The Common Kingfisher also known by the name River Kingfisher is a small, sparrow-sized and orange-blue colored bird seen in Europe, Asia, and North Africa. These water birds in India come during the winter season. As the name suggests these water birds name in India are very common.
Its long, sharp bill acts as an accurate tool for fish catching. The precisely placed nostrils help to breathe submerged while special vision allows them to see prey underwater. The vibrant colors of this water bird helps in camouflage, by blending with the shiny surface of the water.
Indian Black Ibis
The Indian Black Ibis has a glossy black body with a long, slender, and curved bill with black legs and dark eyes. It also has a pink facial skin and a patch of pink skin around its bill. Other than freshwater lakes and marshes they are also spotted in agricultural fields and grasslands for hunting.
They have a unique water birds name in India. These water birds in India built their nests using sticks, reeds, and grasses and usually lay 2-4 eggs. They are often seen in small to large flocks, and are known for their social nature.
Red-Wattled Lapwing
Red-Wattled Lapwing are known for their loud and alarming calls, which sound like a repeated “did-he-do-it” or “pity-to-do-it.” They are medium-sized with brown back and wings, a white belly, and a black breastband. The arrival of Red-wattled Lapwings is also considered a sign of the beginning of monsoon season.
Red-Wattled Lapwing are among the distinctive and widespread water birds of India and across South Asia, like Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Surprisingly enough they also enact distraction plays, which involve pretending to have a broken wing to lure potential predators away from their nests.
Night Heron
The Night Heron are nocturnal water birds. One of the most common night heron water birds name in India is the Black-crowned Night Heron. They are medium-sized with a big build, short legs, and a distinctive black crown and back. Their plumage is a combination of gray, black, and white, with bright red eyes.
They hunt fish, frogs, insects, and small crustaceans. Their specialized vision also helps them hunt in low light scenarios. Night Herons often nest in colonies, laying 3-8 eggs at a time.
Little Egret
Little Egret is one of the many heron water birds name in India. It has a white plumage, a slender black bill, and yellow feet. They are usually spotted in the rainy season. They nest in colonies, building nests in trees or shrubs near water additionally making bubbling and croaking sound near the nesting colonies.
Little Egret is also one of the favorite among the photographers in India due to its delicate appearance and graceful movements.
Indian Pond Heron
Indian Pond Herons are small herons with a spotted brown and white plumage which provides amazing camouflage. They are one of the well-known water birds name in India. During the breeding season, they develop a few elongated feathers on their backs as well.
These herons are often found in a wide range of wetland habitats, including ponds, marshes, rice fields, and urban water bodies.
Painted Stork
Painted Storks are commonly found in wetlands and coastal regions of South and Southeast Asia. These water birds species in India are common around the plains of Himalayas. Their most striking feature is their orange, yellow, and pink facial skin, which becomes more colorful during the breeding season.
These storks are medium to large-sized birds ranging from 1.5 to 1.7 meters. They are one of the largest wading water birds in India.
Asian Openbill
The Asian Openbill is a distinctive water birds name in India. Asian Openbill’s most striking feature is the gap or “open bill” near the base, which gives the bird its name. The bill is yellowish-brown or gray, and the gap helps them feed on their diet of mollusks, especially snails.
They prefer areas with shallow water where they can hunt for snails, as well as other aquatic invertebrates and small vertebrates. They use their specialized bills to extract snails and other prey from their shells.
Eurasian Spoonbill
Eurasian Spoonbills are easily recognizable by their long, spatula-shaped bills, which are flat at the tip, resembling a spoon. They have white plumage, black flight feathers, and distinctive facial skin which turns yellow or orange during the breeding season. They are medium-sized with a wingspan ranging from 110 to 130 cm.
Other than them being a unique water birds name in India, they are also found in wetland habitats across Europe, and parts of Africa.
Northern Pintail
Northern Pintails are medium-sized dabbling ducks. They are sexually dimorphic, which means males and females have different plumage. Males have a chocolate-brown head with a white neck and chest, while females have spotted brown plumage.
Northern Pintails visit India during the winter months and stay until March or April. These water birds in India can be spotted in northern regions like Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
Indian Spot-billed Duck
India’s geographical diversity allows for the coexistence of numerous water birds name in India. One such is Indian Spot-billed Ducks are medium-sized dabbling ducks found in wetland habitats, including lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes, and rice fields. Since they are social birds, they are seen dabbling, foraging, and swimming in groups.
Other than these water birds in India they are also found in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The spotted brown plumage with white spots on their bills have given them their name.
Purple Swamphen
Purple Swamphen are large chicken-sized birds with a deep blue-purple body and a fiery red bill. They are a prominent waterfowl species in India. They are usually spotted in swamp, high rainfall and mangrove areas. They eat plant material such as aquatic vegetation, reeds, and grasses but sometimes also feed on insects.
Purple Swamphens are not confined to a single region but rather hold a global presence spanning Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.
Osprey
Osprey is one of the known migratory water birds name in India . It migrates during winters and is a magnificent bird of prey that is often called the “fish hawk” due to its remarkable hunting skills and special fish eating diet.
It is a large raptor with dark brown upper body and wings, and white head, neck, and underparts. They have sharp talons and reversible outer toes that help them grasp slippery prey. They build large nests “eyries,” on high points like trees or cliffs.
White-browed Wagtails
White-browed Wagtails are tiny and slender birds with a white belly and breast, a black mantle and wings and are often seen near the water’s edge, hunting for food. These water birds name in India represent their lively and active nature, wagging their tails up and down.
White-browed Wagtails water birds in India build cup-shaped nests on the ground near water bodies or on rocks and lay a clutch of eggs.
Common Moorhen
The Common Moorhen, is one of the widespread and easily recognizable water birds name in India. They have dark, slate-gray bodies, long yellowish-green legs, and hard toes with lobed feet, which helps in walking on aquatic vegetation.
They are territorial birds, and make a loud, distinctive squeal during interactions with other moorhens. Other than India, they are also found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.
Green Sandpiper
The Green Sandpiper, one of the water birds name in India have dark greenish-brown plumage on their upperparts and long and yellowish-green legs. These sandpipers are found in ponds, rivers, marshes, and flooded fields. They are known for their unique teetering or bobbing motion when hunting along the water’s edge.
Grey Heron
Grey Heron belongs to the Heron family of water birds name in India as well. They are large birds with long legs, a long neck, and a dagger-like bill and are often seen near lakes, rivers, marshes, and coastal areas. They look similar to Purple heron.
Black-Winged Stilt
Black-winged Stilt, a striking water bird’s name in India are found in areas with open water and mudflats. They have long, thin legs, which are pinkish in color. They wade in shallow water, up to their belly, and use their long legs to dig the mud and water for small aquatic insects. They build their nests on the ground, near or in water and lay two to four eggs.
Pheasant-Tailed Jacana
The Pheasant-tailed Jacana, water birds in India, is known for its long legs and extremely long toes which allows them to walk on aquatic vegetation. They can be spotted in shallow lakes, ponds, marshes, swamps, and slow-moving rivers.
Pheasant-tailed Jacana is one of the native water birds name in India and not only in India but in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Southeast Asia as well.
Pied Kingfisher
The Pied Kingfisher is a well-known water bird species in India, and has a black band running across its eyes, which looks like a mask. They are highly adaptable and can be seen in both freshwater and saltwater environments. They are known for hovering flight over the water while hunting.
They often dig tunnels into the banks of water bodies to create their nesting burrows. These kingfishers are found from the Himalayan foothills in the north to the southern tip of India.
Conclusion
Water birds in India play a vital role in the country’s natural diversity and culture. We are aware of many water birds name in India that rely on diverse wetland habitats and serve as indicators of environmental health. However, these birds face problems due to habitat loss and human activities and to protect them conservation efforts and sustainable practices are essential to ensure a peaceful existence of these unique avian species.
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