Prinia is a genus of small insectivorous birds belonging to the passerine bird family Cisticolidae. They were at one time classed in the Old World warbler family, Sylviidae.
The sirkeer malkoha or sirkeer cuckoo, is a non-parasitic cuckoo found in dry scrub forest and open woodland habitats in the Indian subcontinent. The species is long-tailed, largely olive brown on the upper side with a distinctive curved red beak tipped in yellow. They forage singly or in pairs mainly on or close to the ground creeping between grasses and bushes, often on rocky habitats where they feed on small lizards, insects, and sometimes berries and seeds. They are very silent and the sexes are identical in plumage.
The ashy prinia or ashy wren-warbler is a small warbler in the family Cisticolidae. This prinia is a resident breeder in the Indian subcontinent, ranging across most of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, eastern Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and western Myanmar. It is a common bird in urban gardens and farmlands in many parts of India and its small size, distinctive colours and upright tail make it easy to identify. The northern populations have a rufous rump and back and have a distinct breeding and non-breeding plumage while other populations lack such variation.
The grey-breasted prinia or Franklin's prinia is a wren-warbler belonging to the family of small passerine birds found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. This prinia is a resident breeder in the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka and southeast Asia. Like other prinias, it often holds the tail upright but it is easily told by a smoky grey band across the breast which contrasts with a white throat. The beak is all black while the legs are pink. The tail is graduated as in other prinias and the grey feathers are tipped in white. In the breeding plumage the upperparts are grey while non-breeding birds are pale above with rufous wings and a weak supercilium. It is found in scrub, forest clearings and other open but well vegetated habitats. It can be confused with the rufescent prinia.
The red spurfowl is a member of the pheasant family and is endemic to India. It is a bird of forests, and is quite secretive despite its size. It has a distinctive call and is often hard to see except for a few seconds when it flushes from the undergrowth. It appears reddish and like a long-tailed partridge. The bare skin around the eye is reddish. The legs of both males and females have one or two spurs, which give them their name.
The rufous woodpecker is a medium-sized brown woodpecker native to South and Southeast Asia. It is short-billed, foraging in pairs on small insects, particularly ants and termites, in scrub, evergreen, and deciduous forests and is noted for building its nest within the carton nests of arboreal ants in the genus Crematogaster. It was for sometime placed in the otherwise Neotropical genus Celeus but this has been shown to be a case of evolutionary convergence and molecular phylogenetic studies support its placement in the monotypic genus Micropternus.
The rufous-vented grass babbler or rufous-vented prinia is a small warbler in the family Pellorneidae that occurs in Pakistan, northwestern India and Nepal.
The sand lark is a small passerine bird in the lark family, Alaudidae, found in southern Asia. It is somewhat similar to, but smaller than the short-toed larks.
The pin-tailed green pigeon is a species of bird in the family Columbidae native to Southeast Asia.
The grey-necked bunting, sometimes referred to as grey-hooded bunting is a species of bird in the family Emberizidae. It breeds along a wide distribution range from the Caspian Sea to the Altai Mountains in Central Asia and winters in parts of Southern Asia. Like other buntings it is found in small flocks.
The rufous-eared warbler is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. It is the only species in the genus Malcorus. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.
Archbold's newtonia is a species of bird in the family Vangidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. The birds have a greyish brown back and tail, with a rufous forecrown and a buffy white belly, throat, and undertail coverts. They have a conspicuous rufous eye-ring, accompanied with a black bill and pale yellow eyes. The species is sexually monomorphic, and there is no major difference between the sexes. There is no breeding plumage for the males.
The grey-crowned prinia is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Bhutan, northern India and Nepal. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and arable land. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The black-breasted thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found from north-eastern India to northern Vietnam. Although both male and female birds have the same colour on their lower parts, the upper section of males is mostly black in colour, while females are mostly grey-brown. Thus, the bird's common name refers to the colour of the male bird's breast. They tend to live in forests located at high altitude.
The stripe-breasted woodpecker is a species of bird in the woodpecker family, Picidae. It is found in Southeast Asia within subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
Housing more than 200 resident and wintering bird species, Chennai has long been a haven for bird watchers. It is one of the few urban areas in India with diverse range of birds including greater flamingo, black baza, osprey, Indian eagle-owl, Coppersmith barbet, Spot billed pelican and pied avocet can be seen. The following are some known birding hotspots in and around Chennai.
Laticilla is a genus of small passerine birds in the family Pellorneidae. Members of the genus are found in Pakistan, Nepal, India and Bangladesh.
