April 25, 2023
By Sonakshi Kandhari
Image Courtesy: Pexels
Migratory birds know when it's the right time and which direction they need to head in. Unbelievable, right? Bird migration, also called avian migration, is like a miracle because migratory birds have the perfect morphology and physiology. You might be able to spot one of these migratory birds during the summer months in India.
Journeying all the way from Madagascar, these ducks arrive in India between April and May for the breeding season and leave by October. You can spot this bird in the northern part of India, particularly Haryana. Its distinctive feature is the knob on its bill.
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It migrates to India to visit its cousin, the Indian Golden Oriole, from Western and Central Europe. The sight of it is going to be impossible to forget with its stark contrast of yellow and black feathers. This bird can be sighted in the Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
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Owing to the timing of its arrival in India, it is considered the harbinger of monsoon rains. This bird bears resemblance to a bird that’s found in Indian mythology and is called ‘Chataka’, because both have a beak on their heads, which signify the thirst that they wish to quench.
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Hailing all the way from East Europe to Bengal, these birds are stockily built and stand out with their black crown. Their migrational journeys happen during the night, and they travel in a close-knit group. This bird can be spotted in the Kolkata zoo between March and May.
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This small seabird is white on the underside and pale brown or blackish grey on the top, with a white face and a black mark encircling its eye. Hence, it's hard to spot. Found mostly in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans and on Indian Islands, these birds lay no more than one egg.
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These birds can often be confused for a crow.The male birds are bluish-black in colour, and the female ones are brownish. But you can distinguish one from the other because of the striking red irises that this bird possesses.One can catch a glimpse of this bird in Pondicherry.
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TIt feeds on bees, hornets and wasps, but the Indian dragonfly is its favourite snack. This pretty bird has a shade of blue on its cheek, a brownish-orange patch on its throat and a tinge of yellow on its chin. You can visit this beauty at the Thol Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons