Black-throated Jay

Stout little streaky brownish finch of open, often barren spaces. Easily overlooked. Note warm buffy tones (especially in autumn–winter) and pale bill (grayish in summer, yellowish in winter). Male has distinctive pale pink rump, usually covered by wings when perched. Wide range, from Western Europe to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Compare with other small streaky finches in areas of overlap. Like other finches, often forms flocks in autumn and winter. Listen for nasal twitters and chirrups.

A medium-sized ground dove of lowland forest floor. Bluish-gray on the head, back, and sides to the chest, with blackish wings, a pale gray shoulder and wingbars, a white throat and sides to the chest, a dingy pinkish belly, and an obvious dark red “bleeding heart” in the center of the chest. Note the scaling on the back. The central eastern race has more gray on the chest. Unlikely to be mistaken if seen well. The only other dove likely to flush from the ground would be Asian Emerald Dove. Voice is a low, upslurred hooting note.

Common relative of the domestic chicken. Endemic to peninsular India where it occurs in deciduous and evergreen forest. Males are grayish with golden markings on the wings, whitish spotting around the neck, a long glossy-black tail, pinkish feet. Red comb and wattle are smaller than the widespread Red Junglefowl. Females are rather plain, lacking the long tail, comb and wattle; yellowish legs and bold white spotting on underparts separate them from similar looking female Red Junglefowl. Quite noisy, their “kuk-ku-kuwuk-ku” calls are heard almost year-round.