The Indian Birds of Prey

The Birds of Prey is a large family is composed of birds which bear so strong a family likeness that it is almost impossible to describe them in such a way as to enable the reader to identify them at sight. As with the owls, birds of prey are easily recognized as such, but to name any species baffles even professed ornithologists.

To try to make out the raptors by their color is, to use the words of Eha, “at the best a short road to despair. Naturalists learn to recognize them as David’s watchman recognized the courier who brought tidings of the victory over Absalom. ‘His running is like the running of Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok.’

Every bird of prey has its own character, some trick of flight, something in its figure and proportions which serves to distinguish it decisively.” What precisely this bird is something not in most cases able to state. Mr. C. H. Donald, or some other Indian falconer, will give us a little handbook on the birds of prey of this country.

The Indian Tawny Eagle (Aquila vindhiana)

In coloring, this bird is very like the common kite but has not so long a tail. Its legs are feathered right down to the toe. This is the sign-manual of all the true eagles. A bird that looks like a kite with feathered legs is probably a tawny eagle the commonest eagle in India, abundant everywhere save on the Malabar coast. The big Tawny Eagle is belonging to family Accipitridae.

It has 25 to 30 in length with the 64 to 75 in wingspan. The eagle mainly relies on carrion as a food source. Although, it is considered as a quiet bird, sometimes Kow-Kow noise which is loud and far traveling. The underparts are mainly black, however, the lower back is pale and range of variation in plumage color.

The white-eyed buzzard (Butastur teesa)

This bird of prey is about the size of the common house crow. Eha writes A Buzzard is idea of life is to sit upon a pole, or on top of a small tree commanding a good expanse of grassland, and to watch for a field mouse, or a lizard, or even a fat grasshopper.

If you see a biggish, untidy hawk, of a sandy brown color, more or less dashed with whitish, spending In the morning in this way, you may put it down as Butastur teesa. The sign-manual of this common bird is its white eye, and if you cannot get near enough to make this out with the aid of field glasses.

You may still identify this species by the conspicuous white patch on the nape of the neck. The White-eyed buzzard is very common in N. India; but rare in the south. This bird has a rufous tail, white iris, and white throat with a distinctive dark mesial stripe bordered, and brown head.

Pallas's fish eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus)

This Pallas Fish Eagle is nearly half as big as the kite. A large brown bird with the whitish forehead, chin, and throat, and a broad white band (4 inches wide) across the tail, about three inches from the tip. This is the sign-manual of this species, and on this account, Jerdon calls it “The Ring-tailed Fish Eagle.” Not found in S. India.

All the fish-eagles, writes C. H. Donald in The Indian Field, have loud resonant calls, anything but melodious, and each and all seem to love hearing their own voices. H. leucoryphus in the plains of Punjab may often be heard long before he is seen, particularly when soaring, and though he himself may only appear a wee a speck in the heavens, his call will be distinctly heard.

This bird frequents found near rivers and marshes and is inland rather than a seashore bird. This bird is also known as Pallas's sea eagle or band-tailed fish eagle. The Pallas eagle preferred food is fish. During food-collecting, it often faces predates from graylag geese.

The White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaëtus leucogaster)

White-bellied The sea-eagle bird is a little larger than the kite. Its, head, neck, lower parts, and nearly the whole of the tail white; other parts dark grey or brown. Jerdon calls this species the Grey-backed Sea-Eagle. This species is very seldom seen inland and is easily distinguished from by having the lower parts white instead of brown.

Col. Cunningham describes this species as one of the most splendid of large raptorial birds. Owing to the brilliant contrast of the snowy whiteness of the head and under surface, with the deep ashy tints of the wings and back. There are few more striking objects than one of them as he sits on a bare branch overhanging a tidal channel, glancing around with his bold black eyes.

The eagle with all his beautiful plumage gleaming in the bright sunlight. This is a very noisy species, especially at the breeding season. This beautiful bird normally breeds and hunts near water. It prefers food is fish but also consumes carrion and other variety of animals.

The white-tailed eagle (Haliaëtus albicilla)

The White-tailed Sea-Eagle is half of a big kite. A large brown bird with a white tail, of which the middle feathers are considerably longer than the outer ones. By this character and by its loud cries may this bird be identified. It is only a winter visitor to India to the Punjab, Sind, and the U. P. Sometimes, it is known as gray sea eagle and Eurasian sea eagle.

Due to human activities this bird is often scarce and very spottily distributed as a nesting species. This eagle usually lives near open water, including both coastal saltwater areas and inland freshwater.  It requires plentiful food supply and old-growth trees or ample sea cliffs for nesting.

The Brahminy Kite. (Haliastur indus)

Of all the birds of prey, this is perhaps the easiest to identify in its adult state. The head, neck, breast, and upper abdomen are white, the shaft of each white feather being black. The remainder of the plumage is a rich chestnut, almost maroon.

The young birds are alike to the common kite in appearance. But maybe distinguished when on the wing by the fact that the tail of the Brahminy is always rounded, while that of the kite is more or less forked. This species is rare in the Punjab, common everywhere else. In Madras it sometimes swoops down and carries off a snipe that has been shot by a sportsman. Its cry is a peculiar squeaking wail.

The Black Kite (Milvus govinda)

This is a Common Pariah Kite. His long tail slightly forked at the tip, suffices to distinguish him at a glance from all other raptorial birds. It is believed to be the most abundant species in the world approximately more than 6 million population.

The pale or pallid harrier (Circus macrourus)

This is a migratory bird belongs to the harrier family. This medium sized raptor rarely seen in India. It breeds on open plains, bogs, of eastern Asia and southern Europe. The bird normally hunts small mammals, lizards, and birds, and drift low over fields and moors.

Surprisingly the nest is found on the ground, containing six to eight eggs. The other harrier species are, Montagu’s Harrier (Circus cineraceus), The Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), The Pied Harrier (Circus melanoleucus), and The Marsh Harrier (Circus æruginosus).

The hens are so alike that to distinguish them is no easy matter. The ordinary man will doubtless be satisfied to call them all harriers. Harriers are cold-weather visitors to India. They are striking-looking birds with long wings.

They fly low, only a few inches above the level of the ground, ever on the lookout for a lizard, a mouse, an insect, or even a small bird. They are larger than crows and smaller than kites. They hunt over fields and marshes and are not seen in towns, but those who shoot must be familiar with them.

The Shikra (Astur badius)

This is one of the most familiar birds of prey. It is considerably smaller than the common house crow. Its upper plumage is ashy grey. The tail is of the same hue, but with broad black crossbars. The breast is pale rust color, with a number of thin wavy white crossbars.

The eye is bright yellow, as is the cere or base of the beak. It is very like the Brain-fever Bird in appearance. It often hunts for its quarry in the neighborhood of trees. Its method is to make a short quick dash. Natives of India very frequently train this bird to hawk quail and mynas. Its note is a sharp double whistle.

The Sparrow-Hawk (Accipiter nisus)

This species, which is a cold-weather visitor to India, is very like No. 158 in habits and appearance. It is, however, characterized by having long legs. It is bolder and swifter in its movements.

The Laggar Falcon (Falco jugger)

Several species of falcon occur in India. This one is, the commonest. It is a brownish bird barred and spotted all over with white. It looks like a large sparrow-hawk with long pointed wings.

But it does not make one dash at its prey after the manner of the sparrow-hawk; it is a strong flier and settles down to a long chase in the open country. Its eyes are dark. Natives call falcons dark-eyed hawks and sparrow-hawks light-eyed hawks.

The Turumti, or Red-headed Merlin (Æsalon chicquera)

The Head and a stripe on the cheek chestnut. Back and tail grey barred with dark brown; underparts whitish with black streaks and bars. This species lives largely on small birds and often hunts in couples.

Tinnunculus alaudaris: The Kestrel; the English “Windhover.”

Normally the head, neck, and tail grey, back, and wings brick-red. The lower parts are cream-colored spotted with brown. The redback makes the bird easy to identify, as does its method of hunting its quarry.

It flies over the open country, and every now and then hovers on rapidly vibrating wings over some spot where it thinks it espies some lizard or other animals. If there is an animal there it drops quietly on it, otherwise, it passes on and hovers elsewhere. It is a winter visitor to the plains of India.

Also Read: Lilac Breasted Roller, Most Attractive Bird / Indian Roller Bird

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Shrikes – How They Get Their Nam

William Turner, in a Short and “Succint History of Birds” in 1544, called the red-backed shrike “a nyn murder” because the bird was believed to murder and collect nine victims a day. Its German name was Nuen- m'order, now Neuntöter. The name “shrike” comes from “shriek,” describing the bird’s alarm call, although these birds also sing sweetly and can mimic other birds.

Shrikes are the only passerines that prey on vertebrate animals, often impaling the carcasses on thorns to store for future use. This habit gave them the family name Laniidae, from the Latin lanius, “a butcher.” They are sometimes called butcher birds in English. The common French name for the red-backed shrike was once l’ecorcheur, or “flayer,” from the bird’s habit of tearing apart or skinning small mammals before eating them.

The two shrikes found in North America are the loggerhead shrike, Lanius ludovicianus (“from Louisiana”), and the northern shrike, L. excubitor. The loggerhead shrike gets its common name quills. Quill pens, however, are still the preferred tools of some artists, and they are made only from certain feathers of certain large birds, including swans, geese, and crows (but not secretary birds).

The secretary bird is the only member of its family, Sagittari- idae, because although it is similar to several other birds, it doesn’t fit into any of their families: It flies and soars as well as an eagle; it is over three feet tall and runs like an ostrich; it nests like a stork; some of its faces are bare, like a vulture’s. It partly digests and regurgitates food for its young, and it’s a raptor.

The secretary bird has short stubby toes, which it can’t use to carry prey but with which it literally stomps its victims to death. It has such a powerful kick that it can shatter a turtle’s shell, and it kills snakes by kicking or dropping them from a height. Its scientific name, Sagittarius serpentarius, means “a bowman hunting snakes,” and the bird’s head plumes are also like arrows sticking out of a quiver. Most bowhunters, though, would hunt more sportingly! 

Also Read: Lilac Breasted Roller, Most Attractive Bird in The 

Basil - It's Not as Difficult as You Think

Basil has been a controversial herb from ancient times. Both the origin of its name and its reason for being has been constantly disputed. The Greek basilikón means "kingly, " while the Latin Ocimum may derive from the Greek language means the sense of being able to enjoy the fragrance. Because of the plant's pungent aroma.

In the ancient times in Greece, it was believed that basil represented hate and misfortune. The Greeks called it the "devil plant," but they also considered it a powerful love charm. A sign of mourning in ancient Greece and a sign of love in ancient Rome, today in Crete basil signifies "love washed with tears," and in some parts of Italy, it remains a lover's emblem.

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) was a staple of the ancient Greek kitchen garden and many Greeks believed that it would not grow unless it was cursed and reviled when planted. Aristotle's colleague Theophrastus disagreed, having observed the habits of herbs scientifically. Each of the kitchen herbs he studied flowered all at once, except basil, which produces a succession of flowers starting at the lower part of the plant.

He also observed that basil produces more seeds than do other herbs. Pliny in the first century reported the belief still accepted by many Romans that the more basil was abused, the more abundantly it grew, and that the best time for sowing was at the Feast of Paleson. At the rising of the Dog Star, he added, basil turns pale. The medicinal values of basil were also disputed in antiquity.

According to Pliny, the Greek botanist-physician Chrysippus condemned it, claiming that it injured stomach, liver, and eyes, and that it even caused madness, which explained why goats would not touch it. Also, other authorities believed that pounded basil placed under a stone would breed a scorpion.

Dioscorides and Pliny rescued basil. However, Dioscorides recommends it for intestinal worms, mad dog and viper bites, dandruff, and toothache; he also includes instructions for making an ointment of basil leaves pounded in oil. Pliny refutes the more exaggerated negatives and catalogs the herb's benefits: Is Basil good for You?

Benefits of Basil Herb?

Mixed with a little vinegar, basil cures the sting of land and sea scorpions;

mixed with vinegar and inhaled it is good for fainting; as a linament with rose oil and vinegar it relieves fatigue, inflammation, and headache;

Also, mixed with goose grease, and particularly it is very good for babies' ears; it is also an aphrodisiac. Apicius, rich gastronomy of Pliny's time, is associated with the only known cookbooks from ancient Greece or Rome. In it is a recipe for fresh or dried peas seasoned with herbs and wine:

Cook peas and skim the broth. Add leeks, coriander, and cumin. Moreover, the pound pepper, lovage, dill, caraway, and fresh basil moisten with liquamen. Then you must blend the herbs additional liquamen and vinegar. Add to peas and taste, seasoning further if required.

Bring to a boil and serve. Liquamen may be approximated in the modern kitchen by boiling over high heat until reduced one-third: 1 ounce of anchovies in olive oil, 1-1/2 cups of water, and 1 teaspoon of orégano. Strain twice through a tea strainer and add 1 ounce of grape juice plus 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

A pungent annual related to mint, sweet basil is the most commonly grown basil to-day, although there are many others in cultivation. The stem is obtusely quadrangular. Leaves are long and pointed, rich green in color, paler green beneath, opposite, stalked, and softly smooth and cool to the touch. Therefore, the white flowers are in clusters along a spike terminating each leafy branch.

Flourishes best in a rich soil.

Furnishes an aromatic, volatile, camphoraceous oil.

Aromatic and carminative. Also Read: Spinach: How to Grow the World’s Healthiest Foods

 Reference: The Ancient Herbs by The J. Paul Getty Museum

The Common Babbler

The common Babbler is a dingy brown bird belongs to the member of the Leiothrichidae family of Argya genus. Its upper plumage is darker than the lower. In each feather, there is a dark a line along the shaft which causes the bird to have a streaked appearance.

It goes about in pairs, or in small flocks. It feeds largely on the ground. When it runs, its tail (which is about 4½ inches long, i.e. half the total length of the bird) seems to trail on the ground like that of a rat, hence one of its names.

Its note is not unpleasant. It nests chiefly in the hot weather. The nursery is a neatly constructed cup, which is invariably placed in a low bush. Its eggs are pale blue. The common babbler found at dry and vegetation land of southern Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Lakshadweep Islands.

The two or three turquoise blue eggs takes 15 to 16 days to hatch and young bird fly in a week with the adult group members. Normally, the young bird is yellow color with iris color changes from hazel to dark brown.  Here we will discuss some common babblers found in Asia.

The Jungle Babbler

The Jungle Babbler (Argya striata) are all untidy-looking, earthy-brown birds about the size of mynas. They go about in little flocks, thus it gets the name “Seven Sisters,” or “Sath Bhai (seven brothers).” They feed largely on the ground, seeking insects among dead leaves.

While feeding they keep up a constant chatter which every now and then grows very loud.  They sounding like a combination of a squeak and the groans of a revolving axle that requires to be oiled.

They continually jerk the tail, which has the appearance of being very loosely inserted. Their flight is feeble and laborious. The Jungle Babbler bird is abundant in Asia and becomes rarer in south India. Where it is largely replaced in the plains by the two next species. The Large Grey Babbler (Argya malcomi) or Gangai, is more abundant even than C. canorus.

It maybe recognized by its long tail. The three outer pairs of tail feathers are white very conspicuous during flight. The note is a loud harsh quey, quey, quey. The bird is commoner than thought. This is a non-migratory bird, normally found in forest and bushes.

The White-headed Babbler or Cretzschmar's babbler (Turdoides leucocephala). This is another common babbler and can easily be recognized by the greyish white crown of its head. This bird mostly found at subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. However, many researchers confused this bird with the yellow-billed babbler, which is otherwise called the white-headed babbler.

The Rufous-tailed Babbler (Moupinia poecilotis). This is another common babbler who is the least untidy-looking of other babblers. It may be recognized by the distinctly reddish hue of its tail. All three species of babblers build neat cup-shaped nests not far above the ground and lay beautiful blue eggs. It is closely related to typical warblers.

The Yellow-eyed Babbler (Chrysomma sinense). This is considerably smaller than the other babblers described. Its general color is cinnamon brown. The eyebrows, throat, and breast are white. The underparts are cream-colored, while the beak is black.

It emits a sweet note and builds a beautiful nest. It measures about five to seven inches in depth. It is usually slung by its broadest part on two or more growing reeds, heads of millet, stout grass stems, or perhaps more frequently to a forked branch.

In the non-breeding season, it often found in a group of five to fifteen birds. It found in bushes and like to eat insects but also takes berries and nectar. During the breeding season, it emits beautiful strong whistling twee-twee-ta-whit-chu.

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The Vibrant Color Bee-eater

Bee-eaters are brightly colored birds of elegant form. They are characterized by having the median pair of tail feathers prolonged a couple of inches beyond the others as bristles. The feeding habits of these birds are like those of flycatchers. They make from some perch little sallies in the air after insects. The wings when the spread is triangular. They excavate their nests in sandbanks.

Merops Viridis: The Common Indian Bee-eater. but with rather a long tail. An emerald-green bird with a turquoise throat, black necklace, and a black band through the eye. The wings are shot with bronze, so that, as the bird sails along on outstretched pinions, it looks now green, now bronze, as the rays of the sun are reflected at different angles.

There is some black in the tail, and the two median tail feathers project as bristles a couple of inches beyond the other tail feathers. The eye is bright red. Found all over India but undergoes a considerable amount of local migration. It is a summer visitor to the Punjab and N.W. F. P. and is said to leave the island of Bombay in the hot weather.

Merops philippinus: The Blue-tailed Bee-eater but with rather a long tail. General hue green shot with bronze; the tail is bluish. There is a broad black streak running through the eye. The chin is a dirty cream color. The throat is chestnut-red. The eye is bright red.

This species is larger and less beautiful. Like the latter it undergoes partial migration, being a summer visitor to N. India and a winter visitor to S. India. One sees large numbers of these birds when out snipe shooting in Madras. They perch on the bands between the flooded fields and make sallies into the air after insects. The note is a feeble but mellow whistle.
Also Read: The Masked Crimson Tanager

Why is America so Called?

Everybody knows that Columbus discovered America. But very few people know then why wasn’t it named after him. How Did America Get Its Name? The reason for this might be considered an accident of the fate. When Columbus made his first journey, he sighted land early in the morning of October 12, 1492.

 

The Explorer Columbus went ashore, took possession in the names of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, and named the land San Salvador. That land though, was not the mainland of the continent. It is what we now call Watling Island, in the Bahamas. Columbus actually thought he had reached sub-continent which was his ultimate goal so he called the natives Indians.

Therefore, Columbus cruised on, looking for Japan. Instead he found Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic today). On March 14, 1493, Columbus returned to Spain. On his second voyage which started on September 24, 1493, Columbus found many of the Virgin Islands, i.e., Puerto Rico, and Jamaica. However he was still determined to find India. On his third attempt in 1498, he found Trinidad and touched the land of South America. But he initially thought he had discovered a series of islands.

Another Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, meanwhile was claiming that he had been the first to reach the mainland of South America. This was happened on June 16, 1497. Many experts believe that Vespucci did not really make his voyage until 1499.

However, on the trip in the early fifteen century 1501, Vespucci sailed along the coast of South America and wrote letters saying they had discovered a new continent. His information was used by a German map-maker and in his maps he used the name “America” (after Amerigo Vespucci) for the new continent. Amerigo Vespucci was apparently uninformed of the use of his name to refer to the new landmass and that name has been used ever since.

However, in 1538 world map, the Gerardus Mercator applied the name to the entire New World. Acceptance may have been supported by the natural poetic counterpart that the name America made with Africa, Asia, and Europa.

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House Wren Nesting Habit, Song, and Diet

House Wren is a compact, a small songbird with a flat head and long curved beak belong to wren family. The most widely distributed short-winged bird occurs all the way through from Canada to America and Southern Argentina. Few Caribbean individuals are a bit different from distinct voices.

The House Wren is most common, but its taxonomy is very complex. Because many subspecies are considered as different bird species. House Wren cocked above the line of the body or fairly dropped.

House Wren is smaller than Carolina Wren, overall brown with dark color barring on the wings and tail. It has a distinct buffy pale eyebrow, with pinkish and grey legs with cinnamon-buff throat and chest. An adult bird is about 11 to 13 cm long, with a 15cm wingspan, and weight is 10 to 12 g.

House Wren Habitat

The migratory, the insectivorous bird is a very energetic and bubbly, normally very short stay, and quickly through tangles at any branch. It is normally found at home, forest edges, scattered grass, trees, backyards, wetlands, farmyards and city parks. The winter season is more secretive, likes brushy tangles, thickets, and hedgerows.  

House Wren Song

The bird often pausing and deliver a cheerful trilling song during the nesting season but not frequent afterward. However, female bird sand rarely to conspecifics.

House Wren Nesting Behavior

The industry and diligence of the house wren when nest building is well known, built in two stages. These birds forage actively in vegetation, and some time uses abundant woodpecker holes as a nesting site.  A large cup type nest with various cavities, taking one week to build. The nest is usually made of little dead and dry sticks lined with various materials, i.e., wool, cocoons, strips of bark, hair, feather, moss, rootlets, and trash.

The female bird is very choosy, can throw any unwanted sticks to the ground and lines the nest. The entrance to the nest is very often constricted by twigs which narrow the entrance or create a small corridor-like passage within the box. The small nest cup and its narrow approaches may discourage some predators.

They prefer nesting height is about 50ft above the ground. The House Wrens are feisty and pugnacious birds, occasionally damage the eggs of other birds in their territory. They are also notorious to fill up their nest with sticks to make them unusable. Females normally produce two broods each season, usually clutch 2 to 8 red-blotched cream-white eggs, incubate in around 12 to 19 days. The young chick leaves the nest within 15 to 20 days.

House Wren Diet

The House Wren diet mainly consists of insects, spiders, snails, butterfly larvae. Both parents bringing plenty of food for young chick, who prefer all passerines hatch.

House Wren Predators

The most known predators are rats, cats, woodpeckers, opossums, raccoons, foxes, snakes, small hawks, squirrels, and Owls. 

The industry and diligence of the House Wren Nesting Behavior when nest building is well known, built in two stages. 

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Bees and Wasps Facts

Bees and wasps are two of the insects most beneficial to human beings. Normally bees produce honey and wax and serve as imperative pollinators. However, wasps attack and destroy numerously kinds of harmful insects including flies and caterpillars. Despite their value, several kinds of bees and wasps are unwelcoming in and around buildings because of their ability to sting and their tendency to defend their nests.

Wasps are rather like bees in appearance and honey bees are often blamed for the misdeeds of some of the social wasps such as hornets and yellow jackets. Wasps can sting repeatedly while the honey bee stings only once and leaves a stinger at the site of the sting.

Although, both wasps, and bees can be readily controlled with insecticides. Honey bees present more serious removal problems because of the larger size of their colonies and their tendency to nest within the walls of buildings.

Honey bee swarms

In the spring and early summer season, honey bee colonies mostly divide by swarming. Half or more of the worker bees leave their home to begin a new colony, usually with their old queen. They cluster temporarily on some object such as a tree branch for a period of a few hours to several days and then enter a new home such as a hollow tree or the wall of a building.

Swarms are not usually, a problem unless they land in an inconvenient spot or if they are molested. They are best left alone until they leave. Otherwise, contact the local police department or other agencies for the names of beekeepers willing to collect swarms. Thus, the little value of the bees themselves and other difficulties of collecting swarms have forced numerous beekeepers to charge for the service.

An alternative is to have the bees killed by a pest-control operator who will also charge for doing the job. If one person agrees to come for the bees, do not contact other people about doing the same job.

Honey bees in buildings

When a swarm enters a building, it begins to build combs of wax in which to rear young bees and store honey. Only at this time, when the bees first enter, can they be killed without having to open the wall and remove large quantities of dead bees, wax, and honey. If the colony has been in place for a month, it must be removed after it is killed, to prevent problems from the odors of decaying bees. However, the other insect pests penetrating the wall, and they released within the wall as combs melt or are demolished by other insects or mice.

Moreover, the insecticides are the safest and most suitable materials for killing bees in buildings. Do not use fumigants or other poisonous or flammable compounds. Carbaryl (Sevin), chlordane, lindane, and malathion are most suitable. All of them are toxic to humans and must he have used with care according to the directions on the container label.

Before applying an insecticide, you must know the location of the colony in the wall, especially in relation to the flight entrance. In many cases, the colony’s nest is far enough away from the entrance that insecticides applied at the entrance will not reach the bees.

The Honey bees’ nest should be sited by tapping on the wall at night and carefully listening for the area of loudest buzzing sounds. The bees keep the nest center at about 95° F., a temperature high enough to warm the wall beside it so that you may be able to feel as well as hear the nest location.

Either dust or spray formulations can be used within walls or other cavities but dusts generally disperse better within them. Apply the insecticide at night through the entrance hole if the colony is close to it in the wall. Or else, drill a hole in the wall above the colony and put on the dust or spray through it. After that, you need to seal the hole and all other holes through which bees might penetrate or leave the wall.

Therefore, if there is a very large colony may need additional treatment after about 10 to 12 days to kill emerging young bees. After all sound and flight activity has ceased, or at least within 2 weeks, open the wall and remove all dead bees, combs, and honey. These must be burned or buried because they are attractive to other bees and are toxic to both bees and people.

Do not expose the honey and wax where other bees can reach it, or you may damage valuable honey bee colonies nearby. The location within the wall will be attractive to other swarms unless it is sealed tightly to keep them out. An additional application of lindane or chlordane spray will also help to prevent the entry of another swarm.

There is an element of risk, or at least uncertainty, in dealing with bees, and you may prefer the job done either by a competent pest control operator or an experienced beekeeper. No matter who does the job, it may pose problems and considerable expense, at least in man¬ hours of labor. Systems of trapping the bees or removing them alive from the wall usually are not satisfactory and are not recommended.

When bees or wasps enter a room or an automobile, they rarely sting and usually fly to a window. Moreover, in a room they can be killed with an aerosol spray encompassing one of the insecticides. If a bee enters your vehicle, be calm, stop the car, and open the windows to let it out. A bee or wasp on the windshield or rear window may have to be “herded” out with a map or newspaper or crushed quickly with a handkerchief or wad of paper.

  

Other bees

Bumblebees are sporadically a problem when they nest in and around buildings or near walks. Naturally, they like to build a nest in old mattresses, car cushions, and other places such as mouse nests. The colonies may vary widely in disposition and size, with rarely more than a few hundred bees. They can be killed by insecticide dust or spray applied to the nest at night. Thus, you must use the same compounds suggested for use on honey bees.

The carpenter bees are big metallic colored bees alike in size and overall appearance to bumblebees. They are solitary bees that hardly sting, but often scare people when they boreholes and nest in redwood or other softwoods around a home. They can be killed by injecting insecticide dust, spray, or aerosol into their individual nest holes. Use the materials suggested for honey bees.

Wasps

Hornets, yellow jackets and paper wasps are social wasps that build gray-colored paper nests in the open or underground. Normally they frequently sting humans who approach the nests located under eaves, in the shrubbery, or in underground cavities close to buildings or walks. The solitary wasps, even the very large cicada-killer wasp that nests in the ground, rarely sting unless they are handled or get caught in your clothing. They have no instinct to protect their nests as the social species do.

Nests above ground should be sprayed at night with chlordane or lindane. Mix the spray from emulsifiable concentrate or wettable powder. Aerosol spray cans are not suitable for this purpose. Underground nests can be treated by spraying or dusting the same materials into the entrance at night. Also, cover the entrance with a shovelful of moist soil after treatment.

Precautions

The insecticides may be injurious to man and other animals if used improperly. Use them only when needed, and handle and store them with care. Bees and wasps are highly beneficial insects. Kill only those that may be a hazard to people around your home, farm, or place of business. Also Read - The Honey Bees are Beneficial

The white-breasted kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)

The white-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) is a tree kingfisher and familiar and common resident, breeding bird of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. In Marathi language it is called ‘Khandya, Dheesa and Dheewar.’ This bird is less dependent on water than other members of the Alcedinidae. Normally the breeding season of the White-breasted Kingfisher is March till July.

The white-throated kingfisher is also known as the white-breasted kingfisher. The adult kingfisher has red large bills and legs. The bird is bright blue back, wings and tail with white throat and breast. The flight of bird is very rapid and direct while the short rounded wings whirring, and large white patches are visible on the blue and black wings.

Courtship Display

Courtship starts from March; in that period the long beak birds are very vocal during and utter their cackling call ‘kili-kili’ repeatedly from a treetop for extended periods of time. Birds sit close to each other and repeatedly call.

Nest of White-breasted Kingfisher

Normally the bird nest is a horizontal tunnel, up to a meter long, which ends in a widened egg chamber and has a 7 cm wide entrance. It is excavated in a vertical cutting of earth on the bank of a river, stream, nullah or a roadside land cutting. The egg chamber is slightly inclined, perhaps to prevent the flow of water into the chamber.

Also, it makes disposal of waste material from within easy, as the chicks grow. In some nests the egg chamber is curved to the left or right. Lining of the egg chamber was not observed. Both the birds participate in nest excavation. One of the birds flew full tilt at the prospective spot and hit it with the tip of its bill. It immediately returned to the perching site while its partner repeated same process. This went on until a nest entrance had formed.

After the entrance was at least 5 cm long, both birds took turns to sit at its edge and excavate the tunnel further. Excavation ceased if the pair encountered problems such as rocky or hard soil, and a new site was selected. The pairs occupying the same area for 3 to 4 years. However only ringing will confirm the reuse of a nest or site by the same pair. However, the White-breasted Kingfisher is known to use various location situations for constructing its nest.

Food

The kingfisher quite often found near the water, where he likes to feeds on a wide range of prey that includes many things, like small reptiles, crabs, amphibians, small rodents and even birds.

Eggs & egg laying

A clutch may comprise of four to seven eggs, but usually contains 5 to 6. Eggs are white and spherical-oval in shape. The average size of 30 eggs is 29.4 x 26.2 mm. The eggs laid at regular intervals of 24 hrs or at least one gap of 48 hrs in the egg laying process.

Incubation & Hatching

There was negligible incubation up to the laying of last egg after which, it commenced at night. Both birds participate in incubation. The birds destroyed undigested food pellets that collected in the nest during incubation. During changing over of duties, the relieving bird uttered a call to the incubating bird, at which the latter left the nest.

After the eggs hatched, the attending bird removed the shells. In one of the nests the adults also removed an infertile egg. The incubation period is to be the extent of time from the laying of the last egg of a clutch to the hatching. The Incubation period is 21–22 days and fledging period 20–21 days.

Mortality

During one infertile egg the hatching period, black ants attacked the chicks and eggs. At another nest, weaver ants attacked a chick. Other common causes of chick mortality include accidental drowning, caving in of the nest chamber and, falling out of nest hole. Speeding vehicles occasionally knock down adult birds. In a study shows that the five nests that were observed, 22 eggs were laid, of which one egg was infertile and black ants attacked one chick and 3 eggs. The remaining 17 eggs hatched successfully.

White-throated kingfisher lifespan

The white-throated kingfisher hasn’t famous for longer life. One of oldest kingfisher is recorded to live 21 years of age. Hence the average lifespan is 4 to 5 years.

1. Belted Kingfisher (kingfishers)
2. Ruddy Kingfisher ! A Perfect Photogenic Bird
3. The Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris)