#  Changeable Hawk-Eagle:  Saw one very close at our mid-day birding stop on 7/11.  Saw another perched in Thattekkad the evening of 7/12.

#  Grey Junglefowl:  Saw in Thattekkad before breakfast on 7/12.  Saw again the afternoon of 7/13.

#  Red Spurfowl:  Saw in Thattekkad returning by car from birding before breakfast on 7/12.  Saw again on 7/13.

• Purple Swamphen

• Red-wattled Lapwing:  Saw at Cochin Airport from the plane on 7/10.

• White-breasted Waterhen

• Bronze Jacana

• Pheasant-tailed Jacana

• Rock Dove

• Spotted Dove:  Saws 7/11.

#    Nilgiri Wood-Pigeon:  Endemic of Western Ghats:  On the morning of 7/11, as I waited in the fog for Eldhose to show up, I saw a dove fly by.  He was grey below with a white band at the base of his tail.  The Princeton Field guide says that Nilgiri has a “uniform slate-gray tail”.  But Eldhose is confident that this is what I saw, and the birdlist for the Tall Trees Lodge lists only Nilgiri Wood-Pigeon and Pompadour Green-Pigeon.

#    Mountain Imperial-Pigeon:  Saw at Periyar River Lodge on 7/11.

#    Green Imperial-Pigeon:  Saw 10 in a flock the afternoon of 7/12.

#    Pompadour Green-Pigeon:  Saw before breakfast on 7/12.

#    Emerald Dove:  Saw one well before breakfast the morning of 7/12.  Saw a couple more later in the trip.

#    Vernal Hanging-Parrot:  Saw at our first stop on the drive to Munnar on 7/10.  Saw more in Thattekkad.

#    Malabar Parakeet:  Endemic of Western Ghats:  Formerly called Blue-winged Parakeet.  Saw many in Thattekkad.

• Plum-headed Parakeet:  Saw one in Thattekkad on 7/12.  Previously seen in India on Christmas 98 trip. 

#    Sirkeer Malkoha:  Saw in the scrub vegetation during our mid-day stop on 7/11.  Eldhose says this bird is very shy and difficult to see, and that we were very fortunate to see it.

• Greater Coucal

• Asian Koel

#    Grey-bellied Cuckoo:  Saw before breakfast on 7/12.  The Princeton Field Guide to the Birds of India lists two species

-         Grey-bellied Cuckoo:  Cacomantis passerinus

-         Plaintive Cuckoo:  Cacomantis merulinus

However, Clements-2000 lists only Plaintive Cuckoo with subspecies C. m. paserinus in India.  It appears that BI has split these, but Clements treats them as a single species.

#    Common Hawk-Cuckoo:  Saw before breakfast on 7/12.  This is called Brainfever Bird, and is heard constantly.

#    Mottled Wood-Owl:  Theses roost near where Eldhose lives, so Eldhose knows their habits.  Saw one at 7:00a on 7/13.  Eldhose says that Mottled Wood-Owl is very hard to see anywhere in India, and that I am fortunate to see it.

#    Jungle Owlet:  Eldhose spotted this on two different occasions the morning of 7/12.  Both times, I saw the Owlet sitting on its branch, but was unable to get my binoculars on it.

#    Jerdon’s Nightjar:  Saw very well the evening of 7/12.

#    Indian Swiftlet:  Saw many in Thattekkad..

#    Asian Palm Swift:  Saw the evening of 7/12.

#    White-rumped Needletail:  Saw several quite well at Edamalayar Dam on 7/13.

#    Brown-backed Needletail:  Last bird of the trip.  Saw late in the day 7/13. They were quite high, and I could see that they were larger than Indian Swiftlets that were also present.  But I could not see the white on their bellies.  Eldhose assured me that their bellies were white.

• House Swift:  Saw the evening of 7/12.

#    Crested Treeswift:  Saw many in Thattekkad.

#    Malabar Trogon:  Eldhose whistled this in after breakfast on 7/12.  I got excellent looks at it

• Pied Kingfisher:  Saw at Thattekkad on 7/11.  Saw another on 7/13.

• Common Kingfisher:  Saw one.

• White-bellied Kingfisher

#    Stork-billed Kingfisher:  Saw two the afternoon of 7/12.

#    Chestnut-headed Bee-Eater:  Saw in Thattekkad before breakfast on 7/12.

• Little Green Bee-Eater:  Saw many in Thattekkad.

#    Dollarbird:  Saw 6-8.

#    Malabar Grey Hornbill:  Endemic of Western Ghats:  Saw 8-10.

#    Crimson-fronted Barbet:  Saw at our first stop on the drive to Munnar on 7/10.

• White-cheeked Barbet:  Formerly called Small Green Barbet:  Saw 4-6.

• Brown-headed Barbet:  Saw 7/11.

• Coppersmith Barbet:  Saw 7/11

#    Common Flameback:  Heard and saw very well on 7/10 when we arrived at the Tall Trees Lodge.  Eldhose observed the white throat that separates this from Black-rumped Flameback.

#    Streak-throated Woodpecker:  Saw in Thattekkad on 7/11 and on 7/12.

#    Rufous Woodpecker:  Saw in Thattekkad before breakfast on 7/12 and later in the afternoon.

#    Greater Flameback:  Saw in Thattekkad before breakfast on 7/12.

#    Black-rumped Flameback:  Saw in Thattekkad before breakfast on 7/12 and several times subsequently..

#    Lesser Yellownape:  Saw in Thattekkad before breakfast on 7/12.

#    Speckled Piculet:  Saw at our first stop on the drive to Munnar on 7/10.

#    Brown-capped Pygmy-Woodpecker:  Saw twice on 7/12.

#    Heart-spotted Woodpecker:  Saw one a long way off on 7/12.

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