Cream-coloured Courser is a wader found mostly in dry areas. The word courser is defined from the latin word cursor which means runner. These birds run behind their prey and hence the name. They are found in open semi-desert regions of Asia and northern Africa.
I have seen Cream-coloured Courser from Middle East quite a number of times but never seen them in India.
Bimaculated Lark is a large lark normally eastwards from Turkey to Central Asia and can be easily identified in its range. Sometimes these species of birds can be found gathered in 100s if not 1000s.
Bimaculated Lark is an Indian tick for me during the GIBT 2017 – NE trip as I have seen them quite a number of times from Middle East where they are comparatively common. We found them in large flocks while we were in Desert National Park.
Black-crowned Sparrow-lark also known as Black-crowned Finch Lark, White-crested Finch-lark, White-crested Sparrow-lark, White-fronted Finch-lark and White-fronted Sparrow-lark is a species of birds that comes under the larks. It has a wide range from northern Africa from Mauritania through the Middle East to north-western India.
The first time I saw a Black-crowned Sparrow-lark is in 2008 in UAE. During our GIBT 2017 – NI trip we found a good number of them at Desert National Park.
The Demoiselle Crane, Grus virgo, is a bird found in Central Europe and Asia. Its a migratory bird which mainly breeds in Central Europe, Mongolia, China and other parts of Asia. The birds which breed in Central Europe normally migrate to Africa and the birds which breed in Asia normally migrate to Indian Subcontinent. These birds unlike the Sarus Crane can be seen in huge numbers flocked together.
Demoiselle Crane is omnivorous but prefer to feed mainly on plants. Another fact about the Demoiselle Crane is that they consume pebbles to aid them digest their food. In some areas where the bird are flocked in large numbers, it has been noted to be rich with pebbles.
Sightings
The Demoiselle Crane is a winter visitor to India. They normally come to India by the beginning of September and leaves to their breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra by the end of April.
One sure place to see Demoiselle Crane in India is the Vijaysagar Lake in Khichaan, Rajasthan. During the winter season, a few thousands of birds can be seen here. This area is rich with small pebbles which these birds consume to aid their digestion.
The first time I visited Vijaysagar Lake was in Dec 2015. The locals at the Vijaysagar Lake area wrongly call them as Siberian Cranes.
During our GIBT 2017 – NI trip we found around 1500 of them in Vijaysagar Lake. They were found in different groups where individuals travelling from one group to another when disturbed by human activities. Its surprising to see that these birds co-exist in that small village which has a high rate of human activities.
Later on the trip we found the Demoiselle Crane again from from Rewards Talab in Rajasthan and Nalsarovar Lake in Gujarat.
GIBT 2017 – NI was a much awaited tour to see and photograph more birds from India. The trip started on 20th of Dec and ended on 31st Dec. During the trip two states were covered. Gujarat and Rajasthan.
The trip started from Ahmedabad, Gujarat on 20th morning around 10:30. The following route were taken during the trip.
Day 1 : Ahmedabad to Jaisalmar
Day 2 : Jaisalmar
Day 3 : Jaisalmar
Day 4 : Vijaysagar Lake, Khichan
Day 5 : Rann of Kutch
Day 6 : Rann of Kutch
Day 7 : Nalsarovar
Day 8 : Velavader
Day 9 : Nalsarovar