Garden Birds in Vasai-Virar

by Sharukh Bamboat

In the final part of the birds in Vasai-Virar series, I will be focusing on the garden birds in Vasai-Virar. Most of these birds are found in Vasai-Virar region throughout the year. However, that does not mean that these birds are easy to photograph. While some birds are always close to human civilization some birds still prefer to be left alone and they take some time to be discovered. If you have not read the previous part of the series you can read more about Vasai aquatic birds here and Vasai forest and grassland birds here.

Ashy Prinia

Ashy Prinia
Ashy Prinia

Also known as Ashy Wren Warbler, Ashy Prinia is a tiny warbler that you can find across the paddy fields of Vasai. They are among the cutest garden birds in Vasai-Virar. These birds are tiny and quick and therefore it requires some patience and great eyesight to spot them within those micro-moments when they take a flight to hop from one grass to the other.

Ashy Prinia
Ashy Prinia
Ashy Prinia Vasai
Ashy Prinia Vasai

They usually pick insects that fly around the grassland, shrubs and home gardens. They build the nest which is close to the ground and breed from June to September.

Indian Prinia

Indian Prinia

Also known as Plain Prinia or White Browed Wren-Warbler this is another tiny warbler that one can find in Vasai. Unlike Ashy Prinia which you can find almost everywhere, Indian Prinia is not very common to see around. This skulking bird usually is found in wet grasslands and open fields and the wheatish color of the bird allows it to camouflage with the surroundings and grass.

Indian Prinia
Indian Prinia

Like Ashy Prinia, this one too feeds on insects that are found readily in grasslands and farms and open fields. Indian Prinia is very identical to Ashy Prinia and you might not spot the difference right away, but Ashy Prinia definitely looks charming with its darker shade. It is certainly one of the hardest to find garden birds in Vasai-Virar .

Oriental Magpie Robin

Oriental Magpie Robin Male
Oriental Magpie Robin (Male)

For Oriental Magpie Robin, I and Sarah luckily did not have to venture too far. We first discovered them in the backyard of the church compound which we can see directly from our bedroom balcony. Oriental Magpie Robin (male) has this majestic black and white color that looks even beautiful when they fly around.

Oriental Magpie Robin Female
Oriental Magpie Robin (Female)

The female has a grayish appearance and she looks equally charming. I later discovered that they are the national birds of Bangladesh. I love their upright tail and their sweet voice. They talk a lot, but since they have a sweet voice I won’t mind them whistling for hours.

Oriental Magpie Robin is insectivorous, but they also won’t mind roaches, geckos, leeches, and centipedes. They certainly make it to the list of the sweetest garden birds in Vasai-Virar due to their sweet voice.

Check out the beautiful Oriental Magpie Robin in the video.

Common Myna

Common Myna
Common Myna

In Mumbai, you usually get to see house crows, rock pigeons, and house sparrows. So when I moved to Vasai Common Myna was the first bird that excited me because it’s hard to find Common Myna in the city. Also known as the Indian Myna these birds are related to the starling family and they have strong territorial instincts. Over here they have adapted themselves well to the human habitat and they are always around looking around for leftovers and other rotten food and insects.

While I was reading about them on Wikipedia, I found that they are the world’s most invasive bird species declared by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Many bird organizations also claim them as a serious threat to the ecosystem, but I still love them like I love any other species.

Common Myna Juvenile
Common Myna Juveniles

They have this brown body, black hooded head and yellow patch on the eye. They also have yellow bill and legs. You will usually find them in pair or groups and I love the way they bob their heads and fluff feathers. It makes me feel as if they are enjoying heavy metal music deep inside their mind. Like I said above, they are very territorial and therefore they screech when they feel the presence of a predator or any other birds. They are insectivorous, but they also eat the food leftovers and seeds and grains.

Red-Vented Bulbul

Red Vented Bulbul
Red Vented Bulbul

Red-vented bulbul is another common resident garden birds in Vasai-Virar that you will find in urban localities of Vasai-Virar. These birds are not too scared of humans and therefore you will find them close to residential buildings.

Red Vented Bulbul Foraging
Red Vented Bulbul Foraging

They are found on almost every continent from Hawaii and New Zealand and are voted in the world’s most invasive bird species. It has this tiny crest over its head with a dark brown body that gets darker near the head. It has a red vent and a black tail tipped in white.

Red Vented Bulbul Nest
Red Vented Bulbul Nest

These birds feed on fruits, petals and even insects and geckos. If you pay enough attention you can find bulbul’s nest in some of the bushes around. Red-vented bulbul is one of Sarah’s favorite birds because she had it once as a pet.

Rock Pigeon

Indian Rock Pigeons
Indian Rock Pigeons

Rock pigeons don’t really excite me much because they are virtually everywhere. In India, we call them “pigeon” and they have this dull gray color with two black bars on each wing.

Rock Pigeons Bathing
Rock Pigeons Bathing

It is hard to distinguish male from female because of the colors are the same, even the size is identical. However, you can see that males have more iridescence on the neck while it is a bit duller on females.

Rock Pigeon Close Up
Rock Pigeon Close Up

While they seem like timid and shy birds, but they are territorial by nature and they are willing to fight for their place. In India, people usually offer them grains as “gesture of good deeds” and that makes things easier for them to some extent.

Rock Pigeon in Vasai
Rock Pigeon in Vasai

Pigeons usually flock together and they roost in residential buildings, walls, statues and almost every man-made structure you can imagine.

House Sparrow

Indian House Sparrow
Indian House Sparrow

Like pigeons, house sparrows are found commonly across India. From urban areas to rural corners of the country you can see them chirping and flying around casually. These tiny pale brown and gray birds are very social and they can make a lot of noise when they are together. It is very easy to differentiate the males from females because of their color and size.

House Sparrow Male
House Sparrow (Male)

Males are slightly larger than females and they have these dark brown and black colors to their feathers while the females have dull brown and gray shades. Males also have this dark black mark near their bill which indicates their social ranking within their group. Male juveniles don’t have this dark marking. House sparrows have managed to live with humans and adapt to a wide range of conditions.

House Sparrow Female
House Sparrow (Female)

They love dust bathing and social singing together and they also hunt for food together. They prefer grains and weeds, but I would say they are opportunistic and therefore they are not shy to pick whatever they find from dumping area and even leftovers thrown around. I and Sarah once found a house sparrow egg laid carefully between the clothes line on our balcony.

Crow

Indian House Crow
Indian House Crow

Crows are almost everywhere. In Vasai, you can find Indian jungle crows and house crows. The only difference between the two is that the house crow has a lighter gray shade to its neck and breast area while the Indian jungle crow is entirely black.

Indian Jungle Crow
Indian Jungle Crow

House crows are highly opportunistic and unbelievably intelligent and they are among the first birds I interacted with. Crows can recognize your behavior and face from far away and they are watching us when we are busy in our own world.

House Crow in Motion
House Crow in Motion

My mother used to feed a morsel of food to a particular crow every afternoon. He realized that we were not going to harm him so he wouldn’t fly off when we go closer to put some food for him on the ledge. He would eat the same meals that we ate. The most unbelievable thing about him was that he was always on the apartment window a few minutes before my mother would reach home from work. He would spot my mother walking home and realizes that he will get food. So he would fly and come to our home window and would signal me with his caws that my mother is coming home and that he wants food. 

Crows are scavengers and therefore they look out for any food items that they would find. They usually prefer eggs, nestlings, small reptiles and mammals, but they can eat almost anything from milk biscuits to chicken curry mixed with rice.

House Crow Juvenile
House Crow Juvenile

Crows are social birds. We usually see parents working hard to feed their babies, but crows work differently. They work in large groups and therefore all adult crows work together to feed all the babies in the group. Crows is that they can share their experiences and memories with their babies. Crows not just learn foraging skills from their parents, but also know who was kind to their parents and who wasn’t.

You would be surprise to know that crows can share their experiences and memories with their babies. Crows not just learn foraging skills from their parents, but also learn who was kind to their parents and who wasn’t.

Also, since crows are social animals they feel sad when someone in their group dies. You can see a group of crows sitting quietly on rooftops and trees close to the body of the crow for few minutes before they all fly off. This is very much like a funeral in the human world where we stand in silence for few minutes. Crows also build fake nests to confuse their predators and they have the potential to mob an eagle or hawk when they’re in a group.

Common Tailorbird

Common Tailorbird
Common Tailorbird

Shy and tiny by nature, Tailorbirds can give you a tough time if you don’t have a good camera that can zoom in and take pictures quickly. Tailorbirds are almost the size of hummingbirds and belong to the warbler family. They have green upperparts and white underparts and they are always hoping and flying around from one bush to another making it difficult for you to capture them on your camera. They usually hold their tail upright like a wren and you can find them in open grassland and gardens. Probably the tiniest in the list of garden birds in Vasai-Virar.

Tailorbird in Vasai
Tailorbird in Vasai

Tailorbird gets their name from the kind of nest they make.

They usually make a nest in plants that have large leaves. They bend the leaf like a cone and sew it together with a plant fibre or spider web. The leaf is stitched in such a way that large birds might not be able to see it from the top of the tree.

Tailorbird Vasai
Tailorbird Vasai

With their tiny size, they can quickly disappear within the bushes and shrubs, but they make loud calls to give away their presence. Tailorbirds prefer insects and they breed from June to August.

Hoopoe

Hoopoe Vasai
Hoopoe Vasai

You won’t find Hoopoe all over Vasai very easily, but if you look carefully they are found in gardens and bushes. We had been looking for hoopoe for quite some time, but we couldn’t. Luckily, one fine evening we had our camera and the hoopoe was right in front of us picking on insects in the garden. The best way to spot them is to look for that distinctive crown that can help you to differentiate from other brown birds.

Vasai Hoopoe Bird
Vasai Hoopoe Bird

Hoopoe is here all round the year and therefore you don’t have to worry about clicking them in certain months. I love their partial brown and black and white colour combination. They make the oop-oop-oop sound which can be confused with a cuckoo sound. They usually prefer to eat insects in the urban gardens, but they also pick up tiny frogs, berries, and other small plant matter.

European Stonechat

Eurasian Stonechat Vasai
Eurasian Stonechat Vasai

The funny thing about photography is that sometimes you don’t have any clue what your camera captured accidentally. While I and Sarah were busy looking for Pheasant-tailed Jacana, we saw this tiny sparrow-like bird hopping around in the grassland. We immediately took few shots and assumed that it would be Ashy Prinia, but when we saw it on our desktop we knew it was not Ashy Prinia. We looked for its name and we finally found it – European Stonechat.

Stonechat
Male Stonechat
Eurasian Stonechat
Eurasian Stonechat
Female Stonechat
Female Stonechat
Female Stonechat
Female Stonechat

This one belongs to the thrush family and has this dark black-brown shade with an orange throat/breast area. They are quick in the air with their light small body and they can be mistaken as house sparrow if you don’t pay attention.

Parrots

Parrot
Indian Parrot (Female)

Vasai has plenty of parrots and you can hear them as they fly by the trees and buildings screaming around. However, they are not everywhere. There are certain neighbourhoods where parrots have a stronghold and you can find them there. If you are in Vasai and if you head to Vasant Nagri neighbourhood you’ll find plenty of parrots in groups.

Parrots in Vasai
Parrots in Vasai
Male Parrot
Indian Parrot ( Male on the Right)

Parrots in Vasai are usually the regular green colour ones who keep flying around for seeds, fruit, nectar, and buds. You will find them settling in slots and pipe holes of residential buildings.

Tickell’s Flowerpecker

Tickells Flowerpecker
Tickells Flowerpecker

Like European Stonechat, Tickell’s Flowerpecker got shot accidentally as we were clicking other birds around. We were so excited that we found it hiding within the plants. This one feeds on nectars and berries and probably they are among the smallest birds found on the Indian subcontinent.

Yellow-Eye Babbler

Yellow Eyed Babbler
Yellow Eyed Babbler

With its small bill, long tail and cinnamon-brown colour body yellow-eyed babbler is quite a treat to watch. You can find them close to grassland and urban gardens where they move around in groups. They are among the noisiest garden birds in Vasai-Virar region.

Yellow Eyed Babbler Juvenile
Yellow Eyed Babbler Juvenile

They prefer berries and small insects that crawl on the garden grass. Juveniles don’t have the long tail and therefore they might seem a bit different from adults.

Night Heron

Night Heron
Night Heron

If you are looking for night herons you need to venture out almost around sunset. These birds are nocturnal and they are usually very quiet and don’t move much around, so spotting them can be a challenge. They have short neck and legs and they usually stand quietly near water bodies like small ponds and lakes for fish, frogs, aquatic insects and small mammals. Herons are among the quietest garden birds in Vasai-Virar that you can find.

Greater Coucal

Greater Coucal in Vasai

At first glance, Greater Coucal seems like a cross between a crow and a pheasant. Hence, it is also named as Crow Pheasant. While it does have a crow-like appearance it does not belong to the crow family, but instead belongs to the cuckoo family. However, it does not display the signs of brood parasitism which is common with most cuckoos. This means that they take care of their young ones unlike cuckoos that lay eggs in other bird nests.

Greater Coucal in Vasai

Greater Coucal is shy nature bird and there are many superstitions associated with its presence and whoop whoop call. They generally feed on fruits and insects and are found in marshes, grasslands and even gardens.

So, these were some of the commonly found garden birds in Vasai-Virar . The entire region has more than 250 bird species while I have managed to cover only 30 of them in my Birds in Vasai-Virar series. I will continue to keep photographing more birds and continue adding to the series as and when possible.

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26 comments

dweezer19 October 13, 2016 - 16:00

Magnificent collection! That hoopoe is quite exotic. We have night heron here too. I love when I spot one.,my mither used to call us myna bird if we chattered too much. Haha. What a great post about my favorite creatures! Thank you for a great start to my day Sharukh. After the storm so many trees are felled. Yeat rday in my usual place for lunch at the park, I watch so many different species of baby birds flitting aimlessly about, confused and helpless. I hope they make it….

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pathbreakingwriter October 13, 2016 - 16:49

Thank you Cheryl. I am glad you liked the pictures. Yes, the hoopoe looks very exotic with its crown. I certainly can understand why your mother called you Myna. She keeps on chirping and screeching all day long. Over here her voice fills the silent afternoon hours, but I still love it. Yeah, it can be confusing for birds to find a new place, but eventually they will. I believe nature has embedded survival instincts in all of us to help us survive no matter what comes. I believe Mother Nature has her own way to handle things which we are not aware of.

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Dan Antion October 13, 2016 - 16:32

I’ve really enjoyed this series, Sharukh. I love watching birds and you have a great collection of photos. I appreciate all the information, especially the info on the crows. When I walk our dog, the crows are always perched on the highest available structure or tree, searching the area below. Thanks for the stories and the wonderful pictures.

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pathbreakingwriter October 13, 2016 - 16:58

Thank you Dan. I’m glad that you enjoyed the series. I and Sarah worked very hard on this one. It took us more than a year to compile hundreds of images. So many hours of walking into the woods, waiting silently for that perfect shot because many of the birds are shy and can sense human presence. I knew you would love the crow information. It is something unique, isn’t it? I am pretty sure those crows up there identify you. Over here, they stay in the mango tree and they have the balls to steal eggs and nestlings of sparrows and rock pigeons, which I feel is merciless, but at the end of the day, it’s nature. They are highly opportunistic and what seems to us as nestlings is food for them. Some of the crows do hop on to our window and shout out for food and I give them some biscuits which they are more than happy to eat or take home.

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C.E.Robinson October 14, 2016 - 03:24

Such an interesting post on birds I never knew about. Especially the common crow, much smarter than I thought! I’ll need to re-read this again to learn more about other kinds of birds! Thanks, Sharukh! 💛 Christine

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pathbreakingwriter October 14, 2016 - 11:49

Thank you for your kind words, Christine. I always try to give out some unique information that can hold the interest of the readers. Yes, birds are smart enough than we know. I have been observing common crow since my childhood days since it was the only bird who would regularly visit my home. As I mentioned, he is highly opportunistic and therefore is cruel and merciless at times picking up juveniles for food.

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C.E.Robinson October 15, 2016 - 10:52

Thanks for the added information, Sharukh! Enjoy all of your posts. You spend a lot of time writing them. It’s much appreciated! 💛 Christine

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pathbreakingwriter October 15, 2016 - 12:03

I want to write 2-3 posts weekly, but with the amount of writing I work do professionally, I don’t get enough time. Plus, I do lot of research before I put up any info in my post which also takes time. I don’t like to write just for the sake of writing which is why I end up writing 1-2 or max 4 posts per month. However, I’m glad that readers and friends like you love it, get valuable info from it.

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Peter Nena October 14, 2016 - 11:17

I love birds. Truly astonishing creatures! Thanks for the photos.

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pathbreakingwriter October 14, 2016 - 11:46

You’re welcome, Peter. I am glad you liked the photos.

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Parul Thakur November 5, 2016 - 12:58

Such extensive research and the pictures are just fabulous. I so appreciate the work you put to get this article. I haven’t checked other in the series but I will.
I have seen myna, kingfisher and these days cuckoo too in Bangalore. The pigeons are too many but among the group, there are a few white ones that I love to watch. Crows – ask me. They just don’t gi away 😉

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pathbreakingwriter November 5, 2016 - 17:10

Yeah. Crows are everywhere but I love them equally. They are notorious and super smart, but if you know how to handle them they are not that bad. Did you read my points on crows?

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Parul Thakur November 5, 2016 - 18:28

I did. Very new to me 🙂

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neha98blog November 13, 2016 - 21:54

Your blog is really impressed me to the utmost.Best wishes from kolkata

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pathbreakingwriter November 13, 2016 - 23:02

I’m glad that you liked it. I try my best to keep it unique as much as possible.

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prior.. December 17, 2016 - 10:04

After I was in awe over this post (came back so I could enjoy it even more today) I read your comment to Dan and realize the time that went into the series – and this post!
And seriously – this is a huge resource in birds – with habitat info and science – but written without boring sentences and enriched with personal tidbits – like the grains as offering of good deeds.
Well done….

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pathbreakingwriter December 17, 2016 - 10:31

Thank you for your comment. It was my wife’s (Sarah) idea to come up with a post series like this. She spent lot of time out in the grasslands standing quiet and still to get some shots of the birds.

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prior.. December 17, 2016 - 10:48

I read that you said “Sarah and I” so knew it was a team
Effort – but wow A her idea was a good one.
🐦

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pathbreakingwriter December 17, 2016 - 11:42

Thank you 🙂

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prior.. December 17, 2016 - 12:18

:0)

Dweeze March 9, 2017 - 11:23

You know how much I love birds. Its always nuce to meet new ones!

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Sharukh Bamboat March 26, 2017 - 17:02

Thank you, Cheryl, for your comment and unconditional love and support.

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Anubhav August 15, 2019 - 15:06

Hi Sharukh! I am Anubhav, an Architectural Master’s student in Urban Design from Mumbai. I have been studying Vasai in terms of architectural language. Recently i stumbled upon the idea of ecology of Vasai region being of as much of importance and significance as the ongoing developments happening. Maybe even more significant in these times of insensitive perspective urbanization. So, i found out through mere observation that the natural ecology is very powerful and the bird life and the plant life is still strong enough to flourish if not disturbed by human activities. I really wanted to have a meet with you in Vasai if possible at the earliest so maybe you can help me to step ahead in the determination of this significant findings. I’ll wait for your reply

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MR PETER CASTELLINO September 6, 2021 - 11:56

YOUR ARTICLE WAS VERY INTERESTING.
CROWS LIKE MYNAS CAN BE TAUGHT TO TALK AND ARE THIEVES AND IN THEIR NESTS ONE FINDS SHINY OBJECTS AND WHEN PET BIRDS ESCAPE CROWS ARE THE FIRST BIRDS TO ATTACK THEM AND KILL AND EAT THEM.
TO BE PROTECTED ALL WILD BIRDS MUST BE TAGGED ON ONE LEG AND PEOPLE MUST BE ENCOURAGED TO FEED WILD BIRDS WITH FOOD FROM FOOD FEEDER TUBES AND KEEP FRESH WATER FOR THEM TO DRINK.
ONE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT WORK HYBRID HOUSE AT THE BOMBAY ZOO , BYCULLA IS DOING ON ALL HYBRIDBIRDS AS ITS RESEARCH IS SECRET AND NOBODY IS ALLOWED TO ENTER IT.
PLEASE WRITE AN ARTICLE ON VASAI’S RARE BIRDS.

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Rajesh Warrier September 13, 2022 - 07:09

Hi Mr. Shahrukh Bamboat, this is Rajesh Warrier. I have been staying in Vasai for nearly 30 years. I have recently started taking an interest in watching the birds commonly seen in our building society compound. One of the birds that I have recently started seeing in our garden is the Indian / Greater Coucal. I see that you have not included it in your article.

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Sharukh Bamboat September 13, 2022 - 08:19

Thank you for your comment, Rajesh ji. Yes, Greater Coucal also known as Crow Pheasant is a bird I have seen often in my locality as well. Yes, I completely missed this bird and I will soon update this post with pictures that I have of Greater Coucal.

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