Rufous Babbler sighted at Yelagiri Hills, Tamil Nadu, India

“This summer, April 2009, to escape the heat, I went on a trip to Yelagiri Hills, Tamil Nadu, India, for a day of bird watching. We reached the Punganoor Lake, an artificial lake. There is a park which surrounds this lake. This place was very crowded that day and I had little hope of sighting birds.

“But there was a small fenced in place inside the park that did not allow tourists. We sat just outside the fence under a tree. In just few minutes, I spotted Purple Sunbirds and Purple-rumped Sunbirds. After sometime, I spotted a small bird flitting from one branch to another right above my head. Later this bird was identified as Greenish Leaf Warbler by another bird watcher. A first sighting for me and so I was very excited. Immediately after sighting this warbler, I spotted the Asian Paradise Flycatcher (female) and for the first time I saw Tickell’s Blue Flycatchers, both male and female.

“After sometime I spotted a group of five or six Rufous Babblers. These birds are endemic to Western Ghats and have been spotted in Shevaroy and Palani Hills, Tamil Nadu. But they is no record of them in Yelagiri hills which is part of the Eastern Ghats. I think this is a new observation and so wish to share it with the BESG.”

Suchitra V. Srinivasan
Chennai, India
9th October 2009