Common Rose Finch

Carpodacus erythrinus 14.5 - 15cm

Sengoombazhaguchillai in Tamil (செங்கூம்பழகுசில்லை)

Breeds in Baluchistan and Himalayas. widespread in winter. Compact with short, stout bill. Male has read head,breast and rump. Female has streaked upperparts and underparts and double wingbar. Migrant nominate race has less red in male and female is less heavily streaked compared with resident race. Breeds in high altitude shrubberies and open forest; winters in cultivation with bushes.

Tickell's Leaf Warbler

Phylloscopus affinis 11cm

Tickell elaikathirkuruvi in Tamil (Tickell இலைகதிற்குருவி)

Breeds in Himalayas; Widespread in winter. Dark greenish to greenish-brown underparts, and bright yellow supercilium concolorous with throat and breast. Some worn birds paler on supercilium and underparts. Breeds in open country with bushes; winters in bushes at edges of forest and cultivation.

Blue Rock Thrush

Monticola solitarius 20cm

Neela Poonguruvi in Tamil (நீலப்பூங்குருவி) 

Resident and winter visitor. Breeds in Baluchistan and Himalayas; Widespread in winter. Male indigo-blue, obscured by pale fringes in non-breeding and first-winter plumages. Female has bluish cast to slaty-brown upperparts, and buff scaling on underparts. Vagrant philippensis has rufous breast and belly. Breeds on open rocky slopes; winters in dry rocky areas.

Black Bulbul

Hypsipetes leucocephalus 25cm

Karunchinnan in Tamil (கருஞ்சின்னான்)

Resident. Slate-grey to blackish bulbul with shallow fork to tail; red bill, legs and feet. Birds in Western Ghats (H.l.ganeesa) and Sri Lanka are darker than H.l.psaroides which occupies most of Himalayan range. Juvenile lacks crest; has whitish underparts with diffuse grey breast band, and brownish cast to upperparts. Mainly broadleaved forest and plantations.

Asian Fairy Bluebird-Male

Irena puella 25cm

Neelachittu in Tamil (நீலச்சிட்டு)

Resident. Male has glistening violet blue upperparts and black underparts. Female and first-year male entirely dull blue-green. Evergreen and moist deciduous forest.

Blue Tailed Bee Eater

Merops philippinus 23-26cm

Neela Vaal Panchuruttan in Tamil (நீலவால்பஞ்சுருட்டான்)

Breeds in N and NE subcontinent; winters in peninsula and Sri Lanka. Blue rump, tail and undertail coverts. Chestnut throat. Forehead and supercilium are mainly green and concolorous with crown, with touch of blue on supercilium. Chestnut of throat extends onto ear coverts, and blue streak below black mask is less extensive than in blue-cheeked and lacks green in lower ear coverts. Green upperparts and underparts washed with brown and blue. Juvenile differs from juvenile blue cheeked in having strong blue cast to tail and more extensive rufous throat. Near water in wooded country.

White Eyed Buzzard

Butastur teesa 43cm

Vellaikkan Vairi in Tamil (வெள்ளைகண்வைரி )  

Widespread resident. Longish, rather slim wings, long tail and buzzard like head. Pale median-covert panel. Flight Accipiter like. Adult has black gular stripe, white nape patch, barred underparts, dark wing-tips, and rufous tail; iris yellow. Juvenile has buffish head and breast streaked with dark brown, with moustachial and throat stripes indistinct or absent; rufous uppertail more strongly barred; iris brown. Dry open country.

Eurasian Blackbird

Turdus merula 25-28 cm

Malaichittan in Tamil (மலைசிட்டான்) 

Resident. Very variable. Males of the Himalayan races are black and females mainly dark brown. Races in the peninsula are smaller, brownish slate-grey above, with variable dark cap, have distinct orange patch behind eye and have paler underparts; females are paler than Himalayan races, especially on underparts. In moist forest and well wooded areas.

Indian Scimitar Babbler

Pomatorhinus horsfieldii 22cm

Valaintha Alagu Silamban in Tamil (வளைந்த அலகு சிலம்பன்)

Resident. Yellow bill, white supercilium. Breast sides and flanks grey to blackish in peninsular india, olive to chestnut-brown in Sri Lanka. Forest and secondary growth.

Black and Orange Flycatcher

Ficedula nigrorufa 11cm

Karuppu Orange Eeppidippan in Tamil (கருப்பு ஆரஞ்சு ஈப்பிடிப்பான்)

Resident. Western Ghats. Male rufous orange and black; femake duller. Evergreen sholas and moist thickets in ravines.

Nilgiri Laughing Thrush

Garrulax cachinnans 20cm

Nilagiri Sirippan in Tamil (நீலகிரி சிரிப்பான்)

Resident. SW Indian Hills. Prominent white supercilium, grey crown and black chin, rufous throat and breast, and rufous ear-coverts. Forest undergrowth and scrub.

Grey Wagtail

Motacilla cinerea 19cm

Karunchambal Vaalaatti in Tamil (கருஞ்சாம்பல் வாலாட்டி) 

Breeds in Baluchistan and Himalayas; widespread in winter. Longer tailed than other wagtails. White supercilium, grey upperparts, and yellow vent and undertail-coverts. Male has black throat when breeding. Breeds by mountain streams; winters by slower streams in lowlands and foothills.

Yellow Wagtail

Motacilla flava 18cm

Manjal Vaalaatti in Tamil (மஞ்சள் வாலாட்டி)

Widespread in winter. Male breeding has olive-green upperparts and yellow underparts, with considerable variation in coloration of head depending on race. Female extremely variable, but often some features of breeding male. First winter birds typically have brownish-olive upperparts, and whitish underparts with variable yellowish wash; some can closely resemble citrine, but have narrower white supercilium which does not continue around ear-coverts. Damp grasslands.

Greenish Warbler

Phylloscopus trochiloides 10-11cm

Ilaikathirkuruvi in Tamil (இலைகதிர் குருவி)

Widespread in winter. Slurred, loud chli-wee call. No crown stripe; fine wing bar (sometimes two). Breeds in forest and subalpine shrubberies; winters in well wooden areas.

Indian Silverbill

Lonchura malabarica 11-11.5cm

Venthondaichillai in Tamil (வெண்தொண்டைசில்லை)

Widespead resident. Adult has white rump and uppertail-coverts, black tail with elongated central feathers, and rufous buff barring on flanks. Juvenile has buffish underparts, lacks flank barring, and has shorter tail. Dry cultivation, grassland and thorn scrub.

White Rumped Munia

Lonchura striata 10-11cm

Venmuthuguchillai in Tamil (வெண்முதுகுசில்லை)

Resident. Dark breast and white rump. Souther L.s.striata has clean black throat and breast, and unstreaked creamy-white or white belly. Northern acuticauda has pale streaking on ear-coverts, rufous brown to whitish fringes to brown breast, and dingy underparts with faint streaking. Open wooded areas and scrub.

Brown Shrike

Lanius cristatus 18-19cm

Pazhuppukkeecchaan in Tamil (பழுப்புக்கீச்சான்)

Widespread winter visitor. Compaer with rufous tailed, typically has darker rufous-brown underparts; alsothicker bill and more graduated tail. Forest edges and scrub.

White Browed Wagtail

Motacilla maderaspatensis 21cm

Karuppu Vellai Vaalaatti in Tamil (கருப்பு வெள்ளை வாலாட்டி)

Widespread resident. Large black and white wagtail. Head black with white supercilium, and has black mantle. Juvenile has brownish-grey head, mantle and breast, with white supercilium. Freshwater wetlands.