List of birds of India
These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating.
Order: Otidiformes Family: Otididae Bustards are large terrestrial birds mainly associated with dry open country and steppes in the Old World.
They tend to have short, rounded wings and to be weak fliers.Order: Gruiformes Family: Gruidae Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds.
The hooded crane, Grus monacha, was included in many older lists but is considered hypothetical (Rasmussen and Anderton, 2005) or even extirpated[15] by more recent workers.
Order: Phoenicopteriformes Family: Phoenicopteridae Flamingos are gregarious wading birds, usually 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m) tall, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres.
Order: Charadriiformes Family: Haematopodidae The oystercatchers are large and noisy plover-like birds, with strong bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs.
The adult is grey with a white belly, red legs, a long down curved bill, and a black face and breast band.
Order: Charadriiformes Family: Rostratulidae Painted-snipes are short-legged, long-billed birds similar in shape to the true snipes, but more brightly coloured.
Variation in length of legs and bills enables multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.
Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head.
Order: Phaethontiformes Family: Phaethontidae Tropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers.
Order: Procellariiformes Family: Procellariidae The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterised by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.
Order: Ciconiiformes Family: Ciconiidae Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked, wading birds with long, stout bills.
Order: Suliformes Family: Anhingidae Darters are often called "snake-birds" because of their long thin neck, which gives a snake-like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged.
Found in tropical woodlands worldwide, they feed on insects and fruit, and their broad bills and weak legs reflect their diet and arboreal habits.
Order: Bucerotiformes Family: Upupidae Hoopoes have black, white and orangey-pink colouring with a large erectile crest on their head.
Order: Bucerotiformes Family: Bucerotidae Hornbills are a group of birds whose bill is shaped like a cow's horn, but without a twist, sometimes with a casque on the upper mandible.
Order: Coraciiformes Family: Coraciidae Rollers resemble crows in size and build, but are more closely related to the kingfishers and bee-eaters.
Order: Coraciiformes Family: Alcedinidae Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long, pointed bills, short legs and stubby tails.
They are named for the greater honeyguide which leads traditional honey-hunters to bees' nests and, after the hunters have harvested the honey, feeds on the remaining contents of the hive.
Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails and long tongues used for capturing insects.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Eurylaimidae The broadbills are small, brightly coloured birds, which feed on fruit and also take insects in flycatcher fashion, snapping their broad bills.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Pittidae Pittas are medium-sized by passerine standards and are stocky, with fairly long, strong legs, short tails and stout bills.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Bombycillidae The waxwings are a group of birds with soft silky plumage and unique red tips to some of the wing feathers.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Hypocoliidae The grey hypocolius is a small Middle Eastern bird with the shape and soft plumage of a waxwing.
Some are colourful with yellow, red or orange vents, cheeks, throats or supercilia, but most are drab, with uniform olive-brown to black plumage.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Aegithalidae Long-tailed tits are a group of small passerine birds with medium to long tails.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Paradoxornithidae The parrotbills are a group of peculiar birds which are diverse along the Himalayas east into Southeast Asia, though feral populations exist elsewhere.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Zosteropidae The white-eyes are small and mostly undistinguished, their plumage above being generally some dull colour like greenish-olive, but some species have a white or bright yellow throat, breast or lower parts, and several have buff flanks.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Cinclidae Dippers are a group of perching birds whose habitat includes aquatic environments in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
