The Old World Babblers are a family of passerine birds diverse in size and coloration, characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. This group is among those Old World bird families with the highest number of species still being discovered.

The ferruginous babbler is a species of bird in the family Pellorneidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is a reddish-brown babbler with white underparts. It forages in small flocks in the lower and middle levels of lowland and lower foothill forests.

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The Old World Babblers are a family of passerine birds diverse in size and coloration, characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. This group is among those Old World bird families with the highest number of species still being discovered.

The near threatened Black-throated Babbler (Stachyris nigricollis) is a species of bird in the Timaliidae family. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical swamps. It is threatened by habitat loss.

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A small bird that resembles a combination of a dove, a swallow, and a plover. It is a soft gray-brown with a tan wash on the throat and black lores. It has a black-and-white wing pattern prominent in flight which is agile and erratic, resembling a bat or swallow and frequently in flocks at dusk. This bird has short legs, long pointed wings and a short tail. Its short bill is an adaptation to aerial feeding. On the ground, it looks mainly pale grey (hence lactea, milky). The crown of the head is brown.

They favour rocky or sandy islands in rivers and in this case a reservoir, but can also be found in marshes, estuaries, and lakesides. The Small Pratincole is distinguished from other pratincoles in range by their smaller size and gray plumage. Their calls are a high rolling “chirrit!”, reminiscent of terns.

The most unusual feature of the pratincoles is that although classed as waders they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground. They are a species of open country, and are often seen near water in the evening, hawking for insects.

They are resident breeders in India, Western Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Thailand breeding from December to March.

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The Baya Weaver (Ploceus philippinus) is a weaver found across South and Southeast Asia. They inhabit grassland, cultivated areas, scrub and secondary growths usually near fresh or brackish water. Despite their species name, they are not found in the Philippines.

Baya weavers and their unique nesting nature were first recorded in Ain-i-Akbari, the 16th-century document recording the administration of Akbar’s empire, and a part of the much larger document, the Akbarnama. They love to live and build in colonies given their social and gregarious nature. Being graminivorous, they find that paddy fields furnish valuable granaries for a food supply.

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In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. The word rural is defined as encompassing "...all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area. Whatever is not urban is considered rural."

Typical rural areas have a low population densities and small settlements or villages. Agricultural areas too are commonly categorised as rural, as are other types of area such as forests. Different countries have varying definitions of rural for statistical and administrative purposes.

About a 100 kilometers from the capital city of Hyderabad, Zaheerabad is one such industrial town and Municipal Council in the Sangareddy district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is the base for visitors of ancient sacred religious sites like the Ketaki Sangameshwara Swamy Devasthanam (a temple) at Jharasangam, Siddhhi Vinayaka Temple at Rejinthal and Hazrath Multani Baba Dargah (A dargah is a shrine built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint or dervish) at Metalkunta.

The Zaheerabad area has many diverse areas for birding and in some instances wildlife watching and observation. In close proximity are the Manjira Wildlife Sanctuary, Gottamgutta, Karanja Reservoir and the Chandrampally Dam and Chincholi Wildlife Sanctuary just over the border in Karnataka. I have had the good fortune to spend a fair bit of time at all these locations and have obtained some beautiful photos with the help of the Forest Officers and Rangers.

Some of these locations are home to migrants and seasonal visitors and every experience of seeing a new bird provides a rush that one can only feel by doing something they love. As I mentioned in my last blog, bird and wildlife watching is a great form of recreation for people of all ages and always provides an opportunity to learn something new.

This is an extended video and some photos from a recent visit to the rural countryside surrounding Zaheerabad.

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