20 Dec 2013

20 Dec 13 - Salt Lake City

Less famous than its American namesake, this is a part of Calcutta that has expanded up to the edge of a set of large fish ponds. I'm sure in time more will continue to disappear as the city grows.
Contrasting old & new India on another hazy day: I can't see this fish pond still being around when the relatively up market technology park behind wants to expand
Locals collecting the Water Hyacinths
First stop was a small park adjacent to the technology park. Photography was banned here: a rule that I obviously ignored.
Cattle Egrets: I follow the Clements World Checklist which hasn't split this off as Eastern Cattle Egret as some authorities have done (which seems a reasonable viewpoint as far as I can see)
Cattle Egret: Feeding near some cows
Indian Cormarant: This looked superficially similar to the Shags in the UK
Indian Pond Heron: A surprisingly large amount of white in flight
Indian Pond Heron: Coming into land
Indian Pond Heron:Well camouflaged & ready to feed
Kingfisher: The local bengalensis race doesn't look or sound dissimilar to the UK race, but looks a bit darker on the underparts
Pied Wagtail: There are potentially several races in Calcutta in Winter, but I can't figure out which one this is. This bird seemed longer tailed than UK Pied Wagtails & with a call more reminiscent of a Grey Wagtail
Indian House Crow: Probably the most successful city bird in Calcutta as they seem to be around most streets
Asian Pied Myna: They really are a cracking Starling
This local decorating business might need to have a rethink about the company name before going international
It's an early flight tomorrow to the Andamans for the next section of the trip.