Thattekad, Munnar and the Nilgiris: an Expedition Through Parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Part 3

 Part-3: Munnar and Thattekad

1.    Palani Laughingthrush

It took a lot of searching to find this skulker at Munnar. It has a prominent white eyebrow and a black spot above the bill. In overlapping range, it is separated from Nilgiri Laughingthrush by lack of the black chin (area below the bill). We near missed it 3 times before seeing it.

2.    White Bellied Sholakili

Yet another Munnar Skulker where finding it requires immense effort and a lot of near misses (4 for us). You can see the white belly spot and the red eye in this blue colored robin-like bird. It is only found south of the Palghat gap while the Nilgiri Sholakili is only found north of the Palghat gap. It is separated from Nilgiri Sholakili (no overlapping range) by a smaller white belly (I know, it sounds weird that the White Bellied Sholakili has a smaller White belly than the Nilgiri Sholakili) and no orange patches on the side of the belly.

3.    Malayan Night Heron

An unexpected m.ega-rarity that we found along the banks of the Periyar river in Thattekad. We saw it in flight and saw brown underparts with white patches. The bill was very heron style and heard it afterwards. It is not similar to any bird found in the area and so was clearly identifiable even in flight. eBird, if you read it note that we have seen it (look at the ebird records for Malayan Night Heron and you will see my name)