Tricoloured munia

 Tricoloured munia

  Tricoloured munia

  Tricoloured munia

 Tricoloured munia

  Tricoloured munia

The tricoloured munia (Lonchura malacca) is known as the black-headed munia in the past. Immature birds have pale brown upperparts, lack the dark head found in adults, The tricoloured munia is a small gregarious bird which feeds mainly on grain and other seeds. It inhabits wet grassland habitats. It may also be found in tropical lowland moist forest habitats.

all photo graphs are captured in Ladha heaven, dombivili east, Thane, Maharastra

Red avadavat.

The red avadavat, red munia or strawberry finch (Amandava amandava) is a sparrow-sized bird of the Estrildidae family. It is found in the open fields and grasslands, the males are colourful in their breeding season. It breeds in the  the monsoon season. 

 red avadavat female

  red avadavat female

This small finch is easily identified by the rounded black tail and the bill that is seasonally red. The rump is red and the breeding male is red on most of the upper parts except for a black eye-stripe, lower belly and wings. There are white spots on the red body and wing feathers. The non-breeding male is duller but has the red-rump while the female is duller with less of the white spotting on the feathers.

 a pair of red avadavat

 red avadavat female

 a gang of red avadavat

 They build a globular nest made of grass blades. The usual clutch is about five or six white eggs.

 red avadavat female

  red avadavat male

  red avadavat male

  red avadavat male

all photographs are captured in Lodha heaven dombivili east, Thane maharastra 

Scaly breasted munia

Scaly-breasted munia

 The scaly-breasted munia or spotted munia (Lonchura punctulata), known in the pet trade as nutmeg mannikin or spice finch, is a sparrow-sized estrildid finch, Its name is based on the distinct scale-like feather markings on the breast and belly. The adult is brown above and has a dark conical bill.

 all photographs are captured in Lodha heaven dombivili east, Thane, Maharastra

 This munia eats mainly on grass seeds apart from berries and small insects. The species is highly social and may sometimes roost with other species of munias. This species is found in tropical plains and grasslands. Breeding pairs construct dome-shaped nests using grass or bamboo leaves.

 a group of scaly breasted munia

 Immature scaly breasted munia

Immature scaly breasted munia

Immature birds have pale brown upperparts, lack the dark head found in adults, and have uniform buff underparts that can be confused with juveniles of other munia species.

 Immature scaly breasted munia feeds

 Immature scaly breasted munia

 Immature scaly breasted munia

 Immature scaly breasted munia

a pair of scaly breasted munia

The scaly-breasted munia is about 11–12 centimetres long and weighs 12–16 grams. The adult has a stubby dark bill typical of grain eating birds, brown upperparts and a dark brown head. The underparts are white with dark scale markings. The sexes are similar, although males have darker markings on the underside and a darker throat than females.

 The breeding season is during the summer rainy season (mainly June to August) There are two types of slope posture, a pre-copulatory one and an ordinary one. The pre-copulatory behavior of scaly-breasted munia includes a sequence of actions. The first involves either the male or female playing with nest-material. As soon as a bird has arranged the nest material in its bill, it begins to fly around in a zig-zag path. Once a bird lands close to its partner, the male bends towards the female and wipes its bill. The male then sings with movements of the body. The female invites mounting with tail quivering.

The nest is a large domed structure loosely woven from blades of grass, bamboo or other leaves with a side entrance and is placed in a tree or under the eaves of a house.

Scaly-breasted munia clutch usually contain 4 to 6 eggs, Both sexes build the nest and incubate the eggs, which hatch in 10 to 16 days. Scaly-breasted munias have a typical life expectancy of 6 to 8 years.^{[citation needed]}

The scaly-breasted munia feeds mainly on seeds but also eats small berries the bill is suited for crushing small grains,

Scaly-breasted munias are found in a range of habitas but are usually close to water and grassland. In India, they are especially common in paddy fields where they are considered a minor pest on account of their feeding on grain. 

 a pair of scaly breasted munia

Scaly breasted munia with red avidot female

 all photographs are captured in Lodha heaven dombivili east, Thane, Maharastra

Long Tailed Shrike

The long-tailed shrike or rufous-backed shrike (Lanius schach) is a member of the bird family Laniidae, the shrikes,  is sometimes called the black-headed shrike. Although there are considerable differences in plumage among the subspecies, they all have a long and narrow black tail, have a black mask and forehead, rufous rump and flanks and a small white patch on the shoulder. It is considered to form a super species with the grey-backed shrike (Lanius tephronotus).

 The long-tailed shrike is a typical shrike, favouring dry open habitats and found perched prominently atop a bush. The dark mask through the eye is broad and covers the forehead in most subspecies and the whole head is black in subspecies tricolor and nasutus. The tail is narrow and graduated with pale rufous on the outer feathers. The sexes are alike in plumage.

This bird has a characteristic upright "shrike" attitude when perched on a bush, from which it glides down at an angle to take lizards, large insects, small birds and rodents. They maintain feeding territories and are usually found single or in pairs that are well spaced out. The usual calls are harsh grating and scolding calls, They are capable of vocal mimicry and include the calls of many species including lapwings, cuckoos, puppies and squirrels in their song.

 The breeding season is in summer in the temperate ranges. The nest is a deep and loose cup made up of thorny twigs, rags and hair. This is placed in a thorny bush, The usual clutch is about 3 to 6 eggs which are incubated by both sexes. The eggs hatch after about 13 to 16 days.

All these photographs are captured in Lodha Heaven, river side, dombivili east, Thane, Maharastra.