Hi,

I’m the cute little bird called the Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher.  I’m a small passerine bird, and I belong to the Flycatcher family. But like they say, small is beautiful! And you’ve probably known that big things come in small packages!

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher. Picture Courtesy: Ganesh H. R.

I’m an important person on the plantations of Coorg, where I’m virtually indispensable. I eat the insects that damage the crops there.

The male of my species is a beautiful bird possessing bright blue upperparts, a red throat and breast. The rest of the under parts are white. The females interestingly, are duller, and the red on their bodies is reduced in both intensity and extent. You might also find it surprising that my species varies from region to region in terms of both size and plumage!

Gracing Coorg's Plantations! Picture Courtesy: Ganesh H. R.

I feed mainly by capturing insects during flight. However, my prey also includes other insects such as termites and earwigs that I can glean or pick from the ground.

I breed in dry forests, scrub, bamboo and gardens. I call tree holes or rocks lined with fine grass and fiber home. I have a clutch size of 3-5 eggs.

Hence if you’re in Orange County, Coorg next, don’t forget to ask a Naturalist to introduce me to you!

Adieu!

Deepti Michelle John

Deepti, based out of Bangalore, works as Assistant Manager (Marketing) at Orange County Resorts. Possessing Master’s degrees in Psychology and Media and Communications from the London School of Economics, she enjoys spirituality, music, nature, and children.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 28th, 2011 at 5:21 PM and is filed under Birds, Plantation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.