Chhari Dhand is a seasonal marshy wetland in Banni grasslands (see the intro post explaining about Banni and Chhari Dhand here) on the southern edge of the Great Rann of Kutch. The seasonal lake is home to a large number of birds in winter (See previous posts on Great White Pelicans, Common Cranes, Water Birds, II, Cormorants, Oriental Darter, Painted Stork and other birds (तीतर and बटेर), II, III, IV & animals). This post contains pics of Swallows, namely Wire-tailed Swallows and Barn Swallows.
The Wire-tailed Swallow though is named after its wire like tail, but surprisingly other swallows too have similar looking wire like tail and also not all wire-tailed swallow have a wired tail ! So, a better distinguishing feature in addition to the wired tail of a Wire-tailed Swallow is its rufous-chestnut crown with white chin. But still the wire tail remains its rather distinct feature and its no wonder that its called the તારપૂંછ (Tārapūn̄cha meaning 'wire tailed') and in तारवाली भिंगरी (Tārawāli Bhingri meaning 'small bird with wire') in Gujarati and Marathi, respectively.
A Wire-tailed Swallow displaying its wire tail on a wire
Gear: Nikon D7200 with AF-S Nikkor 200 - 500mm F/5.6E ED VR
Exif: 500mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO 160
DoP: Nov 22
Loc: Chhari Dhand, Kutch, Gujarat, India
A Swallow dipping itself in the waters of seasonal lake of Chhari Dhand
Gear: Nikon D7200 with AF-S Nikkor 200 - 500mm F/5.6E ED VR
Exif: 500mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO 200
DoP: Nov 22
Loc: Chhari Dhand, Kutch, Gujarat, India
The Barn Swallow are the most widely distributed and abundant swallow in the world, however in the Indian Subcontinent except the Himalayas, you can't see one other than in winters. And therefore rightly so its called as the શિયાળુ તારોડિયું (Śiyāḷu tārōḍiyuṁ meaning the 'Winter small bird') in Gujarati.
In flight, they are distinguishable from other swallows by the white spots on their tail feathers creating a broken band, as can be seen in next three pics.
A Barn Swallow dipping in the seasonal lake of Chhari Dhand
Gear: Nikon D7200 with AF-S Nikkor 200 - 500mm F/5.6E ED VR
Exif: 500mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO 200
DoP: Nov 22
Loc: Chhari Dhand, Kutch, Gujarat, India
A Barn Swallow displaying its characteristic in flight white spotted tail band
Gear: Nikon D7200 with AF-S Nikkor 200 - 500mm F/5.6E ED VR
Exif: 500mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO 250
DoP: Nov 22
Loc: Chhari Dhand, Kutch, Gujarat, India
A Barn Swallow probably checking out its makeup !
Gear: Nikon D7200 with AF-S Nikkor 200 - 500mm F/5.6E ED VR
Exif: 500mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO 100
DoP: Nov 22
Loc: Chhari Dhand, Kutch, Gujarat, India
That's all folks in this post, stay tuned for more...
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