Escape Into The Wild is blog of Viral Patel and Pankaj Maheria's wildlife photography include animal, bird, marine life, insect and other. We click with Nikon D500, Nikon D7100 and Nikon B700 in sanctuaries of Gujarat and India.!
Crested Treeswift has beautiful blue-grey colored
crest and orange ear covers. We went to Jessor Sloth Bear Sanctuary after the
park was open for wildlife photography from 16 October 2016. We normally take
track besides river. We saw crested serpent eagle, Changeable Hawk eagle and
few other small birds. While I was busy clicking warbler, suddenly we saw large
size swallow like bird flying over me. By observing closely, we saw that their wings
are larger. Therefore, they are some kind of swift. While returning to parking
area we spot their group roosting on tree. When I saw their crest, immediately
know that it is Crested Treeswift. There are few records of Crested Treeswift
from Gujarat but most possibly no photographic record from North Gujarat. It
was our jackpot of the day and lifer too. After many days, we saw a new species
in Gujarat.
Something about birds:
The crested treeswift is a common resident breeder
from the Indian subcontinent.
The crested treeswift is a large slender bird at 23 cm
(9 in) length. This species is dove grey above and white below. The long
swept-back wings are a darker grey above. This treeswift has a crest and a
long, deeply forked tail. The adult male has orange sides to its face. Young
birds have a dark grey head and wings, but the rest of the soft plumage is much
streakier than that of the adults.
The crested treeswift feeds in the air, living on the
insects it catches in its bill. It looks more like a swallow in flight than a
swift, but is unrelated to that group. Unlike the true swifts, the treeswifts
readily rest on high bare tree branches.
23rd October
2016
Jessore
Sloth Bear Sanctuary, Banaskantha, Gujarat, India
