Birds of Almora, Uttarakhand

These birds were spotted in Pappersaili suburb of Almora in the last week of October.

<- A Brown-fronted  Woodpecker (a better image courtesy RWeHavingFunYet)

-> Bar-tailed Tree Creeper - I found it rapidly moving up along a side of the pine tree in a short swift bursts ( like a mouse) until it got to the top. Then it would come flying down and resume the ascent, this time on a different side of the trunk. After exhausting one tree, it would take up another. I also noticed that it did not confine itself only to pine trees. Salim Ali calls it a 'Spotted Grey Creeper'

<- Grey Tit

-> Scaly-breasted Munia...foraging in the undergrowth

<- Common Chiffchaff

Right and below: Red-billed Blue Magpie. I got the second shot on the road while driving down from Almora to Bhowali ... the Magpie was absorbed in hunting down a lizard (not in the picture)

<- To the left and below, different profiles of a Grey Shrike

<-Tailor Bird Juvenile (?)

-> Himalayan Whistling Thrush. I noticed during my stay in Almora that it was always the first bird to start singing in the morning.

<- Grey-headed Flycatcher

-> Himalayan Tree Pie

<- Himalayan Woodpecker seen at Binsar Bird Sanctuary

-> Eurasian Jay... A resident of the Himalayas...Black moustachial stripe is distinctive

<- Black-headed Jay ... resident Himalayas...distinctive streaked throat