Top 20 Most Common Bird in Nagaland

Nagaland is a treasure trove of biodiversity nestled in northeastern India. This ecological paradise boasts a variety of bird species. The 20 most common birds display unique traits such as vivid plumage and specialised adaptations for survival. Showcasing intriguing behaviour, these birds are integral to Nagaland's rich avian diversity.

Most Common Bird

Indian White-eye

1. Indian White-eye

This bird is small (about 8–9 cm long) with yellowish olive upper parts, a white eye ring, yellow throat and vent. The belly is whitish grey but may have yellow in some subspecies. The sexes look similar. The species is widespread and is part of a superspecies complex that includes Zosterops japonicus, Zosterops meyeni and possibly others. The taxonomy of the group is still unclear with some island populations being distinctive while some subspecies are not well supported. The population from Flores, Indonesia for instance is found closer to the pale white-eye. The family itself is now questioned since they are nested along with the Stachyris babblers. About eleven subspecies are well recognised. These include the nominate form (type locality Bengal, India) which is found from Oman and Arabia, Afghanistan, northern India and extends into China and northern Myanmar. The population in the Western Ghats and hills of southern India is placed in nilgiriensis while salimalii of the Eastern Ghats hills (Shevaroy, Chitteri, Seshachalam, Nallamalai) is sometimes subsumed into the nominate race. The population of the plains of India, Laccadives and Sri Lanka are sometimes placed in egregius (= egregia) but is restricted by other works to the population in Sri Lanka. The populations in southern Myanmar, Thailand and Laos are placed in siamensis. The Nicobar Islands form is nicobaricus and is sometimes also used for the population on the Andaman Islands which are however distinctive and a distinct unnamed population. The populations from southern Thailand to western Cambodia are placed in williamsoni. Other Southeast Asian island forms include auriventer (=aureiventer), buxtoni, melanurus and unicus. Race occidentis (now often subsumed into the nominate race) of the Western Himalayas has the upper side dark green and the flanks are tinged in brown. The form salimalii has a shorter bill and is brighter yellow-green above. Some authors consider the nominate race to be restricted to Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam and Yunnan and consider the peninsular race as occidentis (or amabilis if the form from Kathiawar described by Koelz is considered valid). In Sri Lanka, race egregia is smaller and has a brighter back and throat than the endemic Sri Lanka white-eye, Zosterops ceylonensis found in the central hills.
Red-vented Bulbul

2. Red-vented Bulbul

The red-vented Bulbul is considered a pest by gardeners as it eats fruits and vegetables and spreads seeds to non-native regions. Because of this, these bird is considered an invasive species in some countries. The red-vented Bulbul is loud and can become aggressive to other birds and even humans in their forest, shrubland, and urban habitats.
Long-tailed Shrike

3. Long-tailed Shrike

The long-tailed shrike is a typical shrike, favouring dry open habitats and found perched prominently atop a bush or on a wire. 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. Subspecies erythronotus has the grey of the mantle and upper back suffused with rufous while the southern Indian caniceps has pure grey. A small amount of white is present at the base of the primaries. The bay-backed shrike is smaller and more contrastingly patterned and has a more prominent white patch on the wing. The sexes are alike in plumage.
Black-throated Prinia

4. Black-throated Prinia

The black-throated prinia (Prinia atrogularis) is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found from eastern Nepal, through Bangladesh to Eastern India (Arunachal Pradesh). It was formerly considered conspecific with the hill prinia.
Grey Sibia

5. Grey Sibia

The grey sibia (Heterophasia gracilis) is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in China, India, and Myanmar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
Great Barbet

6. Great Barbet

The great barbet has a blue head, large yellow bill, brown and green-streaked body, belly and a red vent. The plumage is green. It is the largest barbet species with a body length of 32–35 cm (13–14 in) and a weight of 192–295 g (6.8–10.4 oz).
Spot-breasted Scimitar Babbler

7. Spot-breasted Scimitar Babbler

Black Eagle

8. Black Eagle

The black eagle is a large but slender eagle, at about 75 cm (30 in) in length and 148 to 182 cm (4 ft 10 in to 6 ft 0 in) in wingspan. Despite its large appearance (it is one of the largest eagles in its range), known weights are relatively modest, at between 1,000 and 1,600 g (2.2 and 3.5 lb), about half the weight of the partially sympatric mountain hawk-eagle, the latter being of a similar total length. Adults have all-black plumage, with a yellow bill base (cere) and feet. The wings are long and pinched in at the innermost primaries giving a distinctive shape. The tail shows faint barring and upper tail covers are paler. When perched the wing tips reach till or exceed the tail tip. The wings are held in a shallow V (wings just above the horizontal plane) in flight. Seen on hot afternoons, scouring the treetops for a nest to maraud, this bird is easily spotted by its jet black colour, large size, and a characteristic slow flight, sometimes just above the canopy. Sexes are similar, but young birds have a buff head, underparts and underwing coverts. The wing shape helps to distinguish this species from the dark form of changeable hawk-eagle, (Nisaetus cirrhatus). The tarsi are fully feathered and the toes are relatively stout and short with long claws (particularly on the inner toe) that are less strongly curved than in other birds of prey.
Lemon-rumped Warbler

9. Lemon-rumped Warbler

The lemon-rumped warbler or pale-rumped warbler (Phylloscopus chloronotus) is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. It is found from the western Himalayas to central China.
Red-whiskered Bulbul

10. Red-whiskered Bulbul

The red-whiskered Bulbul is an invasive species to North America and poses a threat to agriculture by damaging crops, outcompeting other species, and distributing non-native seeds. Otherwise, these birds can be found in lightly-wooded areas where it thrives on fruits and insects. Although it is an invasive species, native populations are believed to be on the decline.
Rufous-necked Laughingthrush

11. Rufous-necked Laughingthrush

The rufous-necked laughingthrush is actually not a thrush but a species of babbler, it is roughly 22–27 centimetres (8.7–10.6 in) in length and weighs anywhere between 51–73 grams (1.8–2.6 oz). The rufous-necked laughingthrush as its name implies has a rustic color around its neck. overall the bird is grey with a black face and its rufous neck. Due to the fact that they are non migratory birds this means that they molt very slowly which means that they look the same as young birds than as older birds. The rufous-necked laughingthrush looks very similar to a rufous-cheeked laughinthrush yet the regions where both species are found are completely different.
Verditer Flycatcher

12. Verditer Flycatcher

The verditer flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus) is an Old World flycatcher It is found from the Himalayas through Southeast Asia to Sumatra. This species is named after its distinctive shade of copper-sulphate blue and has a dark patch between the eyes and above the bill base. The adult males are intense blue on all areas of the body, except for the black eye-patch and grey vent. Adult females and sub-adults are lighter blue. The verditer flycatcher is also interesting among the flycatchers in that they forage above the canopy level and perching on electric wires or exposed tree top branches. This species was earlier placed in the genus Muscicapa and it has been suggested that it is closer to the Niltava flycatchers.
Scaly-breasted Munia

13. Scaly-breasted Munia

The scaly-breasted munia is about 11–12 centimetres (4.3–4.7 in) long and weighs 12–16 grams (0.026–0.035 lb). 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. 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 such as the tricolored munia (Lonchura malacca) across the Asian and island populations and the black-throated munia (Lonchura kelaarti) in parts of India or Sri Lanka. Populations within their wide distribution range show variations in plumage color and size. Along with other Estrildines, these species are thought to have originated in Asia. The species has been introduced to other parts of the world due to its popularity as a cage bird and populations have established in the wild.
Rufescent Prinia

14. Rufescent Prinia

The rufescent prinia (Prinia rufescens) is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent (mainly in the northeast) and southern Yunnan. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forest.
White Wagtail

15. White Wagtail

The white Wagtail is the national bird of Latvia and is featured in traditional folk songs and placed on some postage stamps. These birds can be found in most habitat types besides deserts. As their name suggests, they exhibit a characteristic tail-wagging behavior as they search along the ground and nearby waterways for insects to eat.
Black-crested Bulbul

16. Black-crested Bulbul

The black-crested bulbul is generally about 19 cm in length. As the name suggests, the head of this bulbul is black while the rest of its body is different shades of yellow. Both the male and female are similar in plumage. One can make out a younger bird by its slightly duller coloring.
Green-backed Tit

17. Green-backed Tit

The green-backed tit (Parus monticolus) is a species of bird in the family Paridae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Burma, Nepal, Pakistan, Taiwan and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are boreal forest, temperate forest, and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
White-browed Laughingthrush

18. White-browed Laughingthrush

The white-browed laughingthrush (Pterorhinus sannio) is a bird in the family Leiothrichidae. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1867. It is found in China, Hong Kong, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. This species was formerly placed in the genus Garrulax but following the publication of a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study in 2018, it was moved to the resurrected genus Pterorhinus.
Olive-backed Pipit

19. Olive-backed Pipit

Size: Sparrow+ (ca. 15 cm) Appearance: Greenish brown streaked with darker brown above. Supercilium, double wingbar and outer rectrices whitish. Whitish to buff below streaked with dark brown on breast and flanks. Sexes alike. Habits: Seen singly or pairs. Runs about on the ground in search of food and flies up into trees when disturbed. Flight jerky and undulating. Call: Song lark-like and uttered on the wing, similar to the tree pipit, but faster and higher pitched. A single tseep or spek, also similar to the tree pipit. Food: Insects, grass and weed seeds. Food: Largely insects, but will also take seeds.
Ashy-throated Warbler

20. Ashy-throated Warbler

The ashy-throated warbler (Phylloscopus maculipennis) is a species of leaf warbler (family Phylloscopidae). It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
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