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The state of Kerala, India, has 567 bird species within its boundaries.

This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of the IOC World Bird List, version 11.2. This list also uses British English throughout.  Any bird names or other wording follows that convention. The species list and English names are entirely based on the Checklist of Birds of Kerala published in November 2015.

The following tags have been used to highlight several categories. The commonly occurring native species do not fit within any of these categories.

(A) Accidental - Also known as a rarity, it refers to a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in Kerala-typically less than ten confirmed records.

Ducks, geese, and swans

Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae

Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating.

Fulvous whistling duck, Dendrocygna bicolor (A)
Lesser whistling duck, Dendrocygna javanica
Bar-headed goose, Anser indicus
Knob-billed duck, Sarkidiornis melanotos
Ruddy shelduck, Tadorna ferruginea
Cotton pygmy goose, Nettapus coromandelianus
Garganey, Spatula querquedula
Northern shoveler, Spatula clypeata
Gadwall, Mareca strepera
Eurasian wigeon, Mareca penelope
Indian spot-billed duck, Anas poecilorhyncha
Northern pintail, Anas acuta
Eurasian teal, Anas crecca
Common pochard, Aythya ferina (A)
Ferruginous duck, Aythya nyroca
Tufted duck, Aythya fuligula (A)

Pheasants and allies
Order: GalliformesFamily: Phasianidae

The Phasianidae are a family of terrestrial birds. In general, they are plump (although they vary in size) and have broad, relatively short wings.

Grey francolin, Francolinus pondicerianus
Rain quail, Coturnix coromandelica
Jungle bush quail, Perdicula asiatica
Painted bush quail, Perdicula erythrorhyncha
Red spurfowl, Galloperdix spadicea
Painted spurfowl, Galloperdix lunulata
Grey junglefowl, Gallus sonneratii
Indian peafowl, Pavo cristatus

Frogmouths

Order: CaprimulgiformesFamily: Podargidae

The frogmouths are a group of nocturnal birds related to the nightjars. They are named for their large flattened hooked bill and huge frog-like gape, which they use to take insects.

Sri Lanka frogmouth, Batrachostomus moniliger

Nightjars
Order: CaprimulgiformesFamily: Caprimulgidae

Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal birds that usually nest on the ground. They have long wings, short legs and very short bills. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is camouflaged to resemble bark or leaves.

Great eared nightjar, Lyncornis macrotis
Jungle nightjar, Caprimulgus indicus
Jerdon's nightjar, Caprimulgus atripennis
Indian nightjar, Caprimulgus asiaticus
Savanna nightjar, Caprimulgus affinis

Treeswifts
Order: ApodiformesFamily: Hemiprocnidae

The treeswifts, or crested swifts, are closely related to the true swifts. They differ from the other swifts in that they have crests, long forked tails and softer plumage.

Crested treeswift, Hemiprocne coronata

Swifts
Order: ApodiformesFamily: Apodidae

Swifts are small birds which spend the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long swept-back wings which resemble a crescent or boomerang.

Indian swiftlet, Aerodramus unicolor
Edible-nest swiftlet, Aerodramus fuciphagus
White-rumped spinetail, Zoonavena sylvatica
Brown-backed needletail, Hirundapus giganteus
Asian palm swift, Cypsiurus balasiensis
Alpine swift, Tachymarptis melba
Common swift, Apus apus
Blyth's swift, Apus leuconyx
Little swift, Apus affinis

Bustards
Order: OtidiformesFamily: Otididae

Bustards are large terrestrial birds mainly associated with dry open country and steppes in the Old World. They are omnivorous and nest on the ground. They walk steadily on strong legs and big toes, pecking for food as they go. They have long broad wings with "fingered" wingtips and striking patterns in flight. Many have interesting mating displays.

Macqueen's bustard, Chlamydotis undulata
Lesser florican, Sypheotides indicus

Cuckoos

Order: CuculiformesFamily: Cuculidae

The family Cuculidae includes cuckoos, roadrunners and anis. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. Many are brood parasites.

Greater coucal, Centropus sinensis
Lesser coucal, Centropus bengalensis
Sirkeer malkoha, Taccocua leschenaultii
Blue-faced malkoha, Phaenicophaeus viridirostris
Chestnut-winged cuckoo, Clamator coromandus
Jacobin cuckoo, Clamator jacobinus
Asian koel, Eudynamys scolopaceus
Banded bay cuckoo, Cacomantis sonneratii
Grey-bellied cuckoo, Cacomantis passerinus
Square-tailed drongo-cuckoo, Surniculus lugubris
Fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo, Surniculus dicruroides
Large hawk-cuckoo, Hierococcyx sparverioides
Common hawk-cuckoo, Hierococcyx varius
Lesser cuckoo, Cuculus poliocephalus
Indian cuckoo, Cuculus micropterus
Common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus

Sandgrouse
Order: PterocliformesFamily: Pteroclidae

Sandgrouse have small, pigeon like heads and necks, but sturdy compact bodies. They have long pointed wings and sometimes tails and a fast direct flight. Flocks fly to watering holes at dawn and dusk. Their legs are feathered down to the toes.

Chestnut-bellied sandgrouse, Pterocles exustus

Pigeons and doves

Order: ColumbiformesFamily: Columbidae

Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.

Rock pigeon, Columba livia
Nilgiri wood pigeon, Columba elphinstonii
Oriental turtle dove, Streptopelia orientalis
Eurasian collared dove, Streptopelia decaocto
Red collared dove, Streptopelia tranqubarica
Spotted dove, Spilopelia chinensis
Laughing dove, Spilopelia senegalensis
Common emerald dove, Chalcophaps indica
Orange-breasted green pigeon, Treron bicinctus
Grey-fronted green pigeon, Treron affinis
Yellow-footed green pigeon, Treron phoenicopterus
Green imperial pigeon, Ducula aenea
Mountain imperial pigeon, Ducula badia

Rails, crakes, and coots

Order: GruiformesFamily: Rallidae

Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots and gallinules. Typically they inhabit dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, making them difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and to be weak fliers.

Slaty-breasted rail, Lewinia striata
Spotted crake, Porzana porzana  (A)
Common moorhen, Gallinula chloropus
Eurasian coot, Fulica atra
Grey-headed swamphen, Porphyrio poliocephalus
Ruddy-breasted crake, Zapornia fusca
Baillon's crake, Zapornia pusilla
Slaty-legged crake, Rallina eurizonoides
Watercock, Gallicrex cinerea
White-breasted waterhen, Amaurornis phoenicurus

Grebes
Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae

Grebes are small to medium-large freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land.

Little grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis

Flamingos
Order: PhoenicopteriformesFamily: Phoenicopteridae

Flamingos are gregarious wading birds, usually  tall, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Flamingos filter-feed on shellfish and algae. Their oddly shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume and, uniquely, are used upside-down.

Greater flamingo, Phoenicopterus roseus

Buttonquail
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Turnicidae

The buttonquail are small, drab, running birds which resemble the true quails. The female is the brighter of the sexes and initiates courtship. The male incubates the eggs and tends the young.

Yellow-legged buttonquail, Turnix tanki
Barred buttonquail, Turnix suscitator

Stone-curlews and thick-knees
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Burhinidae

The thick-knees are a group of largely tropical waders in the family Burhinidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia. They are medium to large waders with strong black or yellow-black bills, large yellow eyes and cryptic plumage. Despite being classed as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats.

Indian stone-curlew, Burhinus indicus
Great stone-curlew, Esacus recurvirostris

Oystercatchers
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Haematopodidae

The oystercatchers are large and noisy plover-like birds, with strong bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs.

Eurasian oystercatcher, Haematopus ostralegus

Stilts and avocets
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Recurvirostridae

Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds, which includes the avocets and stilts. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills.

Black-winged stilt, Himantopus himantopus
Pied avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta

Plovers

Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Charadriidae

The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water.

Yellow-wattled lapwing, Vanellus malabaricus
Grey-headed lapwing, Vanellus cinereus
Red-wattled lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Sociable lapwing, Vanellus gregarius  [historical]
White-tailed lapwing, Vanellus leucurus
Pacific golden plover, Pluvialis fulva
American golden plover, Pluvialis dominica (A)
Grey plover, Pluvialis squatarola
Common ringed plover, Charadrius hiaticula
Little ringed plover, Charadrius dubius
Kentish plover, Charadrius alexandrinus
White-faced plover, Charadrius dealbatus  (A)
Lesser sand plover, Charadrius mongolus
Greater sand plover, Charadrius leschenaultii
Caspian plover, Charadrius asiaticus

Painted-snipes
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Rostratulidae

Painted-snipes are short-legged, long-billed birds similar in shape to the true snipes, but more brightly coloured.

Greater painted-snipe, Rostratula benghalensis

Jacanas
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Jacanidae

The jacanas are a group of tropical waders in the family Jacanidae. They are found throughout the tropics. They are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat.

Pheasant-tailed jacana, Hydrophasianus chirurgus
Bronze-winged jacana, Metopidius indicus

Sandpipers and snipes

Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Scolopacidae

Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers and phalaropes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Variation in length of legs and bills enables multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.

Eurasian whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus
Eurasian curlew, Numenius arquata
Bar-tailed godwit, Limosa lapponica
Black-tailed godwit, Limosa limosa
Ruddy turnstone, Arenaria interpres
Great knot, Calidris tenuirostris
Red knot, Calidris canutus (A)
Ruff, Calidris pugnax
Broad-billed sandpiper, Calidris falcinellus
Curlew sandpiper, Calidris ferruginea
Temminck's stint, Calidris temminckii
Long-toed stint, Calidris subminuta
Sanderling, Calidris alba
Dunlin, Calidris alpina
Little stint, Calidris minuta
Buff-breasted sandpiper, Calidris subruficollis (A)
Pectoral sandpiper, Calidris melanotos  (A)
Asian dowitcher, Limnodromus semipalmatus
Long-billed dowitcher, Limnodromus scolopaceus  (A)
Eurasian woodcock, Scolopax rusticola
Jack snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus
Wood snipe, Gallinago nemoricola [historical]
Pin-tailed snipe, Gallinago stenura
Swinhoe's snipe, Gallinago megala [historical]
Common snipe, Gallinago gallinago
Terek sandpiper, Xenus cinereus
Red-necked phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus
Common sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos
Green sandpiper, Tringa ochropus
Common redshank, Tringa totanus
Marsh sandpiper, Tringa stagnatilis
Wood sandpiper, Tringa glareola
Spotted redshank, Tringa erythropus
Common greenshank, Tringa nebularia

Crab-plover
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Dromadidae

The crab-plover is related to the waders. It resembles a plover but with very long grey legs and a strong heavy black bill similar to a tern. It has black-and-white plumage, a long neck, partially webbed feet and a bill designed for eating crabs.

Crab-plover, Dromas ardeola

Coursers and pratincoles
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Glareolidae

Glareolidae is a family of wading birds comprising the pratincoles, which have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails, and the coursers, which have long legs, short wings and long, pointed bills which curve downwards.

Indian courser, Cursorius coromandelicus  [historical]
Collared pratincole, Glareola pratincola
Oriental pratincole, Glareola maldivarum
Small pratincole, Glareola lactea

Gulls, terns, and skimmers

Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Laridae

Laridae is a family of both gulls and terns. Gulls are medium to large seabirds including kittiwakes. They are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species known to live in excess of 30 years.

Brown noddy, Anous stolidus
Lesser noddy, Anous tenuirostris
White tern, Gygis alba
Black-legged kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla (A)
Sabine's gull, Xema sabini (A)
Slender-billed gull, Chroicocephalus genei
Brown-headed gull, Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus
Black-headed gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Pallas's gull, Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus
Common gull, Larus canus
Lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus
Gull-billed tern, Gelochelidon nilotica
Caspian tern, Hydroprogne caspia
Greater crested tern, Thalasseus bergii
Lesser crested tern, Thalasseus bengalensis
Sandwich tern, Thalasseus sandvicensis
Little tern, Sternula albifrons
Bridled tern, Onychoprion anaethetus
Sooty tern, Onychoprion fuscatus
River tern, Sterna aurantia
Roseate tern, Sterna dougalli
Common tern, Sterna hirundo
White-cheeked tern, Sterna repressa
Black-bellied tern, Sterna acuticauda
Whiskered tern, Chlidonias hybrida
White-winged tern, Chlidonias leucopterus
Black tern, Chlidonias niger (A)

Skuas
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Stercorariidae

The family Stercorariidae are, in general, medium to large birds, typically with grey or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings. They nest on the ground in temperate and arctic regions and are long-distance migrants.

South polar skua, Catharcta maccormicki
Brown skua, Catharcta antarctica (A)
Pomarine jaeger, Stercorarius pomarinus
Parasitic jaeger, Stercorarius parasiticus
Long-tailed jaeger, Stercorarius longicaudus (A)

Tropicbirds
Order: PhaethontiformesFamily: Phaethontidae

Tropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their heads and long wings have black markings.

Red-billed tropicbird, Phaethon aethereus
White-tailed tropicbird, Phaethon lepturus

Austral storm petrels

Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Oceanitidae

The austral storm petrels are relatives of the petrels and are the smallest seabirds. They feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.

Wilson's storm petrel, Oceanites oceanicus
White-faced storm petrel, Pelagodroma marina  [historical] (A)

Northern storm petrels
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Hydrobatidae

The northern storm petrels are relatives of the petrels and are the smallest seabirds. They feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.

Swinhoe's storm petrel, Hydrobates monorhis

Petrels, shearwaters, and diving petrels
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Procellariidae

The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterised by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.

Streaked shearwater, Calonectris leucomelas
Cory's shearwater, Calonectris borealis (A)
Wedge-tailed shearwater, Ardenna pacificus
Short-tailed shearwater, Ardenna tenuirostris (A)
Flesh-footed shearwater, Ardenna carneipes
Persian shearwater, Puffinus persicus
Tropical shearwater, Puffinus bailloni
Jouanin's petrel, Bulweria fallax

Storks

Order: CiconiiformesFamily: Ciconiidae

Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked, wading birds with long, stout bills. Storks are mute, but bill-clattering is an important mode of communication at the nest. Their nests can be large and may be reused for many years. Many species are migratory.

Painted stork, Mycteria leucocephala
Asian openbill, Anastomus oscitans
Black stork, Ciconia nigra
Woolly-necked stork, Ciconia episcopus
White stork, Ciconia ciconia
Lesser adjutant, Leptoptilos javanicus (A)

Frigatebirds
Order: SuliformesFamily: Fregatidae

Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black-and-white or completely black, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have coloured inflatable throat pouches. They do not swim or walk and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week.

Christmas frigatebird, Fregata andrewsi (A)
Great frigatebird, Fregata minor (A)
Lesser frigatebird, Fregata ariel

Gannets and boobies
Order: SuliformesFamily: Sulidae

The sulids comprise the gannets and boobies. Both groups are medium to large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish.

Masked booby, Sula dactylatra
Red-footed booby, Sula sula  (A)

Anhingas and darters

Order: SuliformesFamily: Anhingidae

Anhingas or darters are often called "snake-birds" because of their long thin neck, which gives a snake-like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged. The males have black and dark-brown plumage, an erectile crest on the nape and a larger bill than the female. The females have much paler plumage especially on the neck and underparts. The darters have completely webbed feet and their legs are short and set far back on the body. Their plumage is somewhat permeable, like that of cormorants, and they spread their wings to dry after diving.

Oriental darter, Anhinga melanogaster

Cormorants and shags

Order: SuliformesFamily: Phalacrocoracidae

Phalacrocoracidae is a family of medium to large coastal, fish-eating seabirds that includes cormorants and shags. Plumage colouration varies, with the majority having mainly dark plumage, some species being black-and-white and a few being colourful.

Little cormorant, Microcarbo niger
Indian cormorant, Phalacrocorax fuscicollis
Great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo

Ibises and spoonbills

Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Threskiornithidae

Threskiornithidae is a family of large terrestrial and wading birds which includes the ibises and spoonbills. They have long, broad wings with 11 primary and about 20 secondary feathers. They are strong fliers and despite their size and weight, very capable soarers.

Black-headed ibis, Threskiornis melanocephalus
Red-naped ibis, Pseudibis papillosa
Glossy ibis, Plegadis falcinellus
Eurasian spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia

Herons and bitterns

Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Ardeidae

The family Ardeidae contains the bitterns, herons and egrets. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted, unlike other long-necked birds such as storks, ibises and spoonbills.

Eurasian bittern, Botaurus stellaris
Little bittern, Ixobrychus minutus
Yellow bittern, Ixobrychus sinensis
Cinnamon bittern, Ixobrychus cinnamomeus
Black bittern, Ixobrychus flavicollis
Malayan night heron, Gorsachius melanolophus
Black-crowned night heron, Nycticorax nycticorax
Striated heron, Butorides striata
Indian pond heron, Ardeola grayii
Chinese pond heron, Ardeola bacchus  (A)
Eastern cattle egret, Bubulcus coromandus
Grey heron, Ardea cinerea
Purple heron, Ardea purpurea
Great egret, Ardea alba
Intermediate egret, Ardea intermedia
Little egret, Egretta garzetta
Western reef heron, Egretta gularis

Pelicans

Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Pelecanidae

Pelicans are large water birds with a distinctive pouch under their beak. As with other members of the order Pelecaniformes, they have webbed feet with four toes.

Great white pelican, Pelecanus onocrotalus (A)
Spot-billed pelican, Pelecanus philippensis

Osprey
Order: AccipitriformesFamily: Pandionidae

The family Pandionidae contains usually only one species, the osprey. The osprey is a medium-large raptor which is a specialist fish-eater.
Osprey, Pandion haliaetus

Kites, hawks, and eagles

Order: AccipitriformesFamily: Accipitridae

Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey, which includes hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures. These birds have powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons and keen eyesight.

Black-winged kite, Elanus caeruleus
Egyptian vulture, Neophron percnopterus
Crested honey buzzard, Pernis ptilorhynchus
Jerdon's baza, Aviceda jerdoni
Black baza, Aviceda leuphotes
White-rumped vulture, Gyps bengalensis
Indian vulture, Gyps indicus
Himalayan vulture, Gyps himalayensis
Red-headed vulture, Sarcogyps calvus
Cinereous vulture, Aegypius monachus
Crested serpent eagle, Spilornis cheela
Short-toed snake eagle, Circaetus gallicus
Changeable hawk-eagle, Nisaetus cirrhatus
Mountain hawk-eagle, Nisaetus nipalensis
Legge's hawk-eagle, Nisaetus kelaarti
Rufous-bellied eagle, Lophotriorchis kienerii
Black eagle, Ictinaetus malaiensis
Indian spotted eagle, Clanga hastata
Greater spotted eagle, Clanga clanga
Booted eagle, Hieraaetus pennatus
Steppe eagle, Aquila nipalensis
Eastern imperial eagle, Aquila heliaca
Bonelli's eagle, Aquila fasciatus
Crested goshawk, Accipiter trivirgatus
Shikra, Accipiter badius
Besra, Accipiter virgatus
Eurasian sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus
Western marsh harrier, Circus aeruginosus
Eastern marsh harrier, Circus spilonotus (A)
Hen harrier, Circus cyaneus
Pallid harrier, Circus macrourus
Pied harrier, Circus melanoleucos
Montagu's harrier, Circus pygargus
Black kite, Milvus migrans
Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus
White-bellied sea eagle, Haliaeetus leucogaster
White-tailed eagle, Haliaeetus albicilla
Lesser fish eagle, Haliaeetus humilis
Grey-headed fish eagle, Haliaeetus ichthyaetus
White-eyed buzzard, Butastur teesa
Himalayan buzzard, Buteo burmanicus
Common buzzard, Buteo buteo

Barn owls
Order: StrigiformesFamily: Tytonidae

Barn owls are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long strong legs with powerful talons.

Eastern barn owl, Tyto javanica
Eastern grass owl, Tyto longimembris
Oriental bay owl, Phodilus badius
Sri Lanka bay owl, Phodilus assimilis

Owls

Order: StrigiformesFamily: Strigidae

The typical owls are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk.

Indian scops owl, Otus bakkamoena
Pallid scops owl, Otus brucei
Oriental scops owl, Otus sunia
Indian eagle-owl, Bubo bengalensis
Spot-bellied eagle-owl, Bubo nipalensis
Brown fish owl, Ketupa zeylonensis
Mottled wood owl, Strix ocellata
Brown wood owl, Strix leptogrammica
Jungle owlet, Glaucidium radiatum
Spotted owlet, Athene brama
Brown boobook, Ninox scutulata
Short-eared owl, Asio flammeus

Trogons
Order: TrogoniformesFamily: Trogonidae

The family Trogonidae includes trogons and quetzals. Found in tropical woodlands worldwide, they feed on insects and fruit, and their broad bills and weak legs reflect their diet and arboreal habits. Although their flight is fast, they are reluctant to fly any distance. Trogons have soft, often colourful, feathers with distinctive male and female plumage.

Malabar trogon, Harpactes fasciatus

Hoopoes
Order: BucerotiformesFamily: Upupidae

Hoopoes have black, white and orangey-pink colouring with a large erectile crest on their head.

Eurasian hoopoe, Upupa epops

Hornbills

Order: BucerotiformesFamily: Bucerotidae

Hornbills are a group of birds whose bill is shaped like a cow's horn, but without a twist, sometimes with a casque on the upper mandible. Frequently, the bill is brightly coloured.

Great hornbill, Buceros bicornis
Malabar pied hornbill, Anthracoceros coronatus
Malabar grey hornbill, Ocyceros griseus
Indian grey hornbill, Ocyceros birostris

Rollers
Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Coraciidae

Rollers resemble crows in size and build, but are more closely related to the kingfishers and bee-eaters. They share the colourful appearance of those groups with blues and browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but the outer toe is not.

Indian roller, Coracias benghalensis
European roller, Coracias garrulus
Oriental dollarbird, Eurystomus orientalis

Kingfishers

Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Alcedinidae

Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long, pointed bills, short legs and stubby tails.

Stork-billed kingfisher, Pelargopsis capensis
White-throated kingfisher, Halcyon smyrnensis
Black-capped kingfisher, Halcyon pileata
Blue-eared kingfisher, Alcedo meninting
Common kingfisher, Alcedo atthis
Oriental dwarf kingfisher, Ceyx erithaca
Pied kingfisher, Ceryle rudis

Bee-eaters

Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Meropidae

The bee-eaters are a group of near passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa but others occur in southern Europe, Madagascar, Australia and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. All are colourful and have long downturned bills and pointed wings, which give them a swallow-like appearance when seen from afar.

Blue-bearded bee-eater, Nyctyornis athertoni
Asian green bee-eater, Merops orientalis
Blue-cheeked bee-eater, Merops persicus
Blue-tailed bee-eater, Merops philippinus
Blue-throated bee-eater, Merops viridis (A)
Chestnut-headed bee-eater, Merops leschenaulti
European bee-eater, Merops apiaster (A)

Asian barbets

Order: PiciformesFamily: Megalaimidae

The Asian barbets are plump birds, with short necks and large heads. They get their name from the bristles which fringe their heavy bills. Most species are brightly coloured.

Brown-headed barbet, Psilopogon zeylanicus
White-cheeked barbet, Psilopogon viridis
Malabar barbet, Psilopogon malabaricus
Coppersmith barbet, Psilopogon haemacephalus

Woodpeckers

Order: PiciformesFamily: Picidae

Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails and long tongues used for capturing insects. Some species have feet with two toes pointing forward and two backward, while several species have only three toes. Many woodpeckers have the habit of tapping noisily on tree trunks with their beaks.
Eurasian wryneck, Jynx torquilla
Speckled piculet, Picumnus innominatus
Heart-spotted woodpecker, Hemicircus canente
Brown-capped pygmy woodpecker, Yungipicus nanus
Yellow-crowned woodpecker, Leiopicus mahrattensis
White-bellied woodpecker, Dryocopus javensis
Lesser yellownape, Picus chlorolophus
Streak-throated woodpecker, Picus xanthopygaeus
Scaly-bellied woodpecker, Picus squamatus
Common flameback, Dinopium javanense
Black-rumped flameback, Dinopium benghalense
Malabar flameback, Chrysocolaptes socialis
White-naped woodpecker, Chrysocolaptes festivus
Rufous woodpecker, Micropternus brachyurus

Caracaras and falcons
Order: FalconiformesFamily: Falconidae

Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey. They differ from hawks, eagles and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their talons.

Lesser kestrel, Falco naumanni
Common kestrel, Falco tinnunculus
Red-necked falcon, Falco chiquera
Amur falcon, Falco amurensis
Eurasian hobby, Falco buteo (A)
Oriental hobby, Falco severus
Peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus

Old World parrots

Order: PsittaciformesFamily: Psittaculidae

Characteristic features of parrots include a strong curved bill, an upright stance, strong legs, and clawed zygodactyl feet. Many parrots are vividly coloured, and some are multi-coloured. In size they range from  to  in length. Old World parrots are found from Africa east across south and southeast Asia and Oceania to Australia and New Zealand.

Plum-headed parakeet, Psittacula cyanocephala
Blue-winged parakeet, Psittacula columboides
Alexandrine parakeet, Psittacula eupatria
Rose-ringed parakeet, Psittacula krameri
Vernal hanging parrot, Loriculus vernalis

Pittas
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Pittidae

Pittas are medium-sized by passerine standards and are stocky, with fairly long, strong legs, short tails and stout bills. Many are brightly coloured. They spend the majority of their time on wet forest floors, eating snails, insects and similar invertebrates.

Indian pitta, Pitta brachyura

Vangas, helmetshrikes, woodshrikes, and shrike-flycatchers
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Vangidae

The woodshrikes are similar in build to the shrikes.

Bar-winged flycatcher-shrike, Hemipus picatus
Large woodshrike, Tephrodornis virgatus (A)
Malabar woodshrike, Tephrodornis sylvicola
Common woodshrike, Tephrodornis pondicerianus

Woodswallows, butcherbirds, and peltops

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Artamidae

The woodswallows are soft-plumaged, somber-coloured passerine birds. They are smooth, agile flyers with moderately large, semi-triangular wings.

Ashy woodswallow, Artamus fuscus

Ioras
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Aegithinidae

The ioras are bulbul-like birds of open forest or thorn scrub, but whereas that group tends to be drab in colouration, ioras are sexually dimorphic, with the males being brightly plumaged in yellows and greens.

Common iora, Aegithina tiphia
Marshall's iora, Aegithina nigrolutea

Cuckooshrikes
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Campephagidae

The cuckooshrikes are small to medium-sized passerine birds. They are predominantly greyish with white and black, although some species are brightly coloured.

Small minivet, Pericrocotus cinnamomeus
Orange minivet, Pericrocotus flammeus)
Ashy minivet, Pericrocotus divaricatus
Large cuckooshrike, Coracina javensis
Black-headed cuckooshrike, Lalage melanoptera

Shrikes
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Laniidae

Shrikes are passerine birds known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns. A typical shrike's beak is hooked, like a bird of prey.

Brown shrike, Lanius cristatus (includes distinct subspecies Philippine shrike L. c. lucionensis)
Bay-backed shrike, Lanius vittatus
Long-tailed shrike, Lanius schach

Figbirds, orioles, and turnagra

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Oriolidae

The Old World orioles are colourful passerine birds. They are not related to the New World orioles.

Black-hooded oriole, Oriolus xanthornus
Indian golden oriole, Oriolus kundoo (Split from European golden oriole.)
Black-naped oriole, Oriolus chinensis

Drongos

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Dicruridae

The drongos are mostly black or dark grey in colour, sometimes with metallic tints. They have long forked tails, and some Asian species have elaborate tail decorations. They have short legs and sit very upright when perched, like a shrike. They flycatch or take prey from the ground.

Bronzed drongo, Dicrurus aeneus
Greater racket-tailed drongo, Dicrurus paradiseus
Hair-crested drongo, Dicrurus hottentottus
Ashy drongo, Dicrurus leucophaeus
White-bellied drongo, Dicrurus caerulescens
Black drongo, Dicrurus macrocercus

Fantails and silktails

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Rhipiduridae

The fantails are small insectivorous birds which are specialist aerial feeders.

White-spotted fantail, Rhipidura albogularis
White-browed fantail, Rhipidura aureola

Monarchs

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Monarchidae

The monarch flycatchers are small to medium-sized insectivorous passerines which hunt by flycatching.

Black-naped monarch, Hypothymis azurea
Indian paradise flycatcher, Terpsiphone paradisi

Crows and jays

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Corvidae

The family Corvidae includes crows, ravens, jays, choughs, magpies, treepies, nutcrackers and ground jays. Corvids are above average in size among the Passeriformes, and some of the larger species show high levels of intelligence.

Rufous treepie, Dendrocitta vagabunda
White-bellied treepie, Dendrocitta leucogastra
House crow, Corvus splendens
Large-billed crow, Corvus macrorhynchos
Eastern jungle crow, Corvus levaillantii
Indian jungle crow, Corvus culminatus

Fairy flycatchers
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Stenostiridae

Most of the species of this small family are found in Africa, though a few inhabit tropical Asia. They are not closely related to other birds called "flycatchers".

Grey-headed canary-flycatcher, Culicicapa ceylonensis

Tits and chickadees
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Paridae

The Paridae are mainly small stocky woodland species with short stout bills. Some have crests. They are adaptable birds, with a mixed diet including seeds and insects.

Cinereous tit, Parus cinereus (known earlier as great tit, Parus major)
Himalayan black-lored tit, Machlolophus xanthogenys
Indian black-lored tit, Machlolophus aplonotus

Larks

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Alaudidae

Larks are small terrestrial birds with often extravagant songs and display flights. Most larks are fairly dull in appearance. Their food is insects and seeds.

Rufous-tailed lark, Ammomanes phoenicura
Ashy-crowned sparrow-lark, Eremopterix griseus
Jerdon's bushlark, Mirafra affinis
Oriental skylark, Alauda gulgula
Malabar lark, Galerida malabarica
Mongolian short-toed lark, Calandrella dukhunensis

Bulbuls

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Pycnonotidae

Bulbuls are medium-sized songbirds. Some are colourful with yellow, red or orange vents, cheeks, throats or supercilia, but most are drab, with uniform olive-brown to black plumage.

Yellow-browed bulbul, Acritillas indica
Black bulbul, Hypsipetes leucocephalus
Square-tailed bulbul, Hypsipetes ganeesa
Grey-headed bulbul, Brachypodius priocephalus
Black-crested bulbul, Rubigula flaviventris
Flame-throated bulbul, Rubigula gularis
White-browed bulbul, Pycnonotus luteolus
Yellow-throated bulbul, Pycnonotus xantholaemus
Red-whiskered bulbul, Pycnonotus jocosus
Red-vented bulbul, Pycnonotus cafer

Swallows and martins
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Hirundinidae

The family Hirundinidae is adapted to aerial feeding. They have a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings and a short bill with a wide gape. The feet are adapted to perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base.

Grey-throated martin, Riparia chinensis
Pale martin, Riparia diluta
Barn swallow, Hirundo rustica
Pacific swallow, Hirundo tahitica
Hill swallow, Hirundo domicola
Wire-tailed swallow, Hirundo smithii
Eurasian crag martin, Ptyonoprogne rupestris
Dusky crag martin, Ptyonoprogne concolor
Common house martin, Delichon urbicum
Red-rumped swallow, Cecropis daurica
Streak-throated swallow, Petrochelidon fluvicola

Leaf warblers & allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Phylloscopidae

Leaf warblers are a family of small insectivorous birds found mostly in Eurasia and ranging into Wallacea and Africa. The species are of various sizes, often green-plumaged above and yellow below, or more subdued with grayish-green to grayish-brown colors.

Hume's leaf warbler, Phylloscopus humei
Yellow-browed warbler, Phylloscopus inornatus
Tytler's leaf warbler, Phylloscopus tytleri
Tickell's leaf warbler, Phylloscopus affinis
Common chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita
Green warbler, Phylloscopus nitidus
Greenish warbler, Phylloscopus trochiloides
Large-billed leaf warbler, Phylloscopus magnirostris
Western crowned warbler, Phylloscopus occipitalis

Reed warblers, Grauer's warbler, & allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Acrocephalidae

The members of this family are usually rather large for "warblers". Most are rather plain olivaceous brown above with much yellow to beige below. They are usually found in open woodland, reedbeds, or tall grass. The family occurs mostly in southern to western Eurasia and surroundings, but it also ranges far into the Pacific, with some species in Africa.

Clamorous reed warbler, Acrocephalus stentoreus
Paddyfield warbler, Acrocephalus agricola
Blyth's reed warbler, Acrocephalus dumetorum
Thick-billed warbler, Arundinax aedon
Booted warbler, Iduna caligata
Sykes's warbler, Iduna rama

Grassbirds & allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Locustellidae

Locustellidae are a family of small insectivorous songbirds found mainly in Eurasia, Africa, and the Australian region. They are smallish birds with tails that are usually long and pointed, and tend to be drab brownish or buffy all over.

Pallas's grasshopper warbler, Helopsaltes certhiola  [historical]
Common grasshopper warbler, Locustella naevia
Broad-tailed grassbird, Schoenicola platyurus
Bristled grassbird, Schoenicola striatus

Cisticolas and allies

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Cisticolidae

The Cisticolidae are warblers found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They are generally very small birds of drab brown or grey appearance found in open country such as grassland or scrub.

Zitting cisticola, Cisticola juncidis
Golden-headed cisticola, Cisticola exilis
Grey-breasted prinia, Prinia hodgsonii
Jungle prinia, Prinia sylvatica
Ashy prinia, Prinia socialis
Plain prinia, Prinia inornata
Common tailorbird, Orthotomus sutorius

Sylviid babblers
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sylviidae

The family Sylviidae is a group of small insectivorous passerine birds. They mainly occur as breeding species, as the common name implies, in Europe, Asia and, to a lesser extent, Africa. Most are of generally undistinguished appearance, but many have distinctive songs.

Lesser whitethroat, Curruca curruca
Hume's whitethroat, Curruca althaea
Eastern Orphean warbler, Curruca crassirostris

Parrotbills and allies

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Paradoxornithidae

The parrotbills are a group of peculiar birds native to East and Southeast Asia, though feral populations exist elsewhere. They are generally small, long-tailed birds which inhabit reedbeds and similar habitat. They feed mainly on seeds, e.g. of grasses, to which their bill, as the name implies, is well-adapted.

Yellow-eyed babbler, Chrysomma sinense

White-eyes
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Zosteropidae

The white-eyes are small and mostly undistinguished, their plumage above being generally some dull colour like greenish-olive, but some species have a white or bright yellow throat, breast or lower parts, and several have buff flanks. As their name suggests, many species have a white ring around each eye.

Indian white-eye, Zosterops palpebrosus

Babblers and scimitar babblers
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Timaliidae

The babblers, or timaliids, are somewhat diverse in size and colouration, but are characterised by soft fluffy plumage.

Tawny-bellied babbler, Dumetia hyperythra
Dark-fronted babbler, Dumetia atriceps
White-browed scimitar babbler, Pomatorhinus schisticeps
Indian scimitar babbler, Pomatorhinus horsfieldii

Ground babblers
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Pellorneidae

These small to medium-sized songbirds have soft fluffy plumage but are otherwise rather diverse. Members of the genus Illadopsis are found in forests, but some other genera are birds of scrublands.

Puff-throated babbler, Pellorneum ruficeps

Alcippe fulvettas
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Alcippeidae

The genus once included many other fulvettas and was previously placed in families Pellorneidae or Timaliidae.

Brown-cheeked fulvetta, Alcippe poioicephala

Laughingthrushes and allies

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Leiothrichidae

The members of this family are diverse in size and colouration, though those of genus Turdoides tend to be brown or greyish. The family is found in Africa, India, and southeast Asia.

Banasura laughingthrush, Montecincla jerdoni
Nilgiri laughingthrush, Montecincla cachinnans
Palani laughingthrush, Montecincla fairbanki
Ashambu laughingthrush, Montecincla meridionalis
Large grey babbler, Argya malcolmi
Rufous babbler, Argya subrufa
Jungle babbler, Argya striata
Yellow-billed babbler, Argya affinis
Wayanad laughingthrush, Pterorhinus delesserti

Fairy-bluebirds
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Irenidae

The fairy-bluebirds are bulbul-like birds of open forest or thorn scrub. The males are dark-blue and the females a duller green.

Asian fairy-bluebird, Irena puella

Nuthatches
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sittidae

Nuthatches are small woodland birds. They have the unusual ability to climb down trees head first, unlike other birds which can only go upwards. Nuthatches have big heads, short tails and powerful bills and feet.

Velvet-fronted nuthatch, Sitta frontalis
Indian nuthatch, Sitta castanea

Starlings and rhabdornis

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sturnidae

Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds. Their flight is strong and direct and they are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country. They eat insects and fruit. Plumage is typically dark with a metallic sheen.

Common hill myna, Gracula religiosa
Southern hill myna, Gracula indica
Jungle myna, Acridotheres fuscus
Common myna, Acridotheres tristis
Daurian starling, Agropsar sturninus (A)
Chestnut-tailed starling, Sturnia malabarica
Malabar starling, Sturnia blythii
Brahminy starling, Sturnia pagodarum
Rosy starling, Pastor roseus
Common starling, Sturnus vulgaris

Thrushes

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Turdidae

The thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs.

Pied thrush, Geokichla wardii
Orange-headed thrush, Geokichla citrina
Scaly thrush, Zoothera dauma
Nilgiri thrush, Zoothera neilgherriensis
Indian blackbird, Turdus simillimus
Eyebrowed thrush, Turdus obscurus

Chats and Old World flycatchers

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Muscicapidae

Chats and Old World flycatchers is a large group of small passerine birds native to the Old World. They are mainly small arboreal insectivores. The appearance of these birds is highly varied, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls.

Indian robin, Copsychus fulicatus
Oriental magpie-robin, Copsychus saularis
White-rumped shama, Copsychus malabaricus
Asian brown flycatcher, Muscicapa dauurica
Brown-breasted flycatcher, Muscicapa muttui
White-bellied blue flycatcher, Cyornis pallipes
Tickell's blue flycatcher, Cyornis tickelliae
Blue-throated blue flycatcher, Cyornis rubeculoides
Blue-and-white flycatcher, Cyanoptila cyanomelana (A)
Verditer flycatcher, Eumyias thalassinus
Nilgiri flycatcher, Eumyias albicaudatus
Indian blue robin, Larvivora brunnea
Bluethroat, Luscinia svecica
Nilgiri blue robin, Sholicola major
White-bellied blue robin, Sholicola albiventris
Malabar whistling thrush, Myophonus horsfieldii
Yellow-rumped flycatcher, Ficedula zanthopygia
Ultramarine flycatcher, Ficedula superciliaris  (A)
Rusty-tailed flycatcher, Ficedula ruficauda
Taiga flycatcher, Ficedula albicilla
Red-breasted flycatcher, Ficedula parva (A)
Kashmir flycatcher, Ficedula subrubra
Black-and-orange flycatcher, Ficedula nigrorufa
Black redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros
Common rock thrush, Monticola saxatilis (A)
Blue rock thrush, Monticola solitarius
Blue-capped rock thrush, Monticola cinclorhyncha
Siberian stonechat, Saxicola maurus
Pied bush chat, Saxicola caprata
Northern wheatear, Oenanthe oenanthe (A)
Isabelline wheatear, Oenanthe isabellina
Desert wheatear, Oenanthe deserti
Pied wheatear, Oenanthe pleschanka  (A)

Variable wheatear, Oenanthe picata

Leafbirds
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Chloropseidae

The leafbirds are small, bulbul-like birds. The males are brightly plumaged, usually in greens and yellows.

Jerdon's leafbird, Chloropsis jerdoni
Golden-fronted leafbird, Chloropsis aurifrons

Flowerpeckers

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Dicaeidae

The flowerpeckers are very small, stout, often brightly coloured birds, with short tails, short thick curved bills and tubular tongues.

Thick-billed flowerpecker, Dicaeum agile
Pale-billed flowerpecker, Dicaeum erythrorhynchos
Nilgiri flowerpecker, Dicaeum concolor
Plain flowerpecker, Dicaeum minullum

Sunbirds

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Nectariniidae

The sunbirds and spiderhunters are very small passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed.

Purple-rumped sunbird, Leptocoma zeylonica
Crimson-backed sunbird, Leptocoma minima
Purple sunbird, Cinnyris asiaticus
Loten's sunbird, Cinnyris lotenius
Little spiderhunter, Arachnothera longirostra

Old World sparrows and snowfinches
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Passeridae

Sparrows are small passerine birds. In general, sparrows tend to be small, plump, brown or grey birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed eaters, but they also consume small insects.

House sparrow, Passer domesticus
Pale rockfinch, Carpospiza brachydactyla (A)
Yellow-throated sparrow, Gymnoris xanthocollis

Weavers and widowbirds
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Ploceidae

The weavers are small passerine birds related to the finches. They are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills. The males of many species are brightly coloured, usually in red or yellow and black, some species show variation in colour only in the breeding season.

Streaked weaver, Ploceus manyar
Baya weaver, Ploceus philippinus

Waxbills, munias, and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Estrildidae

The estrildid finches are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They are gregarious and often colonial seed eaters with short thick but pointed bills. They are all similar in structure and habits, but have wide variation in plumage colours and patterns.

Indian silverbill, Euodice malabarica
Scaly-breasted munia, Lonchura punctulata
Black-throated munia, Lonchura kelaarti
White-rumped munia, Lonchura striata
Tricolored munia, Lonchura malacca
Red avadavat, Amandava amandava

Wagtails and pipits

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Motacillidae

Motacillidae is a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. They are slender, ground feeding insectivores of open country.

Forest wagtail, Dendronanthus indicus
Western yellow wagtail, Motacilla flava
Citrine wagtail, Motacilla citreola
Grey wagtail, Motacilla cinerea
White wagtail, Motacilla alba
White-browed wagtail, Motacilla maderaspatensis
Richard's pipit, Anthus richardi
Paddyfield pipit, Anthus rufulus
Blyth's pipit, Anthus godlewskii
Tawny pipit, Anthus campestris
Long-billed pipit, Anthus similis
Tree pipit, Anthus trivialis
Olive-backed pipit, Anthus hodgsoni
Red-throated pipit, Anthus cervinus
Nilgiri pipit, Anthus nilghiriensis

Finches and euphonias
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Fringillidae

Finches are seed-eating passerine birds, that are small to moderately large and have a strong beak, usually conical and in some species very large. All have twelve tail feathers and nine primaries. These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, and most sing well.

Common rosefinch, Carpodacus erythrina

Buntings
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Emberizidae

The emberizids are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with distinctively shaped bills. In Europe, most species are called buntings. In North America, most of the species in this family are known as sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the Old World sparrows which are in the family Passeridae. Many emberizid species have distinctive head patterns.

Crested bunting, Emberiza lathami
Grey-necked bunting, Emberiza buchanani
Little bunting, Emberiza pusilla  (A)
Yellow-breasted bunting, Emberiza aureola
Black-headed bunting, Emberiza melanocephala
Red-headed bunting, Emberiza bruniceps

See also
 Lists of birds by region

References

 Gjershaug, J. O.; Diserud, O. H.; Rasmussen, P. C. & Warakagoda, D. (2008) "An overlooked threatened species of eagle: Legge's Hawk Eagle Nisaetus kelaarti (Aves: Accipitriformes)" (PDF) Zootaxa 1792: 54–66

Birds
Birds of Kerala
Kerala


The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia was established on May 17th, 1993 at the height of the Georgian-Abkhaz war, when the people of Abkhazia faced a danger of total annihilation. Under isolation, economic embargo and constant threat of another war on the part of Georgia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs carried foreign policy, often through the dedicated work of the Abkhaz diplomats. The Ministry was by turns headed by Tarkyl S., Dzhindzolia С., Lakerbaya., Ozgan K., Akhba I., Shamba S., Gundzhia M., Chirikba V.
Abkhazian diplomacy was developing in interaction with the representatives of the oldest and most influential diplomatic schools of Russia, United Staes, Great Britain, France, Germany, and with international organizations such as UN, OSCE, EU and other actors of the process of settlement of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict .
- Protection of the rights of our citizens abroad.


text:
Carcarañá är en ort i Argentina.   Den ligger i provinsen Santa Fe, i den centrala delen av landet,  km nordväst om huvudstaden Buenos Aires. Carcarañá ligger  meter över havet och antalet invånare är .

Terrängen runt Carcarañá är mycket platt. Den högsta punkten i närheten är  meter över havet,  km sydost om Carcarañá. Det finns inga andra samhällen i närheten.

Trakten runt Carcarañá består till största delen av jordbruksmark. Runt Carcarañá är det ganska tätbefolkat, med  invånare per kvadratkilometer.  Klimatet i området är fuktigt och subtropiskt. Årsmedeltemperaturen i trakten är  °C. Den varmaste månaden är december, då medeltemperaturen är  °C, och den kallaste är juli, med  °C. Genomsnittlig årsnederbörd är  millimeter. Den regnigaste månaden är februari, med i genomsnitt  mm nederbörd, och den torraste är juni, med  mm nederbörd.

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Orter i Santa Fe (provins)
Kontrollbehov inkommande wikilänkar

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I just read Joanne Jacobs article, "Odd Ducks" that very wisely asked the question: "Is there less room for odd ducks in today's schools?" I believe that in the world of standardized testing, there cannot be recognition for true quirkiness, because "standardized," by definition, recognizes the middle of the road as the higher ground.
To answer your question: it, unfortunately, depends. It depends on the administrator: is he or she the type of person that would give a student Saturday School for having a swash of color in their hair? It depends on the teacher: is he or she the type of person that remembers what it was like to spend your school days wrestling with your identity, even going so far as to put that swash of color in your hair to try out a new costume for the day?
I argue every year. What the heck does that mean? Who gets to judge what is unamiable and what is creative academic protest in the presence of an intolerent teacher?
And how 'bout this little tid-bit: in a Title I school of 49% Asian and 49% Latino, our honors classes are only made up of Asian and Caucasian (a group that makes up less than 1% of our district population).
Now, I'm not saying that our current honors teacher makes certain groups purposefully ineligible. I am saying that the teachers who recommend these students do so based on criteria that does not encourage diversity.
…who may or may not have a swash of color in their hair.
My school is currently wrestling with the honors English situation, the lack of representation of certain groups, and the fact few if any students ever move up. Nothing in the lower track provides the focused/appropriate support that should supposedly suit the learning needs of these students. Shouldn't the best performers among them be upwardly mobile, prepared for honors or AP later? That's why we're considering an end to tracking in grades 9/10. Radical idea, huh? A high profile high performing high district in NY abolished tracking in middle school and in grades 9/10, and found not only many more students of all types in their IB program as seniors, but higher IB scores for all, higher PSAT scores for all. Tracking does little for the "top" kids and is often criminally negligent towards lower tracks. It mainly exists to please teachers and parents.
I have the only heterogeneous/mixed sophomore class at my school, since I received administrative blessing to run a specialized English course called Facing History and Ourselves (linked to this organization: http://www.facinghistory.org ). Though, technically, students enroll in the honors or standard version of my class, and receive differentiated assignments accordingly. But in all activities and discussions and readings, they do the same thing. So…when our department had a little paper grading exercise where we calibrate our notions of A, B, C on an essay, I brought an exemplar paper from one of my supposedly "lower track" students. Everyone who read it assumed it was a kid in the upper track. Wow – what do you know? When kids are supported in a positive environment with high expectations, they can improve more than some teachers think. Another girl came into class with a major negative attitude – "I don't do no homework, ha ha ha!" Her friends were pretty much the same way. After enough time being surrounded by people who did homework, and being in conversations with them, she realized she wanted to contribute to the conversation but couldn't get anywhere without knowing the book. She went from a D to a B, and for a three-month stretch, she outperformed 90% of the "honors" kids on reading quizzes. (Her writing didn't advance quite so fast, though).
If your colleagues don't think teacher/institutional bias is creating your imbalance, they might also consider the results just south of you at View Park Prep in South Central L.A. It is a non-selective (just random lottery) small charter school with all African-American students. Regardless of their students' prior records, View Park expects all students to not only apply, but enter and succeed at the nation's most competitive colleges. They're off to a fine start (5 years now), doing what they set out to do. Another nifty example: the Davis school district wondered why the early elementary assessment of who's gifted and who's not was skewing so white. Instead of relying on teachers or parents to suggest who should be tested, they decided to test every kid (3rd grade, I think). Suddenly, four times as many African-American youngsters are gifted, three times as many Latino kids, and twice as many Native Americans. For any educators or institution to think that they are an exception to the well-researched and obvious biases at work almost everywhere, well, I'd think at a minimum you'd have to be able to point at specific safeguards or training that make you the exception to the rule.
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CHAPTER 5: SAMPLE PROBLEMS FOR HOMEWORK, CLASS OR EXAMS These problems are designed to be done without access to a computer, but they may require a calculator. 1. For each scenario below, choose the most likely method of analysis and write the corresponding letter in the blank. #1 two-sample t test #5 McNemar's test #6 two-sample test for medians A. ___ Household incomes are often extremely right-skewed. Based on sample data from two neighborhoods, do typical household incomes differ for the two neighborhoods? B. ___ An investment counselor gives both the husband and the wife in each couple a questionnaire on risk tolerance. Are husbands typically more risk tolerant than the wives? C. ___ Grade point averages are collected for random samples of engineering majors and business majors. Do typical GPAs differ for the two groups? D. ___ Pollution levels, categorized as either Low or Elevated, are measured at a sample of lakes in the Southeast, and also at a sample of lakes in the Northeast. Do the two regions differ in the probability a lake will have an elevated pollution level? E. ___ A sample of lakes in the Southeast have their pollution level measured twice, once in the Spring and once in the Summer. Pollution level is categorized as either Low or Elevated. Does the probability a lake will have an elevated pollution level vary by season? F. ___ Diabetics about to undergo surgery are randomly assigned to one of two insulin protocols. Is one of the protocols more effective at reducing variability in the post-operative blood glucose levels? 2. Eight volunteers participate in an experiment where their reaction time (in milliseconds) is recorded in response to a flashed light. Each volunteer has one reaction time measured using a red light, and again using a blue light. The data is shown below. Give a 95% confidence interval for the difference in mean reaction times for the two light colors. Subject Red 168 204 125 193 231 221 185 200 Blue 192 206 144 191 252 239 198 214 3. A researcher interviews a sample of a city's residents to determine their attitudes towards the public school system. Among the 87 respondents who had school-age children, 39 expressed confidence in the school system. Among the 45 who did not have school-age children, 23 expressed confidence. At α = 5%, is there evidence that those who do and those who do not have children differ in their level of confidence in the school system? Problems 4 through 6 are based on the following scenario. 4. At the end of their 4th grade year, 50 schoolchildren are tested for their reading ability. The children are randomly divided into two groups. One group is given a focused reading list for the summer, the other a broader list. At the beginning of the next school year, the children are tested again. The data for this study is summarized below. Loss is taken as the score at the end of the 4th grade – beginning of the 5th grade. The goal is to see whether one of the lists reduces the mean loss of reading ability that occurs over summer break. Group a. At the end of the 4th grade, did the groups differ significantly with respect to the mean reading ability? Use α = 5%. b. At the end of the 4th grade, did the groups differ significantly with respect to the variability in their reading ability? Use α = 5%. 5. Refer to the data summarized in Problem 4. a. Did the children in the focused reading list group show a significant change in their mean reading scores during the summer? Use α = 5%. b. Did the children in the broader reading list group show a significant change in their mean reading scores during the summer? Use α = 5%. 6. Refer to the data summarized in Problem 4. a. Is there evidence, at α = 5%, that the groups differ with respect to the mean loss in reading ability over the summer? b. Is there evidence, at α = 5%, that the groups differ with respect to the variability in their loss of reading ability? 7. A company is testing two different monitors to see if they differ with respect to their ability to detect elevated carbon monoxide (CO) levels. The two monitors are mounted side-by-side, and then the pair are exposed to 50 different situations with elevated CO. The table below summarizes the results. Test the null hypothesis that the monitors have equal probabilities of detecting CO, using α = 5%. 8. Volunteers are randomly divided into two groups and given a cognition test. Participants in group A take the exam after a normal nights' sleep. Volunteers in group B take the exam after going 24 hours without sleep. The scores on the exam seem to be right skewed, so the researchers decide to compare the medians in the groups. The overall median score was 42. In group A, 19 of the 25 participants scored above 42. In group B, 6 of the 25 participants scored above 42. At α = 1%, is there evidence that the medians differ? If so, which group seems to have the higher median? SOLUTIONS 1 A. #6 2. Paired samples. Taking the differences within samples as Blue – Red, the sample mean is 13.625 and the sample standard deviation is 9.180. With confidence 95%, the difference in mean reaction times is between 5.951 and 21.30, where the positive values indicate that Blue has a longer mean reaction time than Red. 3. two-sample test for proportions. Ho: p1 = p2 versus H1: p1 ≠ p2. Z = -0.686, p value = 0.4929 There is no significant evidence that the proportions feeling confident in the school system differ for those who do and do not have children. 4. a. two sample t-test. Using the pooled t-test, t = -0.56 with 48 df and p value 0.5778 There is no significant difference in the mean reading ability of the two groups initially. b. two sample F test. F = 1.381 with 24 and 24 df. P value = 0.4349 There is no significant difference in the variances of the reading ability in the two groups initially. 5. Paired t tests Ho: μD = 0 versus H1: μD ≠ 0 a. within the focused group: t = 13.38, p value = 0, the mean reading loss in the focused group differed significantly from 0. b. within the broader reading group: t = 9.09, p value = 0, the mean reading loss in the broader reading group differed significantly from 0. 6. a. applying the two sample t test to the losses, t = 0.137, p value = 0.8913 There is no significant evidence that the mean loss differs for the two types of reading lists. b. F = 2.09, there is no significant evidence that the variances differ in the two groups. 7 McNemars test. Out of 16 discordant pairs, only 4 were for B does not work/A works. Z = -2.0, p value =0.0455. There is significant evidence that the monitors differ in their effectiveness. Monitor B seems to be more reliable. 8. Compare the proportion of observations exceeding 42 for the two groups. Z = 3.68, p value = 0.0002, there is significant evidence that the medians in the two groups are different. There is apparently a higher median cognition score among people who have a normal night's sleep.


Situated on Louttit Bay, Lorne is a seaside town along Victoria's well-known Great Ocean Road. Officially beginning in Torquay, The Great Ocean Road is a 243-kilometre winding stretch of road notoriously known for its epic views of picturesque Victorian coastline. Lorne is located roughly 140 kilometres from Melbourne and is about an hour and 50-minute drive from the CBD.
Well known amongst local Victorian's as the Surf Coast, Lorne is no doubt a hot spot for surfers of all calibers. With endless stretches of beach to claim, the opportunity to catch a gnarly wave is endless. Lorne's beach is not only for surfers though. Surfers, locals and tourists all share the clear aqua coloured bay, under the watchful eye of the Lorne Surf Lifesaving club.
Along with its pristine coastline Lorne's national parks are also a must see. There are a number of scenic bush walking tracks on offer, all complete with their own waterfall backdrop. The Lorne information centre will provide helpful maps in order to navigate your way around the various national parks. In particular the Erskine Falls are not to be missed. The Falls are a 17-minute drive from Lorne's town centre but if you're feeling adventurous the Erskine River walk will get you there in 7.5 kilometers, roughly two hours and 15 minutes! If you're after something to substitute your routine run with, the Doug Stirling Walk is an easy three-kilometer run with some epic coastline views.
If you do indeed decide on trekking the entire 7.5 kilometers to the Erskine Falls, the recently refurbished Lorne Sea Baths have exactly what you need. A fully equipped heath, fitness and leisure facility, the Lorne Sea Baths strive to provide patrons with optimal comfort and convenience all with a nature beach backdrop as you enjoy their amenities. In particular over the summer season, the sea baths host daily yoga classes as well. Classes are available to students of all levels of yoga experience. Sessions times run from 7:45am and 9am, until the 2nd of February.
Despite its array of sport and leisure activities, Lorne definitely boasts some hip eateries and social venues as well. Always packed and blasting some mellow tunes is The Bottle of Milk is Lorne's very own take on the humble Grilled burger. Filled with some juicy goodness, these burgers are pure wholesome yumminess and should definitely be on your things to eat in Lorne! Two doors up from The Bottle of Milk is a newly opened fresh-faced café called Shells. Always greeting their customers with a friendly face, their food is modern and tasteful, which accompanies their funky décor and overall vibe. If you're craving some spicy and exotic Mexican, then Mexican Republic provides you with all the flavors of Mexico in one mouthful. Their fresh and tasty menus are to either share or have all for yourself, complimented with none other than Mexican beers and Spanish wines of course.
More than just a regular seaside settlement, Lorne has become a hip and upbeat beach town bustling with good vibes and all the right people. If you're looking for something that's got it all, Lorne is hard to be beaten.


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Home News Reducing the Improper Use of Cell Lines
Source: Elkor/Getty Images
Reducing the Improper Use of Cell Lines
Researchers say that the use of Research Resource Identifiers (RRIDs) helps reduce the improper use of cell lines in biomedical studies. RRIDs are ID numbers assigned to help researchers cite key resources (antibodies, model organisms, and software projects) in the biomedical literature to improve transparency of research methods, according to rrids.org.
The team's study ("Meta-Research: Incidences of problematic cell lines are lower in papers that use RRIDs to identify cell lines"), published in eLife, suggests that continued use of RRIDs in the scientific literature will allow better reporting of cell lines and other research materials in publications, which would in turn aid future reproducibility efforts.
"The use of misidentified and contaminated cell lines continues to be a problem in biomedical research. RRIDs should reduce the prevalence of misidentified and contaminated cell lines in the literature by alerting researchers to cell lines that are on the list of problematic cell lines, which is maintained by the International Cell Line Authentication Committee (ICLAC) and the Cellosaurus database," wrote the investigators.
"To test this assertion, we text-mined the methods sections of about two million papers in PubMed Central, identifying 305,161 unique cell-line names in 150,459 articles. We estimate that 8.6% of these cell lines were on the list of problematic cell lines, whereas only 3.3% of the cell lines in the 634 papers that included RRIDs were on the problematic list. This suggests that the use of RRIDs is associated with a lower reported use of problematic cell lines."
Cell lines are used widely in the biological sciences. Their ability to multiply indefinitely means that scientists can, in theory, exactly replicate previous studies and build on the results. But mislabeling or mishandling can lead to the misidentification, contamination, and/or distribution of problematic cell lines, which can, in turn, affect the validity of research data.
"RRIDs should help reduce this improper use of cell lines," explained co-first author Zeljana Babic, a graduate student at the Center for Research in Biological Systems, University of California, San Diego. "These unique identifiers can be included in the methods section of a research paper to define the cell line, antibody, transgenic organism, or software used. They can alert researchers to resources that flag problematic cell lines, such as the Cellosaurus database."
"The Cellosaurus database is the most comprehensive knowledge resource on cell lines," said Amos Bairoch, PhD, professor at the University of Geneva and group leader at the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. "RRIDs for cell lines are created by this authoritative database."
Amanda Capes-Davis, PhD, chair of the International Cell Line Authentication Committee (ICLAC), added, "Misidentified cell lines are a major problem in the scientific literature. If researchers are alerted about the misidentification of a cell line before they publish, will they still report data from such a cell line?"
However, caution must be used in interpreting the study's results, explained senior author Anita Bandrowski, PhD, CEO of SciCrunch and Project Lead at the Center for Research in Biological Systems, University of California, San Diego. "The use of cell lines on the problematic list does not automatically mean that a given line is being employed improperly. Additionally, the list includes cell lines that have been labeled with the wrong type of cancer, but which may still be safely used if the researchers know the true identity of the line."
The team added that it is important to review the evidence underlying the findings and make a considered judgment regarding their impact on published work. "Cell-line resources, such as Cellosaurus and the ICLAC register of misidentified cell lines, have been developed to improve awareness of cell-line information," Bandrowski concluded. "We hope that inclusion of RRIDs will result in improved use of these resources and better reporting of all research materials in future publications."
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What commissioners need to transform healthcare
Source: NHE: Jul/Aug 19
Dr Graham Jackson, co-chair at NHS Clinical Commissioners, outlines how CCGs can best deliver the goals outlined in the Long Term Plan and perform at their highest quality.
Speaking at the NHS Confederation's conference last month, Simon Stevens, highlighted the need for change in the NHS's service model. An ageing population, alongside more people with multiple or long-term conditions, means the system is outdated. It must be brought into the 21st century. But the question is how?
The Long Term Plan (LTP) continues to drive transformation to make care more joined-up and person-centred, providing better and more timely treatment. But it also presents challenges for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and systems, both short- and long-term.
Clinical commissioners will be on the front line of this change to service models and will themselves be working differently to deliver the ambitions of the LTP. For a number of years CCGs have been clear that a more strategic approach was the route to take, planning and buying services for larger populations whilst working more collaboratively with provider organisations; which will be embedded in integrated care systems (ICSs). For many, this also means the formal merging of CCGs over the next two years – building on existing collaborative arrangements where many CCGs are already sharing management teams.
NHS Clinical Commissioners, as the membership body for CCGs, is working with NHS England and Improvement to set out what a streamlined CCG might look like – what activities might be done at 'place' or locality level, or what might be better for the ICS to take responsibility for. But with all this change, it is crucial that the unique strengths of clinical commissioners – the clinical leadership, system-wide perspective and strong links to the needs of local populations – are kept.
Organisations working across ICSs are developing their five-year plans, building on work that has already been happening in many areas, but there are some things that will help them to deliver these plans by 2024.
First, knowing which of the many tasks in the Long Term Plan should be prioritised. NHS England and Improvement's Implementation Framework provides helpful clarity on this, whilst allowing flexibility to complete the rest according to local need, making sure the long-term goals are met. However, the scale of the challenge should not be underestimated. These goals are very ambitious; there must be an understanding and support for those systems where it may take longer than five years to reach them.
Understandably, another of the main concerns is money. Helpfully, the Implementation Framework sets out what funding is available above CCG allocations. Clinical commissioners now know what additional resources will be available and, crucially, how to access them. It remains to be seen whether these additional resources will be enough.
In addition, there are several changes to legislation that could speed up and smooth the path to integration, including reforming the payment system, sharing responsibility for health outcomes, clarity on accountability and governance structures, and revising procurement and competition rules. There is appetite for these both among our members and across the wider, but it is important to note that changes to legislation are not essential pieces of the puzzle. Which is fortunate, given the current political uncertainty that means it is unclear when – or even if – the law will change.
Support centrally – from NHS England and Improvement, the Department of Health and Social Care and others – will be necessary to deliver the LTP's ambitions. We mustn't reinvent the wheel either; CCGs must learn from each other, share experiences and spread good practice. We will work to support our members commission for the future, in an architecture that seeks to create a multi-faceted, collaborative, more resilient base at different scales within a geographical area – whether through developing partnerships with local authorities at 'place' level or through Primary Care Networks at neighbourhood level.
The building blocks are changing, the delivery model is evolving, but the focus of the LTP is clear: clinical commissioners must continue to strive for high quality, value for money outcomes as they always have.
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Suspect arrested in Nia Wilson slaying
Nia Wilson was stabbed to death at the MacArthur BART station late Sunday, July 22, 2018. (Family photo)
Louis LaVenture,
John Lee Cowell, 27, was arrested on Monday at the Pleasant Hill BART Station after a rider called the police alerting them he was on a train, according to BART officials. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office charged Cowell on Monday with the murder of 18-year-old Nia Wilson and the attempted murder of her sister.
According to BART officials, Wilson and her sister were standing on the MacArthur BART Station platform waiting for a train on Sunday when Cowell came up from behind and fatally stabbed her. According to the Oakland Police Department, the attacks were unprovoked.
More than 1,000 people gathered on Monday to celebrate the life of Wilson near the BART Station where she was killed. Family members played some of her music for the crowd, Wilson was a rapper.
BART Police, who made the arrest, described Cowell as calm when he was arrested. The deputy chief of BART Police, Ed Alvarez, said he was sitting down in a car and had no weapons in his possession. BART Police said now they are tracing Cowell's steps from the time the crime was committed to his arrest. Cowell had a court date set for 2 p.m. in Oakland.
Tags: Bart, death, murder, Nia Wilson, Oakland, slaying
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it meets the requirement of the PNPF Book Club of being an easy read.
Secondly, it plays into the timely old adage, "April Showers bring May flowers".
Besides all of that, a book about flowers seems so appropriate for the month we will be celebrating Mother's Day. In fact, this book may be the perfect gift for your own mom - depending on her interests.
Anyway, what intrigues me about this book is that not only does it breakdown the historical significance and meaning of the 50 flowers mentioned in the book but it includes a fun little section "If you love [insert flower type] then you probably..." at the bottom of each page. I'm curious to see which flower best represents my personality, compared to the flowers I actually adore.
"Samantha Gray reveals how flowers came by their meanings in folklore and how flowers became the language of courtship, love, friendship, beauty and more. Discover the meanings of over 50 flowers: how lily of the valley symbolizes the return of happiness, how bluebells stand for constancy and everlasting love and how daffodils represent high regard and chivalry. With stunning illustrations by artist Sarah Perkins that capture all of the beauty of flowers, this is an exceptionally lovely and fascinating gift book."
Since there are 50 different flowers mentioned you could easily pick one flower a day to read about during your busy week and bump it up to three or four each day on the weekends. Or just skip reading altogether during the week and save your reading time for just the weekend. Or maybe you don't even read the entire thing but simply pick the flowers you are most interested in reading about and leave the rest to when you have more time for leisurely reading?
That's the beauty of the PNPF Book Club. There are no deadlines. No real rules.
Participate and read along when you are inspired to do so...because ultimately...the goal is to leave you feeling inspired!
Would you like to win your own copy of "The Secret Language of Flowers by Samantha Gray"?
The awesome publishing company, Ryland, Peters and Small has graciously offered to send a copy to THREE different winners.
Contest starts April 10th and ends on April 15th.
Winners announced and notified on April 16th.
We will get started on May 1st with this new book.
In the meantime, I'm thoroughly enjoying the inspiration I'm getting from April's Book Selection, Keep It Simple.
Obsessed with this bucket of Spray Roses I posted on Instagram today!!
Wishing the grocery store had had more than one bundle yesterday because I could put these in every corner, on every window sill and on every table top around the house. These are for sure going to be part of the flower garden Ella and I are beginning to plan.


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Leading MEPs give Brexit deadline of Sunday in 'moment of truth' for Boris Johnson
Published: 12:06 PM December 17, 2020 Updated: 12:24 PM December 17, 2020
Manfred Weber in the European parliament - Credit: European parliament
European Parliament group leaders have adopted a declaration setting a Brexit deadline date of Sunday to ensure a deal is achieved.
The declaration from the Conference of Presidents, initiated by Spanish member Iratxe Garcia Perez, states they are ready to hold an extraordinary session at the end of December if an agreement is reached by midnight on Sunday December 21.
It also calls for a provisional text of the Brexit agreement to be made available to European Parliament members as soon as possible.
The declaration acknowledges the "exceptional nature" of the proceedings and commends the "dedicated and professional work" of Brexit negotiators in the UK and EU.
Leading German MEP Manfred Weber, who leads the centre-right European People's Party group in the European Parliament, explained: "I have proposed to EU Parliament leadership this morning that we should only approve a Brexit agreement if we get it by this Sunday.
"After that we cannot reasonably scrutinise the deal before the end of the year. The agreement is too important to rush through Parliament.
"We owe it to the people and businesses in our constituencies who will be heavily affected by Brexit, to scrutinise the deal appropriately. After Sunday we don't believe this would still be possible."
The politician later added on Twitter: "I have proposed to the European Parliament leadership this morning that we should only approve a Brexit agreement if we get it until this Sunday. After that we cannot reasonably scrutinize the deal before the end of the year.
"The agreement is too important to rush through Parliament.
"We owe it to the people and businesses in our constituencies who will be heavily affected by Brexit, to scrutinize the deal appropriately. After Sunday we don't believe this would still be possible."
Romanian MEP Dacian Cioloș, leader of the liberal Renew group, said: "We give until Sunday to Boris Johnson to make a decision. The uncertainty hanging over citizens and businesses as a result of UK choices becomes intolerable."
"Michel Barnier and his team has our full support as we head to the Brexit moment of truth."
But Green MEP Philippe Lamberts warned to "expedite" the consent process would be a "severe blow to the credibility" of the parliament.
"This massive treaty would be expedited in a few days between Christmas and New Year, making a joke of the scrutiny process. Consent to international treaties should never be treated as a formality.
"Checks and balances and due process are essential elements of any democracy; such should be the case for the European Union as the world's first venture into a transnational democracy."
Michel Barnier


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Majority of Canadians Are Still Not Using the COVID Alert App
According to a recent research from York University, the federal government's COVID Alert app has not yet been downloaded by the majority of the Canadian population, CTV News is reporting.
COVID Alert, which debuted last year to help keep Canadians safe by alerting them to possible virus exposures before showing symptoms, is not having a significant impact on slowing the spread of COVID-19, note the researchers.
"The elderly population is a perfect example in that they're one of the sub-populations who are most vulnerable to COVID-19, but they're also one of the populations that feels these apps are inaccessible to them," said Jennie Phillips, Director of York University's Digital Global Health and Humanitarianism Lab Researchers.
In order for the app to work, Canadians need to use it, noted Philips. She continued that the more people who use the app will determine how much of an effect it is having on the pandemic.
Canada's COVID Alert app is currently only available only in English and French, creating a language barrier for many Canadians, including those who might be disproportionately affected by the virus.
Mandarin, Cantonese and Punjabi are among the most spoken languages in Canada, however, those languages are not offered on the app.
Researchers determined that without understanding the concerns of Canadians, finding ways to mitigate the privacy risks, and amplify the benefits of the COVID Alert app, user uptake will not be improved.
As of April 8, Health Canada said the app had been downloaded 6,455,311 times, while only 25,552 people have voluntarily input their one-time key to notify others around them after testing positive for COVID-19.
Apple Making Tools to Let People Easily Build AR Apps–with Siri? [Report]
Apple reportedly wants an easy way for people to build augmented reality apps, that might even be assisted by the company's Siri voice assistant, reports The Information. Unnamed sources say Apple plans to let Siri build an AR app when asked through its upcoming mixed-reality headset. These apps would then be able to submit to […]


Caesarea Port provides a special atmosphere where history, leisure and nature meet to create the ultimate touring experience. Set adjacent to the Caesarea National Park, Caesarea Port provides tourists with interactive experiences which tell the history of the sites visited. The Travel through Time Sound and Light Show takes visitors on a one hour virtual tour of Caesarea's many layered history from Herod and the Romans to Crusaders and the modern day port established with Baron Rothschild's vision for Israel's coastal area. Guests will also enjoy interactive meetings with computer generated images of key historical figures like King Herod and Hannah Senesh. The Time Tower rebuilds Caesarea using virtual simulations to reconstruct the city as it was during each period of its multi layered history.
Within the Caesarea Port area, guests will find a variety of restaurants, ice cream shops and bars, all overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Helena and Pundak Hatsalbaim are both fish restaurants offering fresh locally caught seafood. An Artists Colony at Caesarea Port offers wine, cheese and other locally made products, as well as art work made by various Israeli artists. Caesarea Port hosts many annual events including a cycling marathon, an annual Caesarea Jazz Festival, unique evening events and holiday activities. The Caesar Yam Hall is a facility for private events and weddings and is located on the water's edge. Caesarea Port is open year round. Check the website for attraction hours. The restaurants, galleries and beach facilities are open daily until the evening.
Attractions at Caesarea Port can all be purchased separately. Alternatively, the combination ticket provides entrance to all the Port attractions and restaurants as well as the antiquities of the Caesarea National Park.


In all my years of blogging, one question has been asked about 10 times more than others; "how can I restore my hairline?" or some form of that. The truth is, many women especially in SA struggle with receding hairlines. I honestly would love to have less women asking me this, because most of the time it's preventable. Watch my latest video where I share how I helped my sister restore hers and what I did with my own hairline after it starting receding from post-partum shedding. If you or someone you know is struggling with this, have a watch and share with them too.


These tracks may not wholly be about Winter but do remind me of it.
The festival takes place on the weekend of September 5 to 7 at the LSO St Luke's – the home of the London Symphony Orchestra on Old Street – right in the heart of Tech City.
As a "festival of music ideas" it brings together artists and performers, academics and thinkers, startups and labels, inventors and innovators. From the latest research to incredible performances by fantastic artists such as Jason Singh, Coldcut, Shlomo, Lossy, Fiona Soe Paing and Eduardo Miranda's Brainwave Quartet.
It's a celebration of the future of music – and it's where the future of music is being invented.
What, in the historical present, might constitute an activist life in sound?
Please send expressions of interest, including the theme, topic and format of your presentation, of around 200 words and a short biography of no more than 200 words by Monday 16th June 2014 to SGFA2014@crisap.org We will let you know if your submission is accepted by July 9th 2014.
Thanks to Pink Noises for highlighting these articles.
Free album alert from Magnetic Wind.
Downloadable mp3 album, Asleep Next To You. http://freefloatingmusic.bandcamp.com/album/asleep-next-to-you .


text:
easyJet Adds Bordeaux and Jersey in Belfast 15th Anniversary Celebration
By Richard Maslen
Posted 9 September 2013 12:51 | Comment
easyJet has this week celebrated its 15th anniversary at Belfast International Airport by announcing two new routes and staging a water arch salute for arriving aircraft. Since introducing their first flight to London Luton 15 years ago easyJet has flown over 32 million passengers to and from Belfast and is now Northern Ireland's largest airline operator.
At a special event to mark the milestone on September 9, 2013, easyJet held a celebration at the airport with 15 themed cakes and Bordeaux wine, partly to also mark the addition of Bordeaux in south west France and Jersey in the Channel Islands to its network from Belfast International Airport from summer 2014. The airline has not yet formalised its planned schedules for these two new routes but confirmed seats will go on sale from next month. However, it was not all good news in the Northern Irish capital as it emerged the carrier is to end its existing link to London Southend from January 6, 2014.
"We're pleased to mark this important anniversary for easyJet by announcing two new routes for Northern Ireland," said Ali Gayward, easyJet's Head of Northern Ireland during the event. "Since we launched our first flight to Belfast in 1998 over 32 million people have chosen to fly with us. Belfast was one of our first bases outside Luton and we look forward to celebrating many more anniversaries here."
easyJet currently has six aircraft based permanently at Belfast International Airport and employs over 200 crew and pilots at the airport, handling over three million people a year. "Since their first flight from Belfast International Airport in 1998, easyJet have grown rapidly and now carry more passengers into and out of Northern Ireland than any other airline," said John Doran, managing director, Belfast International Airport.
According to Doran, the airline's success has come from its business model of providing low fares to the destinations to which both business and leisure passengers want to travel. "It was not uncommon in the mid-nineties to be charged fares of over £300 to travel between Northern Ireland and significant UK cities such as Edinburgh, Liverpool and Bristol. easyJet singularly changed all of that, as well as adding direct access to European cities from Belfast, and for that alone the Northern Ireland public owe them a huge debt of gratitude," he added.
easyJet first launched flights to Belfast in September 1998 when it linked it to its home base at London Luton Airport. A new link to Liverpool was introduced in July 1999 and flights were increased between Northern Ireland and England from October 2000. New services to Glasgow and Edinburgh were introduced in October 2001 and a formal base was opened in October 2002.
The opening of the base supported further network growth from the airport with flights to London Gatwick and Newcastle being introduced in February 2003 and a significant international growth including routes to Paris and destinations in Portugal and Spain from June 2004. The base was expanded to six aircraft in November 2007 facilitating the launch of another five new routes and recent network additions have included Manchester (from October 2011) and Birmingham (from October 2012).
Although Bordeaux is a new non-stop market from Belfast, Jersey is already served on a seasonal basis by Jet2.com from Belfast International and Flybe from Belfast City. Neither of these two routes is currently loaded for summer 2014 operation. According to UK CAA data just over 11,000 passengers flew between Belfast and Jersey in 2012 with 9,267 using the services from Belfast International and 1,985 the flights from Belfast City.
During the time easyJet has been serving the Northern Ireland market there has been a rise in visitor spend in Belfast, as the city has become better connected. Its tourism offering has been transformed during this period to support this and it is now established as a modern, vibrant city with unrivalled world class attractions and events and annual visitor numbers have increased from around 1.5 million in 1999 to more than 7.5 million today.
"In continually investing in its services from Belfast International Airport, easyJet has played a pivotal role in assisting us in our strategic efforts to drive this tourism growth over this period and I would like to pay tribute to its longstanding commitment to Belfast and for its contribution to the city's tourism success," said Gerry Lennon, chief executive officer, Visit Belfast.
Official figures from the development agency show that the 1.5 million visitor arrivals in 1999 generated around £114 million in spend, a figure that almost doubled at the peak of demand when 9.3 million arrival in 2009 spent an estimated £451 million. Arrivals numbers have declined in each of the subsequent years and although spend fell notably in 2010 it has subsequently grown again in 2011 and 2012 as those that do visit Belfast spend a little more than previous visitors.
In our analysis of schedule data from information provider OAG we look at overall seat capacity from Belfast's two airports – International and George Best City – during the past two years. Capacity has declined 1.7 per cent between 2011 and 2012, due mainly to the departure of bmibaby from the Belfast market. bmi British Midland also left the Belfast market after being acquired by British Airways, albeit the latter has continued to maintain its capacity since the takeover. In the past year easyJet has boosted its own seat capacity by 5.7 per cent and increased its share of the Belfast market from 48.0 per cent in 2012 to 51.4 per cent this year.
SCHEDULED AIR CAPACITY FROM BELFAST AIRPORTS (non-stop departures from Belfast International and George Best Belfast City airports)
Seat Capacity (2013)
% Share (2013)
% Change (2012)
easyJet (U2)
Flybe (BE)
Aer Lingus (EI)
British Airways (BA)
Jet2.com (LS)
(-7.0) %
OVERALL TOTAL
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Editor, Routesonline
Richard provided insight to the Routesonline community delivering content every day via our Airlineroute schedules blog and through regular features and analysis on latest developments and trends within the sector. With almost 20 years in the industry working for a number of aviation publications he brought the team a wealth of experience and insight.
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Belfast International Airport
Routes Update
Jersey Airport
easyJet Adds to Summer 2014 Schedule with new UK and French Services Posted 25 October 2013 09:35
easyJet Plans New Routes from UK and France in S14 Posted 24 October 2013 04:00
easyJet S20 new routes as of 27DEC19 Posted 31 December 2019 03:00
easyJet schedules new routes from the UK in W18 Posted 18 July 2018 05:00
easyJet outlines new routes in S18 Posted 13 December 2017 11:00


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Nwain updates every two weeks on Tuesdays! Currently on break to write chapter 4. Next update: January 15th!