Rufous Treepie with chicks

Description:

Large crow-like bird with a long tail. Rust, black and white feathers. Robust beak. A very wary and alert bird...but I suppose when it is notorious in the avian community for being an opportunistic egg-thief...it has to be! Usually it has a harsh squawk ...and the grating call has earned it the name Haari-chachha (pot-scraper) in Bangla. But its amorous call is quite melodious...the first time I heard it I thought it was a totally new species calling. It has also been called Lej (tail) -jhola (dangling)- pakhi (bird) in Bengali nursery rhymes.

Habitat:

I met three of these birds when on my morning walk. It is monsoon time so I do not always carry my camera but today, I had. Two of the birds settled on the parapet of a house and I took these to be the parent birds. However, when I see the photos now I am not sure that one isn't a fledgling. the third bird is obviously a chick...it perched on the electric line in front of the house. The light wasn't too good at that angle but I did get a few snaps. It kept sitting there clinging on for dear life even as the other two flew about. The chick kept calling and the other two kept responding. I had to give up my observation when the local dogs got suspicious about why I was standing there.