Blue-capped Rock Thrush

Description:

The Blue-capped Rock Thrush breeds in the foothills of the Himalayas and winters in the hill forests of southern India. In summer it is found in pine forests and hill slopes. In winter it is found in dense canopied forests. Like thrushes, they fly up into trees and tend to freeze when disturbed.

Notes:

Ten minutes to midnight, I was preparing to sleep when I saw a mix of brown and white fluttering at the edge of the balcony railing in my room. The camera revealed a very pretty little bird with rich brown-black markings on the wings and dark scales on the inner parts of the body and around the legs. The bird was restless initially. It hopped around a couple of times, with its tail slightly up, making a faint krrrk-krrrkk call. It was a little skittish too, courtesy some noisy street dogs far below in the neighboring street. I was hoping that it would find a nice, cozy place and stay the night. And it did. It was only the next morning when I was able to finally ID the bird, it was a female Blue-capped Rock Thrush. The excessive markings on the wings and darker scales could be a result of long flights in the migratory season. When I checked in the morning, as expected, the bird had left.