‘DoresaniPalya Forest Campus’ a.k.a JP Nagar Mini Jungle is around 2 kms from my home. I have been using the forest as a running route since 2012 when we moved from Indiranagar. I was not a birder then and it remained just a place to run. Cut to 2017, I discovered that I like birding and now I see the forest with new eyes. I found that the place is teeming with bird life. While earlier the place was silent to me, now I hear bird songs and calls at every step. More than 90 species of birds are reported here on ebird.

The campus has an area of 100+ acres and has one road running right through the middle of it. It is just under 800 m in length. There are quite a few dirt tracks which branch through its length on both the side. The best bet for seeing birds is to go along one of these dirt tracks and then after a while leave the dirt track and venture into the forest. The forest has its share of snakes and mosquitoes so tread with caution. Even if you just stay on the main road, it is common to see a few birds if you keep looking up. You would definitely, at least, ‘hear’ quite a few species.

You will find quite a few Koels singing away..

Oriental Magpie Robin is a bird which you would hear before you see. They are a small, beautiful bird and quite a songster. They are comfortable with human presence and can be observed easily. It is amusing to watch them as they go about foraging for insects. They can be seen hopping from branch to branch, on ground or perched on tree tops and singing loudly. They have a long tail which is generally kept upright. They are called काली सुई चिड़िया in hindi.

The forest has a good number of the Greater Coucal. Greater coucal is known as crow pheasant too. It is a cuckoo bird and you can hear their loud call from far away. Their deep resonating call is one of the defining sound of the JP Nagar forest. These are large beautiful bird. Known as महोख in hindi, sighting these are considered as auspicious in few culture. However, these are slightly difficult to sight due to their shy nature. They are comfortable on tree tops and ground and feed on insect. I have seen them multiple times walking on ground, well camouflaged among dense undergrowth. The best bet to sight them would be too first spot them by hearing their call and then approaching the general direction of the call as inconspicuously as possible.

Fun fact – It is the national bird of the proposed Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka.

Black drongos which are pretty common in Bangalore, they can be found perched on top of tall branches, electric wires etc. JP Nagar mini forest is no exception, these birds can be sighted easily as they like to perch on top of a tall branch. They are insectivores and these tall perches would come in handy for scanning the ground for any insect movement. They are known to have strong wings can they can be seen performing some amazing maneuvers in sky. These birds have a beautiful glossy black color and have a forked tail. A common name for this bird is King Crow and in Hindi they are appropriately know as कोतवाल or भुजंग as they are known to be intelligent and have an aggressive nature.

The forest Campus is also home to quite a few Green bee eaters. These are small but beautiful birds. As the name suggests these too are insectivores and have a very beautiful and smooth flight. Watching them in flight as they smoothly glide between trees is very pleasurable. In Hindi they are known as हरियल or पतरिंगा which is apt due to its bright green color. They are distributed across India.

Verditer Flycatcher is a rare sighting here. I have spotted them just once here. It is bright in color. I think the one in the picture below is female as this was slightly duller than the images I see on internet. I did not know that ‘Verditer’ is a shade of blue. This is one the side effects of birding, If you are new to birding, you will come across new words quite regularly.

White-browed Bulbul has a very distinctive call. This is another bird which is heard more often than seen. In fact, there are a few spots in the Jungle where, you are almost guaranteed to hear its calls, but it requires quite a bit of patience to be able to see them. They generally keep to themselves in dense undergrowth. They have a distinctive call which is like a burst of gurgling water sound. I heard them on multiple occasions and was intrigued by it. It was only after a few days that I was able to spot and photograph them. Other members of bulbul family like Red-whiskered Bulbul and red-vented Bulbuls are also easily sighted here.

White-cheeked Barbet is an endemic bird to South India. According to wikipedia, it mainly eats fruits and sometimes insects. It uses its beak to excavate dried up tree branches looking for insects and thats exactly what the barbet i saw was busy with. This bird has a very distinctive call, a monotonous Kot-roo … Kotroo… Once you identify this sound, you will start listening to this all over in Bangalore.

I was unable to ID the following bird, Kindly leave a comment if you know its name.

Many other species like: Great Tit, Black Kite, Shikra, Parakeet etc are also commonly seen here. I might add them in a separate post if I get to capture them in future.

In fact a pair of Shikra is very easily spotted and are often seen chasing other smaller birds around. I have also heard a pair of owls talking to each other on my early morning runs. I hope I will be able to track them one of these days.

[All the images here are taken by me at DoresaniPalya Forest Campus]