𝙍𝙤𝙘𝙠-𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙎𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧 🪨🌙
Indian Robin — Saxicoloides fulicatus (தமிழ்: வாணாணாட்டிக்கூருவி | கருஞ்சிட்டு)
📍 Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India • 11 Oct 2025, 7:20 pm
🧭 EXIF: Nikon Z9 + Nikkor Z 800 mm • 1/400 s • f/6.3 • ISO 6400
📍 Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India • 11 Oct 2025, 7:20 pm
🧭 EXIF: Nikon Z9 + Nikkor Z 800 mm • 1/400 s • f/6.3 • ISO 6400
Story
On a twilight check for owl activity in the small hill region, this Indian Robin was tucked into a narrow rock cavity—calm, unbothered, and clearly at home. It felt like I’d peeped into its bedroom for the night.
On a twilight check for owl activity in the small hill region, this Indian Robin was tucked into a narrow rock cavity—calm, unbothered, and clearly at home. It felt like I’d peeped into its bedroom for the night.
Field Guide
• ID: Male is glossy black with rich chestnut undertail coverts; slim bill; often flicks tail.
• Habitat/Diet: Open scrub, rocky slopes, fields, village edges; hunts insects on ground and low rocks.
• Breeding: Feb–Aug typically; nests in cavities/ledges with fine grass and hair.
• Range: Widespread across peninsular India & Sri Lanka’s dry zones.
• Look-alike tip: Darker and sleeker than Pied Bushchat; chestnut vent is a giveaway.
• ID: Male is glossy black with rich chestnut undertail coverts; slim bill; often flicks tail.
• Habitat/Diet: Open scrub, rocky slopes, fields, village edges; hunts insects on ground and low rocks.
• Breeding: Feb–Aug typically; nests in cavities/ledges with fine grass and hair.
• Range: Widespread across peninsular India & Sri Lanka’s dry zones.
• Look-alike tip: Darker and sleeker than Pied Bushchat; chestnut vent is a giveaway.
Roosting Facts (for this species & setting)
• Prefers secure crevices—rock fissures, wall holes, culverts, or dense thorny bushes—to avoid predators at night.
• Site fidelity: Often returns to the same roost for days or weeks when undisturbed.
• Usually roosts singly or as a pair; slips in at dusk after a last bout of tail-flicking foraging.
• Chooses spots with a narrow entrance & deeper pocket, blocking wind and reducing heat loss—exactly like this tight rock cavity.
• In human landscapes, may use building nooks/stacked stones, showing high adaptability.
• Prefers secure crevices—rock fissures, wall holes, culverts, or dense thorny bushes—to avoid predators at night.
• Site fidelity: Often returns to the same roost for days or weeks when undisturbed.
• Usually roosts singly or as a pair; slips in at dusk after a last bout of tail-flicking foraging.
• Chooses spots with a narrow entrance & deeper pocket, blocking wind and reducing heat loss—exactly like this tight rock cavity.
• In human landscapes, may use building nooks/stacked stones, showing high adaptability.
Micro-caption
A black-velvet silhouette settling into its stone-safe bedroom for the night. 🖤🪨
A black-velvet silhouette settling into its stone-safe bedroom for the night. 🖤🪨
