Indian Spot-Billed Duck - Keoladeo NP

I did a previous post on the Indian spot-billed duck seen in Kaziranga NP in Assam, India (post on February 6, 2025). We saw more in November 2025 in Keoladeo NP in Rajasthan, India. 

Indian spot-billed duck illustration - female - Birds of the World. 

Indian spot-billed duck illustration - male - Birds of the World. The difference appears to be the size and color of the red spot on the upper bill. 

Illustration of a flying male from Birds of the World. 

A very cool duck. 

Imperial Eagle

Like the Indian spotted eagle in my last post, the imperial eagle, also known as the eastern imperial eagle, is a bird I saw in Keoladeo NP near Bharatpur, India, as identified by my guide, Ashok, who has been a naturalist at Keoladeo for ten years. Like the Indian spotted eagle, when I submitted my photo to iNaturalist, it gave eight suggestions and imperial eagle was not one of them. Even reviewing photos on Birds of the World, there are huge differences in looks as they age.  

Illustration of the imperial eagle from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World. 

I'm not going to go into much detail. Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to see another one sometime and get a closer look. 

Indian Spotted Eagle

In Keoladeo NP our guide, Ashok, identified an Indian spotted eagle. It was quite a ways away and my photos are not the best, but when I submitted it to iNaturalist "Indian spotted eagle" was not among the eight options listed. I had to type it in to the identification line and, so far, no one else has weighed in on the identification. I'm sticking with the identification because Ashok has been at Keoladeo ten years and appears to know the place. These are my photos:

Birds of the World only lists 12,381 observations and 4,954 photos. Under diet and foraging, Birds of the World notes that in a nest near Bharatpur, northern India (where Keoladeo NP is), prey items consisted of 17 mammals, 12 birds, 6 reptiles and 1 amphibian. There is also a video on Birds of the World from Bharatpur. This confirms they are found near Keoladeo and the range map, below is consistent with that. Wikipedia notes that after three or four months young eagles are glossy brown with the tips of the head and neck feathers being creamy and giving a spotted appearance. I'm finding that photos are highly variable and I'm not finding anything that really confirms or disconfirms it as such. We'll go with it for now. 

Illustration from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of adult flying from Birds of the World.

Illustration of juvenile flying from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World. 

Alexandrine Parakeet - Keoladeo NP

We saw Alexandrine parakeets last December 2024 in Kaziranga NP in Assam (northeastern) India (see January 15, 2025 post). In November 2025 we visited India again and got much better views of the Alexandrine parakeet at Keoladeo NP in northern India, but much further west than Kaziranga. In Keoladeo we saw ssp. nipalensis. In Kaziranga we saw ssp. avensis. In nipalensis the back of the head and cheeks are tinged blue and males have a broader black stripe across the lower cheek. Avensis has a smaller bill and males look like nipalensis, except that the neck and underparts are more yellowish and and there is a narrow blue stripe on the hindneck. 

The Alexandrine parakeets in Keoladeo were very close to us and our views were much better.  

Illustration of ssp. eupatria from Birds of the World. This is a female. 

This and the next are illustrations of a eupatria male from Birds of the World. Note the black chin and red neck. As indicted above, niplensis has blue cheeks and back of head, is more gray and has a broader black stripe on the lower cheek. 

Bronze-Winged Jacana - Keoladeo NP

I did a prior post on the bronze-winged jacana in Kaziranga NP in Assam, India (post on March 24, 2025). In November 2025 I was in India again in Keoladeo NP. I got a better photo of an adult and also a photo of a juvenile. 

The bronze wing in this photo really pops out. 

A juvenile. 

Illustration of an adult from Birds of the World.

Illustration of a juvenile from Birds of the World. 

Bald Eagle - Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

We just got back from spending Christmas in Utah and I got some of my best views of bald eagles yet. I've now seen bald eagles quite a few times: (a) at Cape Canaveral in Florida (February 8, 2014 post); (b) in Alaska in Kenai Fjords NP, on Chichagof Island and near Anan Creek (August 4, 2016 post); (c) in Nova Scotia on the bird islands of Cape Breton (September 17, 2018 post); (d) in Heber City, Utah (December 9, 2019 post); and I've now seen them several times at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge near Brigham City, Utah. 

On December 26th, the day after Christmas, I drove to Bear River and there was a dearth of birds unlike I've seen before. I drove the entire 12 mile auto route going about 25 miles per hour or perhaps slightly faster. I took a photo of a pied grebe, and that was it. However, on the way out, after leaving the 12 mile auto route I had two great sightings. First, I saw a bald eagle balancing on a branch in the Bear River. I stopped and it flew, circled around and came back in for a landing. I got it coming in for a landing, the first photos like that I've gotten of a bald eagle. 

About a mile further, I saw what I thought was a golden eagle standing on a gate. I stopped for photos and it took flight and I got a couple of photos of it flying. I was really excited thinking I'd gotten my best photos yet of a golden eagle. However, iNaturalist identified it as a bald eagle and after looking at various photos I had to agree. It is a juvenile bald eagle. Bummer. The photos below are in opposite order. 

In the interim, between my prior posts and this one, I saw a bald eagle in Cameron Prairie NWR in Louisiana in November 2021

I also saw other bald eagles near Bear River standing on the same post on two different occasions. The following photos were taken on December 6, 2024. 

The following are illustrations of the bald eagle and a range map, all from Birds of the World.

A juvenile flying.

An adult flying.