Dear friends, We saw a pair of Yellowthoated Sparrows in Devarayanadurga State Forest today (Sunday, 17 Feb. 2008) during an outing by WANC members. This was about a kilometre to the east of Namadachelume at the foot of Devarayanadurga hill, immediately after the Durgadahalli/Goravanahalli temple cross. The birds were perched at the top of a Ficus bengalensis tree and we could see them for about 7 - 8 minutes. Below are some pictures taken with a Canon A95 digital camera through a spotting scope. We were not able to take a picture with the male showing the yellow patch on its throat as it (the male) had turned its face away through the sighting. It is worth remembering that the only sighting of a YTS in DD was by Dr.Salim Ali 69 years ago. This was way back in 1939, during his survey of the birds of erstwhile state of Mysore. Most birders had thought the bird to be locally extinct. This is another reason to conserve Devaryanadurga's jungles.
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