India GO
Rufous treepie
महालट (mahalat)
A long-tailed relative of the crows, cinnamon-brown with a grey-and-black head and a very long grey tail tipped black. It is bold and noisy.
👀 How to recognise it
The tail is the mark — longer than the body, grey with a black end, and constantly in motion. The usual call is a ringing metallic «ko-ki-la», with a harsh chatter mixed in.
Where to see it
Delhi
Treepies have learned the rhythm of monument opening hours; at Mughal sites they gather where visitors stop to eat.
Lodhi Garden · Sunder Nursery · Sanjay Van
Mathura
Treepies work fruit trees, flower offerings and any food left out, and where people feed birds they will come to an outstretched hand within a few minutes. They also follow langurs through the canopy and take what the monkeys dislodge. They are thoroughly at home in the groves and gardens of Mathura.
Raman Reti, Gokul (often) · Brahmand Ghat, Mahavan (often)
Agra
Treepies around the Taj and at Keoladeo have learned to take food from an open hand. Feeding them is discouraged: it concentrates the birds and changes what they eat.
Taj Nature Walk · Keoladeo Ghana National Park (Bharatpur) · Mehtab Bagh
Jaipur
Rajasthan's fort courtyards are its best habitat: it takes scraps at Amber and Nahargarh and is bold enough to come to an outstretched hand, which is how most people meet it.
Jhalana Leopard Reserve · Nahargarh Biological Park · Sisodiya Rani Bagh (often)