Black Ibis, Pseudibis papillosa (Temminck)

Its local name is Baza,Kala Baza , Karan kul(Hindi)
It is a large black bird with long down-curved bill, a conspicuous white patch near the shoulder and brick red legs.It has a naked black head with a triangular patch of crimson warts on the crown.Both sexes appear alike.They can be found as pairs or scattered parties on the open countryside..They are distributed in the drier portions of the Indian union (excepting the western seaboard) south to Karnataka,Pakistan,and Bangladesh(rare). Not seen in Sri Lanka.Their closely allied specie P.davisoni occurs in Myanmar.
They are often found in the neighbourhoods of rivers and jheels but by no means they are so dependent on water as the Oriental white Ibis.They can feed around the dry margin ,higher up and in the surrounding stubble and fallow land.They keep to favoured localities and roosts in accustomed trees .Parties fly in V-formation with steady wing beats alternated with short glides.
It feeds on insects , grains and small reptiles .

This Black Ibis has been photographed near the Rihand reservoir ,Rock point, Bijpur, Dist-Sonbhadra, UP,India
Its call is a loud nasal screaming cry of 2 or 3 notes reminiscent of the Brahminy Sheldrake.The call is uttered mostly on the wings.
Its nesting season is ill-defined.It is March to October in North India and November-December in the south.Its nest is large cup-shaped made up of twigs and lined up with straw, feathers etc.The nest is high up in the tree , generally away from water , built singly (not in colonies or amongst heronries).It also sometimes utilises the old nests of eagles or vultures.Eggs are 2 to 4 , bright pale green , either unmarked or with spots and streaks of brown.

Black Ibis at Tadoba National Park, Chandrapur,Maharashtra