Greater Flameback (of the Western Ghats endemic subspecies socialis)
We soon hit a routine over our week in Thattekad, which (roughly speaking) consisted of a pre-dawn, starlit breakfast brought to us on the balcony, out soon after, and the rest of the day divided between birding in the reserve and lounging around at the homestay, often with the family, eating delicious home-cooked Keralan food and, well, more birding. Hard to beat.
Yellow-browed Bulbuls - a common and colourful endemic
Grey-headed Bulbul - an endemic of the Western Ghats, supposedly very shy and restricted to dense undergrowth; in truth, very forthcoming if you know where to look....
Heart-spotted Woodpecker - not even close to qualifying as endemic, or even very scarce, but easily one of the birds of the trip....
Large Hawk Cuckoo - result
Plenty more from Thattekad to come.....
