Nature’s Layers Unravelled – Encounters with birds, beasts, and relatives
What’s the fuss about the Serpent Eagle’s crest? At first glance, it isn’t even there. But wait and watch… I first ran into the Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela) in BR Hills on my first-ever trip with Beej, Sahastra and Sunita, and I wondered why those who named this bird…
Not the cuddliest tiger around but certainly the safest to introduce your kids to, this one is best chased with a camera on a sunny spring morning. If your intentions are evil, back off or you’ll be left with a bad taste in the mouth! The Plain Tiger Butterfly (Danaus…
Watching one of our most efficient predators in the wild is a treat and a privilege. Most people might be obsessed with cats, but give it up for the Dhole, our very own wild canid Just after I told my wife how endangered the Indian wild dog or Dhole (Cuon alpinus) was,…
Vultures are the most misunderstood of birds despite the fact that Hindu mythology associates them with virtue rather than evil. In the last decade, our callousness has led to a huge decline in their numbers. But it isn’t too late, we think… Vultures are not really everybody’s favourite birds. Traditionally,…
More often heard than seen, the diminutive Coppersmith is a thousand times smaller than its enormous voice Once a while we may be treated to the sight of a coppersmith perched this low I was on my first ever trip to Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary near Mysore, when I had a…
In the dark, mysteriously beautiful shola forests the little Nilgiri Flycatcher will drive your blues away.
Photograph: Sandeep Somasekharan More Wordless Wednesdays The Green Ogre – Birds, Wildlife, Ecology and Nature notes from India.
The two faces of a forest stream are so unlike each other
Pardon me for exaggerating the danger posed by leeches, for experience has not been kind to me
Photograph: Arun Menon The Green Ogre – Birds, Wildlife, Ecology and Nature notes from India.
The spectacle of a Racket-tailed Drongo in flight can make an air-show look like a cheap circus The Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus) is quite a character. The funky hairdo over the beak, the long-flowing tail and its ability to mimic scores of other birds makes it one very interesting…
After a long, wet, leech-infested weekend in the rainforest, you return like Noah after the flood, intolerant of anyone complaining about rain
Though dirt-common, the Brahminy Kite is both gorgeous and majestic if you care to give it a second glance An adult Brahminy Kite surveys the landscape beneath overcast skies To quote my good friend Nikhil: “The only mistake the Brahminy Kite ever committed that made him a non-celebrity among birders…
A day of tired wandering in a forest ends with an intimate rendezvous with a stunning damselfly – the Stream Glory. It’s often the little things in life that give you the biggest highs
May is just behind us, but the familiar trees that lend their signature flush to this month are still in riotous flower One reason I look forward to May, despite the sweltering heat it brings, is the blooming of Gulmohar (Delonix regia), often called ‘Mayflower’ locally. The tree is also…
