Losing and finding love in Nieuwe Driemanspolder
A peek into the love lives of Western Yellow Wagtails in Nieuwe Driemanspolder sets off a chain of insights into why we love, and why we win and lose at love
Category: Bird Behaviour
TL;DR – Why did the wintering Grey Wagtail sing?
A migratory Grey Wagtail singing in winter is an oddity. So, why was this one singing?
Ghouls among the Garbage – The Greater Adjutants of Guwahati
Meet the carrion-devouring Greater Adjutant, one of India’s largest storks, which flourishes in the reeking garbage dumps of Guwahati
Rat-atouille? No, it’s a Spotted Owlet at breakfast!
Spotted Owlets are ace rodent control agents, but catching one as it relishes a breakfast of freshly caught rat is an epiphany indeed!
TL;DR – No Ugly Ducklings
There are no ugly ducklings. And here’s proof! Just one look at these adorable young Indian Spot-billed Ducks and you’ll want to adopt them
TL;DR – Little Grebe, Holy Diver, Tireless Parent
Little Grebes are tiny wetland birds specially adapted for diving in search of food. Each dive can last up to 30 seconds!
TL;DR – Pheasant-Tailed Jacanas in Love
Pheasant-tailed Jacanas exhibit polyandry, a reversal of sexual roles in which a female courts and maintains a harem of males
TL;DR – Black-winged Stilts, helicopter parents
Black-winged Stilts are anxious parents, always patrolling their nesting sites. Predators get a brutal sendoff.
Kutch Diaries: Up close with the raptors of Banni
In the Banni grasslands of Kutch, raptors hold sway, holding sway over sky, scrub and tree-line
Faces at a Feeder: Northern Cardinal
Lockdown birding gets a boost with the arrival of a nesting family of Northern Cardinals at a North Carolina home feeder. Here’s the first post of an absorbing pictorial series
Bird-watching in Dandeli’s fragile forest
While the lockdown brings birds and beasts out into the cities, clandestine moves are underway to destroy the pristine forests in which they live. Praveen Tangirala recounts a birdwatching trip to the beautiful Kali Tiger Reserve in Dandeli, great stretches of which are threatened to be swallowed up by the proposed Hubbali-Ankola railway line
Kutch Diaries – Going Waku Waku with Sandgrouse in Banni
Continuing the Kutch Diaries, with close encounters with three different species of sandgrouse in Banni grasslands
Lockdown Diaries – 100 days of birding
One hundred days of birding. And the last lap in the midst of a lockdown!
Hush! This Magpie-Robin just stole a bulbul’s song!
The Oriental Magpie-Robin is an accomplished songster. But its powers of mimicry are often underrated.
Eastern Bluebirds – Spare the rod and spoil the child?
A run in with a rat snake prompts a question about conservation and ethics while setting up nest-boxes for Eastern Bluebirds