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The Green Ogre

The Green Ogre

Nature’s Layers Unravelled – Encounters with birds, beasts, and relatives

Category: Birds

Himalayan Bluetail, a bird of startling beauty

Birds are probably the gateway drug for many people into the fascinating world of nature. Because they are ubiquitous, birds arouse curiosity. Birdwatching is also among the most accessible of hobbies. Soar with birds in their world as you read these posts that celebrate birds and draw us into their world of marvels.

Costa Rica Day 4 – Midnight weightlifting, flashing hummingbirds and misgendering in Spanish

Costa Rica Day 4 – Midnight weightlifting, flashing hummingbirds and misgendering in Spanish

Sandeep SomasekharanMarch 10, 2024May 5, 2024

On Day 4 in Costa Rica, Sandy learns his Spanish grammar the hard way, and indulges in a little light experiment with hummingbird photography

Indian Nightjar, Sweet Child O’Mine

Indian Nightjar, Sweet Child O’Mine

Bijoy VenugopalFebruary 21, 2024February 20, 2024

Nightjars own the dark. To spy one by daylight is a gift from the night. An Indian Nightjar with a baby by its side is a vision

Christmas at Boca Tapada – Costa Rica Birding Diary Day 3

Christmas at Boca Tapada – Costa Rica Birding Diary Day 3

Sandeep SomasekharanFebruary 15, 2024February 15, 2024

Scarlet Macaws, Great Green Macaws, Shining Honeycreepers, King Vultures — a great big birding feast! What better way to spend Christmas in Boca Tapada, Costa Rica

TL;DR – What colour are a Black-winged Kite’s eyes?

TL;DR – What colour are a Black-winged Kite’s eyes?

Bijoy VenugopalFebruary 13, 2024February 15, 2024

Look closely at the eyes of a Black-winged Kite. Are they red? Or orange? Or yellow? The eyes will tell you if you are looking at an adult or a juvenile bird.

Muddy Boots in Guapiles | Costa Rica Birding Diary – Day 2

Muddy Boots in Guapiles | Costa Rica Birding Diary – Day 2

Sandeep SomasekharanFebruary 2, 2024February 15, 2024

From white bats huddled like dumplings under banana leaves and shimmering hummingbirds and gaudy tree frogs, to majestic owls necking in the dark of the forest, it’s just another birding day in Guapiles, Costa Rica. Is crazy!

Costa Rica Birding Diary | Day 1 – Cinchona and Sarapiqui

Costa Rica Birding Diary | Day 1 – Cinchona and Sarapiqui

Sandeep SomasekharanJanuary 23, 2024February 15, 2024

Exploring the bird life of Costa Rica, Sandy meets many that he assumes are either marital partners or relatives, but is mistaken!

TL;DR – White-naped Woodpecker Double Bill

TL;DR – White-naped Woodpecker Double Bill

Bijoy VenugopalNovember 16, 2023November 16, 2023

Seeing one White-naped Woodpecker is exciting. Seeing a pair at work in the woodland is a bonus. And here’s a fun fact about the bird’s Latin name.

TL;DR – No Ugly Ducklings

TL;DR – No Ugly Ducklings

Bijoy VenugopalSeptember 18, 2023September 14, 2023

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

TL;DR – Little Grebe, Holy Diver, Tireless Parent

Bijoy VenugopalSeptember 14, 2023November 16, 2023

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

TL;DR – Pheasant-Tailed Jacanas in Love

Bijoy VenugopalSeptember 12, 2023September 11, 2023

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

TL;DR – Black-winged Stilts, helicopter parents

Bijoy VenugopalSeptember 11, 2023September 10, 2023

Black-winged Stilts are anxious parents, always patrolling their nesting sites. Predators get a brutal sendoff.

TL;DR: Oriental Skylark, Grassland Songster

TL;DR: Oriental Skylark, Grassland Songster

Bijoy VenugopalSeptember 10, 2023January 15, 2024

Bring the grasslands back, rethink mindless tree-planting projects, and we will begin to hear the skylark again.

Make Bengaluru’s Saul Kere bird-friendly again

Make Bengaluru’s Saul Kere bird-friendly again

Bijoy VenugopalApril 13, 2023April 18, 2023

Saul Kere is one of the richest biodiversity areas in urban Bengaluru and a birding hotspot. However, thoughtless development may put an end to that

Song Sung Blue – A Malabar Whistling-thrush broods in Muthirapuzha

Song Sung Blue – A Malabar Whistling-thrush broods in Muthirapuzha

Bijoy VenugopalMay 19, 2022July 3, 2022

Close encounters with a nesting Malabar Whistling-thrush in the violated hill station of Munnar

The trees are dead! Long live the forest!

The trees are dead! Long live the forest!

Bijoy VenugopalJune 12, 2021June 12, 2021

Dead trees are vital habitats for nourishing life. Then why do we have a problem with them?

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