Nature’s Layers Unravelled – Encounters with birds, beasts, and relatives
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.
When the dim, shadowy silence of the leaf-litter suddenly takes wing, it’s either a ghost or a nightjar that sets your heart racing. Our search that began in the hunt for a peacock feather took us to the adorable Large-tailed Nightjar The Large Tailed Nightjar wrapped up in silence. Notice the…
By Sandeep Somasekharan More on hornbills More Wordless Wednesdays
A birding lesson from the field: Don’t pass up a drongo — or any black bird with a forked tail Towards the end of our Parambikulam tramway trek, as I dragged my weary feet past a tree on which was perched a dark bird with a telltale fork at the…
Photograph: Sandeep Somasekharan And if you prefer words, read: What’s black and white and hovers? The Green Ogre – Birds, Wildlife, Ecology and Nature notes from India.
What could be common to a tiny forest bird and a temple statuette that embodies grace, beauty and wild power? Having looked at a small group of 4-5 highly energetic and extremely acrobatic birds with small grey heads, small straight sharp beaks, large black eyes and yellow bodies, I looked…
In the deciduous forests fringing the Western Ghats, look out for the charming Chestnut-headed Bee-Eater Bee eaters are probably a bird-lover’s (and photographer’s) favourite birds — breathtakingly beautiful, amazingly acrobatic and acquiescent. Early into my birding days, I ran into the Chestnut-headed Bee Eater (Meropus leschenaulti) when I had imagined that…
The Blyth’s Reed Warbler makes a long winter journey from the temperate zones of Asia to the Indian subcontinent, and then returns when its northern breeding grounds warm up. This year, at least one of them isn’t going back, thanks to a glass-and-steel high-rise that stood in its way. Who…
Horsley Hills, where I had started birding five years ago, beckoned again early this year. And rewarded me with an enriching morning On the last weekend of March this year, after almost five years, I revisited the place of my first ever birding trip – Horsley Hills near Madanapalle in…
If coochicooable was a word, it would fit the Indian Silverbill My first memories of fellow Ogre Sahastra are tied to a photograph he posted in the Infosys photography club. The first was of a group of tiny, brown birds with beautiful conical beaks shining like metal, perched on a…
While walking in the Nilgiris, listen closely for the guffaw of the Nilgiri Laughingthrush. And treasure it, for you’ll hear it nowhere else on earth When I had first laid my hands on a Sony prosumer camera I found I could photograph birds within reach, and the target of one…
An attractive raptor even while perched, the Black-shouldered Kite is hard to forget once spotted hovering For a long time after I learned to identify this bird, also called the Black-winged Kite to differentiate it from the Australian Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris), I did not witness its flight. During the winter dusk near…
The White-cheeked Barbet, earlier known as the Small Green Barbet, just melts into the canopy. But peer into the roof of leaves and you’ll see it devouring fruits and figs I saw this green bird for the first time at Polachira, a wetland near Thiruvananthapuram. My friend Rahul pointed to…
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…
Often, the stupidest questions elicit the most enlightening answers. Such was my initiation to the little featherball known as the Rufous-tailed Shrike
Photograph: Sandeep Somasekharan More Wordless Wednesdays The Green Ogre – Birds, Wildlife, Ecology and Nature notes from India.
