Nature’s Layers Unravelled – Encounters with birds, beasts, and relatives
There’s always a first time. The Green Ogre’s ‘Encounter’ series describes memorable first meetings with birds, beasts, places, natural monuments and natural phenomena.
The Hill Swallow – note the rufous throat and face ‘One swallow does not make a summer’ is part of a quote attributed to Aristotle. In truth it represents a very Eurocentric position on swallows, in this case the Barn Swallow that migrates south to India in winter. On my…
Meet the Short-toed Snake Eagle (Circaetus gallicus) or plain “Short-toed Eagle”. It is a raptor of open countries, grass/ scrublands and semi-deserts, which, as its name suggests, loves to devour snakes and reptiles and occasionally mammals as well. And yes, the toes (or talons) are shorter compared to other birds of prey.…
One does not usually associate birding with Varanasi’s riverfront. This ancient and holy city, which is amongst the oldest continuously inhabited places on earth, is crowded, filthy, crassly commercial, oozes religiosity, garishly dressed up, loud, endlessly fascinating, photogenic, friendly, unpretentious and very often sublimely beautiful — even spiritual. Bird life…
Antlions are far more menacing as larvae: their pits are death traps for ants and small insects and can offer kids many hours of macabre entertainment
The Indian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo bengalensis) is a sub-species of the Eurasian Eagle Owl, formerly known as the Indian Rock Eagle owl. My first run-in with this enigmatic bird was near Mysore’s well-known landmark – Chamundi Hills. My friend saw him sitting on a tree near a quarry, and…
A glimpse of the majestic Golden Eagle When I set out on the Madmaheshwar trek in September 2010, I had not entertained hopes of seeing a Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos daphanea) as the altitudes we would frequent would not be high enough to be the habitat of this majestic raptor.…
A not-so-pale view of hills I woke up to the sound of rain pounding the tin roof of the rented shack and the remnants of a nightmare lingering on. I dreamed that the mountain looming above us has suddenly sprung a gigantic waterfall, which is nonchalantly carrying my shack to…
Half-mouse and half-hare is the Royle’s Pika. One of the most adorable mammals in the Himalaya
I was drawn to the massif gleaming in the horizon as it towered over the lesser ranges in the foreground Chaukhamba (right) from Bedni Bugyal. The peak next to it is Shivling (near Gangotri). Photo: Sahastrarashmi (2002) In September 2009, Sahastra and I took a train from Delhi to Haridwar…
We had finally stumbled upon the beauty secrets of the gorgeous Red-headed Bullfinch, and his mate
Male and female spiders are not exactly lovey-dovey. The female ends up feeding on the male soon after mating or, in some cases, even before he mates with her. Posted by Arun Spiders have always fascinated me. These arachnids, even though they are considered a lesser order of creatures, have…
The Baobab trees of Pondicherry were lost in time and rediscovered in the 13-acre forest patch inside the now defunct Swadeshi Cotton Mill Complex
The arrival of the Jacobin Cuckoo announces that the monsoon is here
Relatively dowdy, screechy and less musical than its cousin, the Malabar Whistling Thrush of the Western Ghats, the Blue Whistling Thrush is nonetheless a character. To reach any destination in the Himalaya — from anywhere that you may venture to do so — you must first impatiently transect the purgatory…
I woke up at half past five to a clear dawn sky. There was a cold edge to the happy laughter of the brook. Ambling down on creaky knees to wash, I heard an excited chirruping and saw two lovely white-capped water redstarts (Chaimarrornis leucocephalus) chasing each other up and down the length of the brook.
