Rajasthan – A Thar Desert Lifescape
What is west to India is east to Pakistan. But what does the Thar care for such demarcations? Its dunes sift with abandon, and thrum with life Continue reading Rajasthan – A Thar Desert Lifescape
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What is west to India is east to Pakistan. But what does the Thar care for such demarcations? Its dunes sift with abandon, and thrum with life Continue reading Rajasthan – A Thar Desert Lifescape
Gayatri Hazarika wrote this ode to the monsoon during the peak of the rains, but we lazybones are sharing it with you now so that you cherish the last gasp of the season, the final raindrops before winter desiccates the subcontinent. Enjoy this photo essay Continue reading Monsoon, gone so soon
On a hot summer morning we went looking for the famed flamingo flock of Osman Sagar. And came across a treasure trove of birds Continue reading Osman Sagar – A Flamingo Oasis in Hyderabad
Meet the only eucalyptus species native to the northern hemisphere, the Mindanao Gum Tree or Rainbow Eucalyptus, so known for the vibrant colored patterns left by its peeling bark Continue reading In Rainbows – The Mindanao Gum Tree
The first time I came upon ‘chough’ I thought it was a dictionary entry for an act of expectoration by one with a North Indian surname. It would be a few years before I got the hang of what it was really – a kind of crow Continue reading Chuffed by a chough
A birding trip to Koonthakulam, Tamil Nadu, revealed a rare sighting of Lesser Kestrels, seasonal migrants that pass through India en route to Africa Continue reading Raptor Friday: A meeting with a Lesser Kestrel
On the first day of 2014, we found this adorable Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) in half minds whether to sing or not. Warm sunshine, sandy beaches and blue skies – who wouldn’t want to? Continue reading Morning Raga by the Kentish Plover
The Crab Plover (Dromas ardeola) is a bird of decidedly unique appearance. It found along the coasts of Asia and Africa, where it chases after crabs and deftly pries them open with its highly specialized steak-knife of a bill. Here’s a picture of one on a beach in Kerala. Continue reading Say, does this Crab Plover speak Malayalam?
Rain drives some of us indoors. But a Green Ogre loves nothing more than to step out, get wet and click madly. Uh, let’s go see what the birds are up to. Continue reading Monsoon romance: Birds love rain, rain loves birds
For many years, the Spotted Forktail was just an apparition in a dream. Now, happily twitched off the list, it is one of my favourite Himalayan birds. Continue reading Encounter – The Spotted Forktail
I remembered a little affront I heaped at the mighty mountains when I landed at Aut. Taking a reel out of Apollo 13, I mimicked the scene where Jim Lowell covers the moon with his thumb and looked at a peak far away, murmuring, “As tall as my thumb.” Anand Yegnaswami reflects on his trek in the Great Himalayan National Park, one year later. Continue reading When a rookie walks the Himalaya
It wasn’t a day fit for birding, but even on such a dull day Melbourne had plenty to offer to a jet-lagged birder on a lightning first-time visit to Australia. Continue reading Birding notes from Melbourne, Australia
In the Polachira wetlands of Kollam, southern Kerala, the sight of a White Stork, a winter visitor increasingly hard to come by in the subcontinent, fills the mind with memories seen and imagined Continue reading Encounter: White Storks wintering in Polachira
The sacred grove at Oorani is the last stand of Tropical Dry Evergreen Forests — a postage stamp-sized green patch in the middle of insipid featureless coastal plain dotted with coconut plantations. It does not exactly draw your attention. That, however, would be a huge miss. Continue reading Encounter: The Sacred Grove at Oorani
Never mind its cough-syrupy taste, or its tongue-twister of a name, a Rhododendron in flower is inspiration enough to walk the Himalaya, or the Nilgiris Continue reading Encounter: Rhododendron, sentinel of the highlands