Nature’s Layers Unravelled – Encounters with birds, beasts, and relatives
Silent in life — and in death While critiquing a book by his contemporary Stephen Jay Gould, the noted writer on evolutionary theory Richard Dawkins refutes his contention that the idea of progress in evolutionary history of life is an artifact of our anthropocentric bias, and evolution is an inherently random…
Concluding Anand Yegnaswami’s sojourn in Alaska, this episode sees him face to face with a Grizzly and learning something new about the gender of Santa’s red-nosed reindeer Refreshed from a rather uneventful third day of our trip we emerged from our slumber gung-ho about what was to be our first experience…
On broad soaring wings, the mighty White-bellied Sea Eagle patrols the coastline, plunging every now and then into the ocean for fish or sea snakes. Its aerobatic displays can make test pilots envious. If you see one, stop and watch. I remember that day more than four years ago. We were…
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…
A birding spree from Mudumalai to Masinagudi and Theppekadu to Ooty
First off, Happy New Year! Sorry for the delay, but the cyclone that hit Pondicherry threw our plans out of gear a bit. That said, the events that unfolded last Friday reminded us a bit of the butterfly effect. Putting the past gently behind us, we offer you a keepsake…
Statistically, 35 people perished in the carnage essayed by Cyclone Thane. Yet, the obituaries that will never be written are of Pondicherry’s beautiful avenue trees, many of which we have celebrated on The Green Ogre. In the funereal streets of this old French enclave, their limbs are being hacked and…
To those of us sitting in Bangalore, Cyclone Thane is just a cold, wet day to grumble about. Or perhaps even enjoy as we huddle (or perhaps cuddle – but don’t let us give you any ideas) amid cups of tea. But out on the east coast of India, the…
In Valparai the endangered Lion-tailed Macaque inhabits tracts of dense evergreen forest hemmed in by tea plantations. It lives, literally and alarmingly, on the edge. Here are memories of a brief but illumining encounter with these fascinating primates
By Sandeep Somasekharan More on hornbills More Wordless Wednesdays
The Indian Cork Tree’s expended blossoms infuse rare magic into the morning after a stormy monsoon night I stay on the coast in Pondicherry. My sense of infinity is linked to the sea. It is not confined to poignant gazing at the horizon but often it attains a physical dimension — like infinite…
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…
In the final episode of her Bedni Bugyal travelogue, Jennifer Nandi crosses a bridge and a river into another consciousness, one that holds the tranquility of the Himalaya and perturbation over its future in delicate balance The snow-clad flanks of the hills reflected in Bedni Kund was a vision that sustained us…
December is seven days old and we’ve been sluggish. Blame it on the cold! Here’s our last wallpaper of the year. May the lemony yellowness of this Oriental White-eye light up your holidays. Seasons Greetings! Photo: Sandeep Somasekharan DOWNLOAD THIS PHOTO TO USE AS A WALLPAPER FOR YOUR DESKTOP OR…
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.
