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The Green Ogre

Nature’s layers unravelled

A watchful Indian Spot-billed Duck parent with a brood of little ducklings

Spot-billed Duck with Ducklings

The Seychelles are a gift from nature. A scattering of islands about 1500 km east of mainland Africa, they host a bewildering richness of biodiversity. From the iconic fruit of the Coco-de-Mer palm, a conversation-starter for its unique shape, to the older-than-your-great-grandpa Aldabra Giant Tortoises, or the stunning Seychelles Black Paradise Flycatcher and Black Parrot that are confined to a few islands in the archipelago, the endemic wildlife is alluring to tourists. But all is not well with these paradise isles. Climate change and ocean acidification threatens the coral reefs. Native forests have given way to plantations and monocultures, and invasive species have overrun most of the islands. How can we save the Seychelles? For a start, by being conscious travellers and responsible tourists. #responsibletravel #responsibletourism #seychelles #seychellesparadiseflycatcher #seychellesisland @TheSeychellesIslands @seychellestourismindia9136

Wild Seychelles - An island paradise in peril?

Would you believe it, the cute Little Rock hyrax is most closely related to elephants, dugongs and manatees! Go figure! #hyrax #africanwildlife

Who is the Rock Hyrax’s closest relative? 😲 #cutecritters #amazing facts ng

Winged ants are called alates. The male and female alates mate during their nuptial flight

What do you call a Winged Ant? #backyardwildlife #ants

This amazing spider mom is guarding her egg sac

Spider Mom’s the word! #backyardwildlife #spiders #moms

The Common Hawk-Cuckoo has an interesting song — a series of melodious whistles that builds up to a frenzied crescendo, which probably sounded like “brain fever, brain fever” to malaria-afflicted Britishers who heard the bird singing on moonlit nights during its breeding season. For this, it is commonly called the Brain-fever Bird. While the cuckoo is fattening up for the breeding season, it preys on insects and favours hairy caterpillars. Why is it called a Hawk-Cuckoo, though? In shape and appearance, this cuckoo mimics a hawk. The flight pattern is extremely similar to a Shikra, and a hawk-cuckoo in flight can set off alarm calls from other birds and even vigilant mammals like palm squirrels. Adult hawk-cuckoos even have a banded chest as Shikras do. These birds are brood-parasites, which means they don’t make nests of their own but lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, known as hosts. The host (unfortunate name for an exploited parent!) brings up the chick of the brood parasite and doesn’t realise until much later that it’s been taken for a ride.

Why is the Brain-fever Bird or Common Hawk-Cuckoo so named? Here’s the answer

The Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca), also known as the Eurasian Teal or Common Teal, is a winter migrant to the Indian subcontinent. It is among the more common ducks to be found in our wetlands between October and March. In the winter, male and female birds sport dowdy, understated colours, but as the season progresses, male birds begin to develop a very attractive breeding plumage. We caught this handsome drake (as a male duck is called) as it foraged at Varthur Kere, a wetland in Bangalore. Note the bird’s feeding behaviour known as dabbling. The Green-winged Teal is a dabbling duck, preferring shallow waters where it upends itself as it searches for food underwater.

A handsome male Green-winged Teal dabbling at Varthur Lake, Bangalore

The eyes of raptors tell us a lot about their identity. Often, they are clues to the bird’s age and sex. In the case of Black-winged Kites, which are commonly seen hunting small birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects near grasslands and wetlands, the eyes are a clue to the bird’s age.
This young Black-winged Kite has yellow eyes. When you consider this along with the bird's pale plumage, you know that you are looking at an immature bird. As the bird nears adulthood and maturity, the eyes will darken to a deep red.

What do a Black-winged Kite’s eyes say about its age?

Once quite widespread as winter visitors across the Indian subcontinent, White Wagtails (Motacilla alba) have become uncommon with every passing year. This year, we were glad to see one at Saul Kere, our neighbourhood lake.

White Wagtail - An uncommon winter visitor in Bangalore

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Raghuram Annadana’s spectacular photography intr

Raghuram Annadana’s spectacular photography introduces us to a small world that we share with many unseen and often undetected fellow denizens—a world that exists under rocks and leaves, in nooks and crannies, and among the whorls of tendrils and the knobs of twigs. His unique perspective animates the world of Bengaluru’s hidden wildlife as you’ve never seen it.

At The Green Ogre, we’re mighty thrilled to have @macro_by_raghu contribute this dazzling photo-essay that will have you gasping with awe at what his discerning eye sees—and yours may have missed in plain sight.

Read the story on the website [LINK IN BIO and STORY]

#macrophotography #macroworld #macroinsect #macroinsects #macroindia #bengaluruwildlife #wildlifeofbengaluru #wildlifeofbangalore #bangalorewildlife #spidermacrophotography #spidermacro #insectmacro #reptilemacro #macroreptile #reptiles #reptileindia #lizardsofig #reptilesofinstgram #lizardsofinstagram #geckoella #herping #herpingbangalore #wildindia #wildlifemacro #macrowildlife

At The Green Ogre, we’re chuffed to have the ver

At The Green Ogre, we’re chuffed to have the very talented Ramya Sriram @thetapcomics write an evocative guest post for us on finding home through birdwatching. After moving from India to the UK, where she now lives, Ramya sought comfort and solace in birdsong and soundscapes that reminded her of birds and nature back home in India. Eventually, the birds gave her a homecoming. Illustrated with her beautiful sketches and audio clips of birdsongs, along with videos, this post is pure synaesthesia! Read and enjoy! And tell us what you think about bird watching in a foreign land.
#birds #birdwatching #homecoming #birdart #birddrawing #UKbirds #birdsofUK #birdsofunitedkingdom #birdfeeder #backyardbirds #homecoming #naturelovers

On World Wildlife Day, let’s bring the wildernes

On World Wildlife Day, let’s bring the wilderness back to our backyards. Wildlife is not always “out there”; often, it’s sharing space with us.
#backyardwilderness #backyardbirds #backyardwildlife #worldwildlifeday #wildlifeinthecity

And that’s a wrap! The #GBBC2025 weekend comes t

And that’s a wrap! The #GBBC2025 weekend comes to an end. We enjoyed clear skies and dry weather, and lots of pleasant birding, as well as the company of birders young and old. Every year, these walks introduce so many new people to the experience of enjoying the outdoors and discovering birds in our backyards. They also reinforce the importance of preserving, restoring, and rewilding our urban spaces including our wetlands and gardens.

Many thanks to @earlybirdindia @birdcountindia @team_ebird @merlin.bird.id @shrutea.k @jesudominic @beatbuck @thara.m.thomas @lookherethereandeverywhere and many others (who are not on Instagram) for their participation, tech, and support.

We recorded over 105 species over the weekend in our neighbourhood. One of my greatest joys of leading these walks is to introduce young birders to the joy of birdwatching, and to share the fascinating stories that birds weave in our lives. Thanks for watching birds with me this weekend! #greatbackyardbirdcount #gbbc2025 #gbbc #gbbcindia #backyardbirds #birdsofbengaluru #birdsofindia #backyardbirding #backyardbirdwatching #birdsadored #youngbirders

This set of pictures is from past years when the n

This set of pictures is from past years when the numbers of birds that we observed at our backyard birding sites was appreciable. As we go through the motions of the Great Backyard Bird Count this year, there is excitement and celebration all around at the explosion of birding as a hobby and a passion. More and more birders are out there exploring, discovering, and documenting birds in the wild. Yet, one thing strikes me more and more starkly each year—the declining number of birds. This year, at all our familiar backyard haunts, the birds are far fewer in number. Almost no wintering ducks in the city’s wetlands. Fewer warblers calling from the bushes. And of starlings and orioles, fewer still. And I tie this to the alarming degradation of wilderness habitats in the city: the neglect and pollution of lakes, tanks, and other water bodies. The loss of tree cover, and the concretisation of the city, leaving no green buffers or corridors for safe migration and movement. And the absence of dark nights due to artificial lighting.
Birders need to do more for the environment. Rather than just go elsewhere to bird when a habitat declines, they should fight to save, restore, and rewild the city. Because the outskirts are getting further and further away. And soon there will be no outskirts.
Think. Choose. Act.
Happy birding!

#backyardbirding #gbbc #greatbackyardbirdcount #backyardbirds #birdwatching #birdcount #gbbc2025 #birdcensus #birdmigration #winterbirding

It’s been a while since my last lifer. And that

It’s been a while since my last lifer. And that was the Lesser Fish-eagle, which I spotted in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary from a coracle in the river the evening before my birthday. This majestic raptor, though not as imposing as its cousin the Grey-headed Fish-eagle, is a formidable presence as it hunts along the river.
Take a look at those claws—designed like fish-hooks to grasp their slippery prey. What the picture doesn’t show are the spicules on the undersides of the toes, which help them grip the freshly caught fish.
The Lesser Fish-eagle’s riverine habitat is under siege from sand mining along the river, as well as from a proposed dam and hydroelectric project not far from here, which threatens to submerge the habitats where these birds live, besides endangering other wildlife like Grizzled Giant Squirrels and Smooth-coated Otters, which share this ecosystem. If you are a tourist visiting these beautiful forests, make your vacation mindful and do your bit for creating awareness for preserving this natural heritage.
#birds #birding #birdwatching #raptors #raptor #lesserfisheagle #birdsofindia #birdsofinstagram #birdsofkarnataka #cauveryriver #jlr #endangeredspecies #birdsofprey

Watching a pair of courting Western Yellow Wagtail

Watching a pair of courting Western Yellow Wagtails (Motacilla flava) in their summer breeding grounds in the Netherlands sends Andy @chlorophyllprint down a philosophical rabbit hole where he ponders the biology—and semantics—of love. Obligatory V-Day post? Not quite. Just sharing the love.

[Read the story - link in bio and story]
_______________________
#love #valentinesday #vday #loveislove #loveisintheair #birdlove #lovebirds #wagtailsinlove #birdsinlove #wagtail #netherlandbirds #hollandbirds #birdsofeurope #birdsofinstagram #breedingbirds #birdsonearth

What does love mean to a Western Yellow Wagtail? A

What does love mean to a Western Yellow Wagtail? Andy @chlorophyllprint discovers a whole new meaning to the V-day emotion while watching these bright little birds in courtship in the Nieuwe Driemanspolder wetlands near The Hague.
Read the new post on The Green Ogre.
#love #valentinesday #birdsinlove #birdlove #loveofbirds #wagtails #westernyellowwagtail #netherlandsbirds #birdsofnetherlands #birdsofholland #birdsofeurope #birdsofinstagram

It’s unusual to hear a wintering bird in song. A

It’s unusual to hear a wintering bird in song. And that’s because bird songs are usually linked with territoriality or courtship, and both these behaviours are at their peak in the breeding season. Singing also has a high energy cost, which is why many wintering birds such as wagtails and warblers are rarely heard singing outside of their summer breeding grounds. So what made this Grey Wagtail, a winter visitor to southern India, sing?
Read the story to find out. TL;DR (Too Long, Don’t Read to the uninitiated) is our series of quick reads for the impatient, so this will take you only a couple of minutes.
#birds #wagtail #greywagtail #singingbirds #birdsong #birdmigration #wintermigration #migratorybirds #breedingbirds #birds_adored #birdsofinstagram #birdfacts

Did you learn anything new today? Take the poll.

THE QUIZ DROUGHT IS OVER! Sorry for shouting it ou

Jawai in Rajasthan’s Pali region is well known f

Jawai in Rajasthan’s Pali region is well known for its leopard safaris. Beyond the lure of the big cat, the scenic landscape is also host to an array of birdlife. In a guest post for The Green Ogre, Sunil Kinger @sunilkinger_photography shares a travelogue describing the wild riches of this outpost. Enjoy the words and pictures!
#wildlifephotography #birdphotography #birds #jawai #jawaileopard #jawaileopardcamp #jawaitourism #rajasthan #leopardsofinstagram #birdwatching #birdsofrajasthan #birdsofinstagram #birdinginindia #birdsofindia #rajasthan #bera

Every year, the Great Backyard Bird Count brings b

Every year, the Great Backyard Bird Count brings birders together to explore bird habitats in their backyards. Besides being great fun and a learning experience, especially for new birders, this annual event yields invaluable data about bird diversity in our immediate environs.

For birders in Bengaluru, there are many #GBBC2025 walks to choose from. Join us at Saul Kere (Feb 15) and Kasavanahalli Kere (Feb 16). Both of these lakes are well-known hotspots and the walks begin at 6:45 AM. @bijoyv and @shrutea.k will lead these walks.
Scan the QR codes to join the WhatsApp group or DM for details.
Happy birding!
#birding #birdwatching #gbbc #gbbc2025 #greatbackyardbirdcount #backyardbirding
#birdlovers #bengalurubirds #birdsofbangalore

You can take a Lawrencian out of Lawrence, but nev

You can take a Lawrencian out of Lawrence, but never the other way around! Jennifer Nandi @quantumgrandma reminisces on her book tour date that took her to her alma mater, The Lawrence School Lovedale @thelawrenceschool.lovedale , where she was Head Girl in 1966! Her book, No Half Measures, was released after a reading at the school’s pride, The Nilgiri Library. What a way to go back to school!
Read her travelogue on The Green Ogre.

#booktourdiaries #booktourdiary #lawrencianforever #lawrencianforlife #lawrenceschoollovedale #nilgiris #nilgirilibrary #inkonthemove #alumna #alumni #backtoschool #bookreading

A tropical birdwatcher from Bengaluru finds himsel

A tropical birdwatcher from Bengaluru finds himself in the frigid fall landscapes of Seattle, learning to live with—and love—a season entirely new to his experience. Fall.
We are chuffed to have @anirudh.arun, an excellent photographer and a brilliant young birder with a deep ecological consciousness, write this guest post for us.
In Anirudh’s words: “For the past 18 years, my life revolved around three familiar seasons: summer, winter, and monsoon. I’ve experienced them and photographed various species of animals thriving within their rhythms. But recently, after enrolling at the University of Washington in Seattle, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to witness and capture the vibrant beauty of fall—an entirely new season to explore, both through my lens and my passion for birdwatching.”
Read the story on The Green Ogre.
#fallcolors #fall #autumnleaves #autumnleaves🍂 #birdinginfall #fallbirding #seattle #washington #oregon #northamerica #birdsofamerica #birding #birdphotography #birdingphotography #newpost

Fun Fact: 2024 was many things to many people, but

Fun Fact: 2024 was many things to many people, but for nature-lovers in the US, it was the year of the cicada. Two separate broods of cicadas hatched from their underground nurseries in the same year. Why is this significant? Because, the last time that happened was in 1803!
Here’s how it works: Cicadas synchronise their emergence every 13 or 17 years by counting the annual cycles of xylem flow in trees, which they feed on while underground. This internal clock allows them to emerge simultaneously as adults when conditions are favourable. Stragglers may emerge at different times, but their numbers are kept low by predators, ensuring that most cicadas emerge together. This synchronisation is crucial for overwhelming predators and ensuring reproductive success during emergence years.
@footprintsonlight was there, and he has the story.
Read it at the link in our bio or in our story
#cicada #17yearcicada #13yearcicada #cicadaemergence #cicadasummer #insects #magicalnature #naturalhistory

We have reiterated our priorities—to unravel Nat

We have reiterated our priorities—to unravel Nature’s layers, delight you with stories, and inspire you to become a Nature steward.
And that means our newsletter needs a new name, naturally.
Naturally?
Actually, NaturAlly.
It’s more than a word. It’s a portmanteau of Nature and Ally, and it describes our mission best.
Our first edition goes out this Friday afternoon IST, after which it will be available in our archive.
Subscribe to get NaturAlly in your inbox. No annoying spam, just delightful stories.

#subscribe #newsletter #thegreenogre #greenogre #naturestories #natureblog

“We seek stability in life when the most opportu

“We seek stability in life when the most opportunity is in transitions. It took a tidal transition and a pod of sea mammals to remind me of this.”
Andy @chlorophyllprint writes a meditative diary after observing an elusive pod of dolphins in the Bali Sea. This one is for the nature-worshipper.
See our bio for the link to the post.

#naturediaries #naturemusings #dolphins #balisea #bali #balinature #amedbali #balibeach #seashore #baliindonesia

Publishing today: @chlorophyllprint pens a meditat

Publishing today: @chlorophyllprint pens a meditative observation of land, sea, and dolphins in this beautiful postcard from Bali. Told in his characteristic style, it is a fab read. Don’t miss it!
Tell us what you think. #newpost #bali #ocean #waves #dolphins #nature

A brand-new episode of Ink On The Move, in which @

In late December @bijoyv made a journey to meet th

In late December @bijoyv made a journey to meet the high-flying Bar-headed Goose. Turns out it was more than a birding trip. It was a pilgrimage. To find out why, read the post. Link in bio. #newpost #barheadedgoose #amazingbirds #pranayama #birding #naturepilgrimage

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