Eurasian Roller (Coracias garrulous)
Eurasian Roller ( Coracias garrulous) also known as European rollers ,are migrants to our country and are near threatened species. They have colorful plumage .The head ,neck and underparts are light blue,while the upper parts are brownish -orange.A short ,thin black stripe runs through the eye.The tail is greenish- blue with a darker base.
Eurasian Roller
Nikon D300s,Nikkor 70-300mm VR, f6.3,1/1000sec,ISO 400.
It feeds on invertebrates such as beetles, crickets, locusts, caterpillars, flies and spiders.
Nikon D300s,Nikkor 70-300mm VR, f6.3,1/800sec,ISO 400.
I first spotted this beautiful bird a day before this picture was shot but couldn’t capture the shot as too many people came in and frightened the bird away with all the activity 😦 . Luckily ,the very next day this bird flew to the place we were waiting .All we had to do was, just position our self at comfortable distance and click .
Nikon D300s,Nikkor 70-300mm VR, f6.3,1/800sec,ISO 400.
Hope you like it 🙂
Meanwhile ,I trekked Tadiyandamol (Highest peak in Coorg range also 3rd highest peak in Karnataka) last weekend. It was brilliant, caught some good shots,will post them soon.
Have a nice day 🙂
Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus ) Male
Hi All,
Hope you all had a great weekend. Here is a picture of Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus) male ,which I shot on saturday. I am not a big fan of completely plain background , I would like to show texture but in this case there was hardly anything behind the bird.
Solitude
(To check the Photos of Siberian Stonechat Female,click HERE)
This weekend was good in terms of sighting and photography ,though it was raining most of the time.I Saw Twany Eagle ,Egyptian Vulture and European Roller for the first time and made some good images of Vulture and Roller ,Twany Eagle was too far for my lense .Will post them soon.
Also , I visited photography exhibition – ‘Where The Wild Things Are’. It is a photography exibition of recent works by Kalyan Varma, Ganesh Shankar , Jayanth Sharma and Aditya Singh. It was awesome. The feel of looking at prints was just brilliant and different.If you are in bangalore ,don’t miss it . It is on till the 26th of this month at the Five Forty Five, the art gallery in Indiranagar. 545, 6th Main, 4th Cross, Indira Nagar Stage II, Bangalore, India 560008. Trust me, you wont loose anything.
Have a great day 🙂
Photo of The Day – Juvenile .Brown Shrike
Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus) is a small bird (18-19cm) belonging to Shrike family.This little fellow is sub adult,adults have reddish-brown upper parts and tail.The wings will be of darker brown color while the lower plumage will be off white.
Brown Shrike (Juv)
Nikon D300s,Nikkor 70-300mm VR, f6.3,1/1600sec,ISO 5oo,on a cloudy(rainy) day in Hessarghatta.
See you soon:)
Cheers,
Bhargav
Paddyfield Pipit (Anthus rufulus)
Paddyfield Pipit (Anthus rufulus) is a small(15cm) passerine bird, the upper plumage is mainly streaked in grey brown with patches of black.It is long-legged with a long tail and a long beak.The iris and bill is brown,legs are of flesh color.
Paddyfield Pipit
Nikon D300s,Nikkor 70-300mm VR, f6.3,1/1250sec,ISO 250,Hessarghatta.
It is seen in open habitats, such as bare grounds or grasslands, short crop cultivated lands etc.
Suggest a caption
Nikon D300s,Nikkor 70-300mm VR, f6.3,1/1600sec,ISO 250,Hessarghatta.
Its call is “chip-chip-chip”, It feeds principally on small insects but consumes larger beetles, tiny snails, worms etc.(Credit – Wikipedia)
Good Night 🙂
Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata ) Female
Pied Bushchat – Female
Here is another post on Pied Bushchat Saxicola caprata, but this time its Female. For details and earlier post please click Here.
Have a good day.
Cheers,
Bhargav
Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus ) Female
The Siberian Stonechat or Common Stonechat is a resident and a winter visitor to India.The Siberian Stonechat is insectivorous.It breeds in open rough scrub-land or rough grassland with scattered shrubs.The female has pale brown upper parts and head, white neck patches (not a full collar), and a pale, unstreaked pinkish-yellow rump.
Queen of thorns
Starring Lady
Puffed Stonechat
All images shot with Nikon D300s,Nikkor 70-300mm VR. There was hardly anything behind the bird and hence,clean background.
Hope you liked it. Have a great Weekend .
Indian Giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica)
Indian giant squirrel or Malabar giant squirrel are endemic to India.They are the largest tree squirrels in Asia.It spends most of time high in the tree canopy and is active during day.They are important disperser of seeds.
Malabar Giant Squirrel Feeding
These squirrels have a very unusual feeding posture, where they balance their enormous body on small branches.
How do I look ? 🙂
The major threats to the Indian giant squirrels are habitat loss due to agricultural expansion and hunting.
Nikon D300s, Nikkor 70 -300 mm vr,in Seetha Nadi Nature Camp, Agumbe.
Hope you like it .
Cheers,
Bhargav
Patterns 1
Patterns are present all around you ,all you need to do is recognize and enjoy them.
This was on last sunday morning trip to Hessarghatta. We (myself ,Dr Shekar and his friend Shivkumar) reached the place around 6.30 in the morning but to our bad luck it started raining and it poured heavily for a while. After the rain stopped (around 8.30 ), we had some good sightings among which Short toed Snake Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Common Kestrel were first timers for me. Got few good shots,will post it soon.
Can you guess what are these ?
Its a very easy guess. Let me know what you think. I will answer in my next post (am sure you will guess before that!)
Black Kite (Milvus milgrans)
Black Kite ( Milvus milgrans ) is a medium-sized common raptor and a widespread resident in India,often found around human habitation.They are distinguished by their forked tail and call.They can be seen soaring and gliding in thermals in search of food.
Black Kite on Mound
Taking a Dump
Starring Kite
They are more scavengers than hunters.Other birds are often chased away by mobbing Black kites (I have seen them attack Indian Roller and Common Kestrel).
Here is the link for my earlier post on Black kite.
All comments, critiques and suggestions are welcome.
Passion Flower (Passiflora foetida)
Passion flower ,kukkiballi(kannada) or love in a mist is a commonly seen weed flower from Central America.
The flower are white to pale cream coloured, about 5–6 cm diameter, It is able to trap insects on its bracts, which exude a sticky substance that also has digestive enzymes. This minimizes predation on young flowers and fruits.It is currently considered as protocarnivorous plant.(Refference – Wikipedia)
Bhargav Dwaraki Shandilya 