Behind the Lens

a blog every Friday on a specific species of animal or bird and stories of photos

Search for a specific species, genre or even a location or use the directory for a complete list of species I have photographed and written about till date.

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Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Red Junglefowl

This “original chicken” is smaller than its domestic descendants, and is widespread throughout South & Southeast Asia and can also be found as an introduced species in many regions around the world (especially prevalent on many Pacific Islands, including Hawaii). In its introduced range and some areas of its native range it has interbred widely with feral and domestic chickens, producing intermediate hybrids. Many of these birds cannot be distinguished from genuine wild-type birds. Within native range calls are useful for ID: the wild male’s crowing is hoarse and choked off towards the end, unlike the loud, vibrant calls of the domestic rooster.

#wildartworks, #wildlifephotography, #jungle, #Wild, #forest, #Wildlife, #conservationphotography, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #windsornaturetrail, #Kabini, #pench, #Tadoba, #tipeshwar, #BishanAngMoKio, #KaengKrachan, #redJunglefowl, #junglefowl, #fowl, #pheasant,

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Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Collared Kingfisher

The Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris) is a medium-sized kingfisher belonging to the subfamily Halcyoninae, the tree kingfishers. It is also known as the white-collared kingfisher, black-masked kingfisher or mangrove kingfisher. It has a wide range extending from the Red Sea across southern Asia to Polynesia.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #PromediagearTR424L, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #animalsofinstagram, @globalcapture, #singapore, #collaredkingfisher, #kingfisher, #whitecollaredkingfisher, #blackmaskedkingfisher, #mangrovekingfisher,

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Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Giant Golden Orb Weaver/ Giant Wood Spider

Nephila is a genus of araneomorph spiders noted for the impressive webs they weave. Nephila consists of numerous species found in warmer regions around the world, although some species formerly included in the genus have been moved to Trichonephila. The name Giant Wood Spider is used to refer mainly to Nephila pilipes, which is very often seen, owing to its size and needless to say the size of its web. This is a common spider in the jungles of peninsular India, where webs built across large open spaces (and at times spanning up to 2 meters) are not uncommon. They are also called the Giant Golden Orb Weaver. Often, the webs of all these Golden Orb Weavers are inhabited by kleptoparasites. As a group, they also exhibit extreme male dwarfism and female gigantism.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Wildlife, #naturephotography, #earthcapture, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #yesbbcearth, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @globalcapture, #giantwoodspider, #goldenorbweaver, #giantgoldenorbweaver, #nephilapilipes, #nephila, #spider, #woodspider, #goldensilkorbweavers, #goldenorbweavers, #giantwoodspiders, #banana spiders,

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Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Blue-tailed Bee-eater

The blue-tailed bee-eater (Merops philippinus) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia where many populations are strongly migratory, and seen seasonally in many parts but breeding colonially in small areas across their range, mostly in river valleys, where they nest by tunnelling into loamy sand banks. They are seen mostly in open habitats close to water.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #yesbbcearth, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @globalcapture, #bluetailedbeeeater, #beeeater, #TelanganaBirds, #ammavaripetacheruvu, #ammavaripeta, #warangalbirding, #loronghalus, #singaporebirds, #singaporebirding,

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Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Black-naped Oriole

The black-naped oriole is a passerine bird in the oriole family that is found in many parts of Asia. A typical yellow and black Old World oriole, the male is entirely golden-yellow apart from black wings & tail and a broad black band through the eyes. The tail and wings have yellow tips and the bill is deep pinkish. The female is similar to the male but with more yellowish-green upperparts. Juveniles show streaked underparts. They are found in a variety of forest habitats, including plantations and gardens; foraging in the forest canopy. There are several distinctive populations within the wide distribution range of this species and in the past the slender-billed oriole was included as a subspecies.

#wildartworks, #canon, #Birdsinwild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #exclusivewildlife, #natgeoindia, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #planet_untamed_magazine, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #sungeibuloh, #bishanangmokiopark, #indianbirds, #bedokreservoir, #blacknapedoriole, #oriole,

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Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Blue-eared Kingfisher

The Blue-eared Kingfisher is a diminutive dark blue kingfisher with no rufous on the ear-patch. It has an orange spot in front of the eye, white ear tufts on the sides of the neck, and an ultramarine-blue head and neck with darker blue bands giving it a scaly appearance. The upper parts are a glossy dark blue with paler blue central band down the back to the rump. A white chin and throat with deep orange underparts. The males have black bill with brownish-red base, while the females have almost entirely red bill. The juveniles also have dark blue upper parts, but rufous cheeks and ear-coverts similar to the Common Kingfisher. They inhabit well-shaded waterways in forested areas.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #PromediagearTR424L, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @awpc.hk, #animalsofinstagram, @globalcapture, #blueearedkingfisher, #kingfisher, #Malaysia, #SungaiCongkak, #Congkak, #HuluLangat, #Lanchang, #singapore

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Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Malayan Water Monitor

Malayan/ Asian Water Monitors are among the largest lizards in the world with a wide distribution. Varanus salvator (subspecies macromaculatus) are a common sight across parts of South and South-east Asia. Their coloration ranges from brown to black with orange, yellow or white spots or ocelli. Their heads are ventrally flattened with an elongated snout. Their tails are long and powerful and are used for swimming, fighting or hunting.

#wildartworks #canon #Wildlife #wildlifephotography #sungeibulohwetlandreserve #conservationphotography #wildlifeonearth #planet_untamed_magazine #bbcearth #natgeowild #wetlands #marshlands #varanussalvator #malayanwatermonitor #asianwatermonitor #watermonitor

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Photographing Fireworks

Why are fireworks so mesmerising? The sudden, bright, moving sparks they emit are compelling to watch and seem mysterious because we’re so unused to light of that type travelling directly into our eyes. In general, the colours we see are created by light bouncing off the reflective surfaces of objects around us. As we encounter this reflected light all the time, we’ve become very good at unscrambling the colours in our brain and, as a result, anything different can seem other worldly. This could be why other sources of moving light, like shooting stars and fireflies, are also thought of as magical.

People are fascinated by pyrotechnics. In an age when highly-polished and sophisticated computer generated images are the norm, a live firework display feels like ‘border country’. It’s a rare mix of controlled, careful choreography with that exciting sense that anything might happen. For, while almost all large displays are fired electrically, once that electrical pulse is turned into fire, the device is unstoppable. It’s a hypnotic cocktail of science and spectacle, raw power and beauty, colour and noise.

#WildArt.Works, #Canon, #Photography, #Nightscapes, #Landscapes, #Fireworks, #LongExposurePhotography, #FireworkPhotography, #LightTrails, #Celebrations, #EventPhotography, #Cityscapes, #Skyline, #Singapore, #NDP, #CNYFireworks, #MarinaBay,

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