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.

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

Red-naped Ibis

A medium-sized ibis with a dark body, often showing a bluish-green sheen. The crown and nape are covered in bright red warts. A white patch is usually visible near the shoulder of the wing. The bill is long and downcurved. This species can be confused with the similar-looking Glossy Ibis, but Glossy Ibis is smaller and lacks the red warts and white shoulder patch. In flight, the legs of Red-naped Ibis don’t extend beyond the tail, unlike in Glossy Ibis. Unlike most other ibis, Red-naped favors drier habitats, such as rye fields. It is usually found singly or in loose groups.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #conservationphotography, #bhigwan, #BhigwanBirdSanctuary, #Kumbhargaon, #ujnibackwaters, #Tadoba, #kabini, #rednapedibis, #ibis,

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

Shambhu

Scion of Wagdoh, Shambhu is one of four gladiators waiting in the wings in the Junona - Adegaon - Dewada - Agarzari range; Chota Dhadiyal, Taru & Paras the other three. The stage is set for some significant battles as each of these approach their age of dominance. The first skirmish was with Taru on 4th December with Shambhu emerging the winner.

#wildartworks, #wildlifephotography, #canon, #tiger, #wildlife, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #maharashtra, #Tadoba, #Dewada, #Adegaaon, #DewadaGate, #pantheratigris, #bengaltiger, #royalbengaltiger, #bigcats, #tadobatiger, #gladiatoroftaru, #wagdoh, #waghdoh, #wagdohcub, #Shambhu, #shambhumaletiger, #shambhutiger,

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

Taru

The first gladiator we encountered in this enchanted realm of Gondwana was Taru (T-185) himself - a magnificent male tiger about 6/7 years old and ready to make his move into the light of fame and glory.  

#wildartworks, #wildlifephotography, #canon, #tiger, #wildlife, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #maharashtra, #Tadoba, #Dewada, #Adegaaon, #DewadaGate, #pantheratigris, #bengaltiger, #royalbengaltiger, #bigcats, #taru, #tarumale, #tadobatiger, #Shivanjhari, #Kolsa, #Shindewahi, #Navegaon, #KhatodaGate, #tarumaletiger,

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

W-mark Female

The W-mark female of the Adegaon - Dewada range traces her lineage back to some illustrious tigers through the generations. She was born to Bajrang and Lara of Telia Sisters fame. We saw her daintily stepping out from the brush directly in front of us about a kilometre north of the ancient step well of Adegaon almost halfway to the Adegaon-Dewada-Agarzari Gate.

#wildartworks, #wildlifephotography, #canon, #tiger, #wildlife, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #maharashtra, #Tadoba, #Dewada, #Adegaaon, #DewadaGate, #pantheratigris, #bengaltiger, #royalbengaltiger, #bigcats, #Wmark, #wmarkfemale, #tadobatiger, #tigress, #Bajrang, #Lara

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

C2

The Adegaon - Dewada - Agarzari range is home to a number of powerful male tigers - Paras, Taru and Shambhu who have made this range their home, Chota Dhadiyal who ranges from Dewada and Junona all the way up to the Tadoba range in the north, C1 and C2 who range between here and the Kolsa Range to the east.

Our time today is with the 4 year old C2 who was sired by the great Khali (T50), also known as the coal mines male, and Sharmili.

#wildartworks, #wildlifephotography, #canon, #tiger, #wildlife, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @globalcapture, #maharashtra, #trackingwildlife, #tracking, #Tadoba, #Dewada, #DewadaGate, #pantheratigris, #scentmarking, #flemengrimace, #Flehmenresponse, #bengaltiger, #royalbengaltiger, #bigcats, #C2, #C2Male, #tadobatiger

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

Sambhar

The Sambhar (Rusa unicolor) are a large deer species native to the Indian subcontinent, South China & SE Asia listed as a Vulnerable Species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Sambar have many subspecies which vary in size and appearance, and it is known as the largest Oriental deer with some adult males reaching 550kg in weight. Their populations have declined substantially due to severe hunting, local insurgency, and industrial exploitation of habitat.

Sambar have a thick coat of long, coarse hair which forms a dense mane around the neck, especially in males. The males can be distinguished by their antlers, as well as being slightly larger and darker than females and young. The name is also spelled Sambur, Sambhar or Sambhur.

#wildartworks, #wildlifephotography, #kabini, #Wildlife, #nagarholetigerreserve, #nilgiribiosphere, #nagarhole, #kabinibackwaters, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #tipeshwar, #pench, #deer, #Rusaunicolor, #Tadoba, #tadobaandharitigerreserve, #penchnationalpark, #pench, #sambar, #sambhar, #sambur, #sambhur,

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

Oriental Honey Buzzard

This is a large resident raptor of lowland & montane broad leaf and mixed forests, well-known for their tendency to congregate in large flocks of up to thousands during migration. They have an unusually small and slender head, a long striped tail, broad wings, and well-striped underwings which make them easily recognisable and they also show considerable plumage variation throughout their range. True to their name, this species is a raider of wasp and bee nests, although it prefers their larvae over their honey.

#wildartworks, #jungle, #raptor, #wildlife, #wildlifephotography, #tipeshwar, #tipeshwarwildlifesanctuary, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #orientalhoneybuzzard, #buzzard, #crestedhoneybuzzard, #tropicalraptor, #tadoba, #pench, #rannofkutch, #littlerannofkutch, #kutch, #endemic,

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