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

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,

Read More
Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Indian Roller

The Indian Roller is a brightly coloured bird with various shades of blue on the wings, tails, & belly that are more prominent in flight. There are longitudinal white streaks on the throat and breast. They are generally silent, but vocal in the breeding season with harsh calls. Preferring open areas, including agricultural landscapes, they sit on exposed perches including electric wires, occasionally pumping their tail slowly.

#wildartworks, #kabini, #jungle, #wildlifephotography, #nilgiribiosphere, #nagarholetigerreserve, #kabinibackwaters, #tipeshwar, #tipeshwarwildlifesanctuary, #tadoba, #pench, #littlerannofkutch, #kutch, #tadobaandharitigerreserve, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #bluejay, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #statebird, #IndianRoller, #Roller,

Read More
Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Chital

The Chital or Cheetal (Axis axis), also known as spotted deer, chital deer, & axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. First described & given a binomial name in 1777 it is a moderate-sized deer, with only the males exhibiting antlers. The upper parts are golden to rufous, completely covered in white spots while the abdomen, rump, throat, insides of legs, ears, and tail are all white. The lyre-shaped antlers, three-pronged, are nearly 1 m long.

#wildartworks #wildlifephotography #kabini #jungle #wild #forest #wildlife #nagarholetigerreserve #nilgiribiosphere #nagarhole #kabinibackwaters #conservationphotography #indian_wildlifes #indianwildlifeofficial #wildlifeonearth #bbcearth #natgeowild #natgeoindia #nammakarnataka #tipeshwar #chital #deer #axisdeer #spotteddeer #Tadoba #tadobaandharitigerreserve #yawatmal, #penchnationalpark, #pench, #ungulate,

Read More
Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Changeable Hawk-Eagle/ Crested Hawk-Eagle

A medium-sized eagle with massive rounded wings. It appears very small-headed in flight. Their name is misleading, as there are only really two color morphs, pale and black. The pale-morph adult is dark brown above with a white breast overlaid with dark streaks. While the dark morph is dark all over with paler outer wing feathers, and can be mistaken for dark Honey-Buzzards. They inhabit forests, forest edges, and expansive parks and plantations.

#wildartworks, #kabini, #tadoba, #TadobaTigerReserve, #jungle, #raptors, #wild, #forest, #wildlife, #wildlifephotography, #nilgiribiosphere, #nagarholetigerreserve, #kabinibackwaters, #tipeshwar, #tipeshwarwildlifesanctuary, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #changeablehawkeagle, #crestedhawkeagle, #eagle, #hawk, #tropicalraptor,

Read More
Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Crested Serpent Eagle

The crested serpent eagle (Spilornis cheela melanotis) is a medium-sized bird of prey that is found in forested habitats across tropical Asia. It is a rather large, heavily built eagle with a dark, white-tipped bushy crest that gives it a distinctive large-headed look. When raised in alarm, the crest frames the whole face, highlighting the bare yellow lores and eyes, making the head look larger and fiercer. Commonly seen perched upright in well-wooded areas, with wingtips nearly covering the broad white sub-terminal band on the tail. Its 1-3 note scream is often heard in the forest.

#wildartworks, #kabini, #jungle, #raptors, #wild, #forest, #wildlife, #wildlifephotography, #nilgiribiosphere, #nagarholetigerreserve, #kabinibackwaters, #tipeshwar, #tipeshwarwildlifesanctuary, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #crestedserpenteagle, #serpenteagle, #eagle, #hawk, #tropicalraptor,

Read More
Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Tigers of Kabini

The presence of a tiger changes the jungle around it, and those changes are easier to detect. Bird calls darken, small deer call softly to each other. Herds do not run but drift into shapes that suggest some emerging group consciousness of an escape route. A kind of shiver seems to run through everything, a low hum that sounds — literally, in the whispered Hindi conversation of the guides —  like sher, sher, sher! This zone of apprehension follows the tiger as it moves. Often, the best way to find a cat is to switch off your engine and listen. You might then hear, from a distance, the subtle changes in pitch and cadence that indicate a boundary of the zone. But even then, it is impossible to predict where, or if, the tiger will appear.

#wildartworks #kabini #jungle #bigcats #wild #forest #wildlife #wildlifephotography #tiger #tigress #nilgiribiosphere #nagarholetigerreserve #kabinibackwaters #conservationphotography #indian_wildlifes #indianwildlifeofficial #wildlifeonearth #bbcearth #natgeowild #natgeoindia @awpc.hk #bigcatswildlife @bigcatswildlife

Read More
Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Tryst with a leopard

The elusive leopard, a ghost of the forests, is often hailed as its most elegant dweller. Its gleaming rosettes catch the sunlight as it prowls through the brush or stalks down a tree. Shy, bashful and elusive, it demands numerous hours spent searching in the forests and, more often than not, one returns unsuccessful. The very lifestyle of a leopard has it living on the run from the larger predators like the royal bengal tigers and intelligent, vicious pack hunters like the dhole in India. Here is one of the magnificent leopards of Kabini.

#wildartworks #wildlifephotography #kabini #jungle #wild #forest #wildlife #nagarholetigerreserve #nilgiribiosphere #nagarhole #kabinibackwaters #conservationphotography #indian_wildlifes #indianwildlifeofficial #wildlifeonearth #bbcearth #natgeowild #natgeoindia @awpc.hk #animalsofinstagram #bigcatswildlife @bigcatswildlife #leopardsofkabini #leopard #pantherapardus #pardus #landofleopards #leopardess @globalcapture #nammakarnataka

Read More
Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Dhole

The Dhole, also known as the Asian wild dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red dog, and mountain wolf is a canid native to Central, South, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. A highly social animal, it lives in large clans without rigid dominance hierarchies and containing multiple breeding females. Such clans usually comprises of 5 to 12 individuals but sometimes much more, groups of over 40 have been known. 

It is a superpredator, able to feed on a large number of prey. A pack hunter competing with the tiger and the leopard.

#wildartworks, #tadobanationalpark, #dhole, #wilddog, #asianwilddog, #wildlifephotography, #wildlifecentury, #kabini, #jungle, #wild, #forest, #wildlife, #nagarholetigerreserve, #nilgiribiosphere, #tipeshwar, #tipeshwarwildlifesanctuary, #kabinibackwaters, #nagarhole, #conservationphotography,

Read More