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, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Indian Eagle Owl/ Bengal Eagle Owl

The Indian or Bengal eagle-owl (Bubo bengalensis), also widely known as the Rock eagle-owl, is a large horned owl species native to hilly and rocky scrub forests in the Indian Subcontinent. It is splashed with brown and grey, and has a white throat patch with black small stripes. It is usually seen in pairs and has a deep resonant booming call that may be heard at dawn and dusk.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Canon1DxMkii, #PromediagearTR424L, #DeityD3Pro, #EF600f4LISIII, #Wildlife, #naturephotography, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #Telangana, #YenkathalaGrasslands, #Enkathala, #EnkathalaGrasslands, #Mominpet, #wildtelangana, @wildtelangana, @save_yenkathala, #ramnathgudpalle, #indianeagleowl, #bengaleagleowl, #rockeagleowl, #eagleowl, #owl, #raptor

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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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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,

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

The Vanchowki Tigress

Pench National Park, nestled in the heart of India in the lower southern reaches of the Satpura hills, sprawls a massive 758 sq. kms across the states of Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra. Named after the pristine River Pench it was immortalised by Rudyard Kipling in his Jungle Book. Every year millions make their way here to spot Akela, Baloo, Bagheera and Shere Khan.

Our story is about the beautiful and shy Vanchowki tigress who has made her home in the small hills and well-stocked teak mixed forest of Rukhad. Tigers, like many large mammals, are believed to have a mental map of their territories and they are also extremely territorial.

#wildartworks, #wildlifephotography, #penchnationalpark, #pench, #rukhad, #masoonalagate, #canon, #rukhadgate, #kurai, #seoni, #tiger, #jungle, #wild, #forest, #wildlife, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @awpc.hk, @globalcapture, #madhyapradesh, #trackingwildlife, #tracking, #kingfishermale, #kuraigadmale, #kuraigarhmale, #vanchowkitigress, #monsoon, #pantheratigris, #scentmarking, #bengaltiger, #royalbengaltiger

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

Jungle Bush Quail

A small, plump terrestrial bird, roughly spherical in shape identified by its rusty throat & rusty-and-white eyebrow. The males have barred underparts while females have uniform pinkish cinnamon underparts. They’re found in dry stony scrub jungles and dry grasslands & are generally secretive until flushed when it suddenly bursts into flight, flying with weak whirring wingbeats low over the ground before quickly dropping into cover.

#wildartworks, #tadoba, #TadobaTigerReserve, #jungle, #wild, #forest, #wildlife, #wildlifephotography, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #junglebushquail, #bushquail, #quail, #penchnationalpark, #pench, #khursapar,

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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,

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