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, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Hill-blue Flycatcher

A medium-sized and confusing flycatcher. The male is beautifully coloured, with deep blue upper parts, an orange throat & breast, and a white belly. The female is duller and very similar to and closely-related to the Large Blue Flycatcher. It breeds in hilly & montane broadleaf thickets, often in areas with dense undergrowth and migrates to lower altitudes in winter. Their calls are a loud “chak” or “tak,” reminiscent of stones tapping.

#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, @awpc.hk, @globalcapture, #doiinthanon, #thailand, #hillblueflycatcher, #flycatcher, #doiinthanonnationalpark

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

Yellow-billed Blue Magpie

I return again to the Singalila Ridge, in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, at an altitude of more than 7000 feet above mean sea level, in search of a colourful long-tailed corvid - the Yellow-billed Blue Magpie. Similar in coloration to the Red-billed, the Yellow-billed is a paler blue overall, with a small white patch at the back of the crown instead of an extensive white stripe, and a bright yellow bill instead of a scarlet one. Primarily found in Himalayan hill forest, with disjunct populations in northwestern Myanmar and northern Vietnam.

#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, @awpc.hk, @globalcapture, #singalilanationalpark, #corvid, #yellowbilledbluemagpie, #tumling, #firefoxexpeditionsindia, #magpie

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

Demoiselle Crane

The demoiselle crane (Grus virgo) is a species of crane found in central Eurasia, ranging from the Black Sea to Mongolia and North Eastern China. There is also a small breeding population in Turkey. These cranes are migratory and fly from western Eurasia to spend the winter in Africa whilst the birds from Asia, Mongolia and China will spend the winter in the Indian subcontinent. The bird is symbolically significant in the culture of Pakistan, where it is known as Koonj.

It is the smallest species of crane. The demoiselle crane is slightly smaller than the common crane but has similar plumage. It has a long white neck stripe and the black on the foreneck extends down over the chest in a plume.

#wildartworks, #canon, #wildlife, #wildlifephotography, #Dasada, #RannofKutch, #LittleRannofKutch, #Gujarat, #SaltFlat, #TravelPhotography, #FlatLand, #SaltMarsh, #natgeoindia, #ConservationPhotography, @awpc.hk, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #planet_untamed_magazine, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #demoisellecrane, #crane, #smallestcrane, #migratory, #migratorybird, #koonj,

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

Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush

The Near Threatened Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush (Garrulax mitratus), also known as the spectacled laughingthrush, is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in Sumatra (Indonesia) and the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

#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, @awpc.hk, @globalcapture, #laughingthrush, #chestnutcappedlaughingthrush, #Lanchang, #HuluLangat, #SungaiCongkak, #Congkak, #BukitFraser, #FrasersHill, #Malaysia, #NearThreatened, #thrush

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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

Long-tailed Shrike

The Long-tailed Shrike or rufous-backed shrike (Lanius schach) is a member of the bird family Laniidae, the shrikes. They are found widely distributed across Asia and there are variations in plumage across the range.

The Long-tailed Shrike is a large, noisy shrike typical of open habitats across Asia. The adults have a dark mask and a light gray upper back with a variable amount of orange on lower back and flanks. The eastern subspecies has complete black cap with the melanistic form having more extensive dark mask & being darker overall. The juveniles difficult to separate from other juvenile shrikes. Gives loud, screeching calls; also mimics other birds.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #yesbbcearth, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @awpc.hk, @globalcapture, #thailand, #longtailedshrike, #shrike, #chiangmai, #fang, #doisanju, #doiluang, #Chincholi, #chincholiwildlifesanctuary, #karnataka, #telangana, #chincholireserveforest

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

Black Kite/ Small Indian Kite/ Pariah Kite

The Black/ Small Indian/ Pariah Kite is a medium-sized, rather nondescript raptor with overall dark plumage. Varies considerably across range, but always note tail fork (can disappear when tail is fully open), and short head and neck. Their flight style is buoyant, gliding & changing direction with ease. Frequently forages in urban areas, rubbish dumps, aquatic habitats, and grassland, but usually avoids heavily forested areas. Sometimes solitary, but also gathers in large flocks on migration and at good feeding areas.

#wildartworks, #umamaheshwaram, #bhigwan, #jungle, #raptors, #wild, #forest, #wildlife, #wildlifephotography, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #blackkite, #kite, #kumbhargaon,

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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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