Behind the lens

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

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

Chestnut-vented Nuthatch

The chestnut-vented nuthatch is a species of the nuthatch family found in south-eastern Asia from Tibet to southern Indochina. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

A typical nuthatch usually seen clambering around on trees, it is gray above & white below, with a wedge-shaped head & a thin black line extending from the bill base to the shoulder. Its deep rust red on the flanks & red-edged scaling under the tail serve to distinguish this otherwise plain species from similar nuthatches. Active and social and often following mixed flocks it inhabits both broadleaf and coniferous forests in foothill and submontane areas. Listen for its song, a loud ringing series of trills. Calls include nasal caws, a bright-sounding “pewpewpew,” and high-pitched chittering.

Read More: https://wildart.works/behindthelens/chestnut-vented-nuthatch

#wildartworks, #Canon, #PromediagearTR424L, #Bird, #Birdsinwild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #exclusivewildlife, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #wildlifeseekers, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #Thailand, #DoiLuang, #DoiSanJu, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @awpc.hk, @globalcapture, #chestnutvented, #nuthatch

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

Eurasian/ Wood Nuthatch

The Eurasian nuthatch or wood nuthatch (Sitta europaea) is a small passerine bird found throughout the Palearctic and in Europe, where its name is the nuthatch. Like other nuthatches, it is a short-tailed bird with a long bill, blue-grey upperparts and a black eye-stripe. It is a vocal bird with a repeated loud dwip call. There are more than 20 subspecies in three main groups; birds in the west of the range have orange-buff underparts and a white throat, those in Russia have whitish underparts, and those in the east have a similar appearance to European birds, but lack the white throat.

The preferred habitat is mature deciduous or mixed woodland with large, old trees, preferably oak. Pairs hold permanent territories, and nest in tree holes, usually old woodpecker nests, but sometimes natural cavities. If the entrance to the hole is too large, the female plasters it with mud to reduce its size, and often coats the inside of the cavity too. The 6–9 red-speckled white eggs are laid on a deep base of pine or other wood chips.

The Eurasian nuthatch eats mainly insects, particularly caterpillars and beetles, although in autumn and winter its diet is supplemented with nuts and seeds. The young are fed mainly on insects, with some seeds, food items mainly being found on tree trunks and large branches. The nuthatch can forage when descending trees head first, as well as when climbing. It readily visits bird tables, eating fatty man-made food items as well as seeds. It is an inveterate hoarder, storing food year-round. Its main natural predator is the Eurasian sparrowhawk.

Fragmentation of woodland can lead to local losses of breeding birds, but the species' range is still expanding. It has a large population and huge breeding area, and is therefore classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as being of least concern.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #PromediagearTR424L, #Bird, #Birdsinwild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #exclusivewildlife, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #wildlifeseekers, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #Hokkaido, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @awpc.hk, @globalcapture, #eurasiannuthatch, #nuthatch

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

Small Pratincole

A small bird that resembles a combination of a dove, a swallow, and a plover. It is a soft gray-brown with a tan wash on the throat and black lores. It has a black-and-white wing pattern prominent in flight which is agile and erratic, resembling a bat or swallow and frequently in flocks at dusk. This bird has short legs, long pointed wings and a short tail. Its short bill is an adaptation to aerial feeding. On the ground, it looks mainly pale grey (hence lactea, milky). The crown of the head is brown.

They favour rocky or sandy islands in rivers and in this case a reservoir, but can also be found in marshes, estuaries, and lakesides. The Small Pratincole is distinguished from other pratincoles in range by their smaller size and gray plumage. Their calls are a high rolling “chirrit!”, reminiscent of terns.

The most unusual feature of the pratincoles is that although classed as waders they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground. They are a species of open country, and are often seen near water in the evening, hawking for insects.

They are resident breeders in India, Western Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Thailand breeding from December to March.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #bhigwan, #bhigwanbirdsanctuary, #kumbhargaon, #mokila, #telanganabirds, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @awpc.hk, #animalsofinstagram, @globalcapture, #smallpratincole, #littlepratincole, #SmallIndianPratincole, #Pratincole

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

Baya Weaver

The Baya Weaver (Ploceus philippinus) is a weaver found across South and Southeast Asia. They inhabit grassland, cultivated areas, scrub and secondary growths usually near fresh or brackish water. Despite their species name, they are not found in the Philippines.

Baya weavers and their unique nesting nature were first recorded in Ain-i-Akbari, the 16th-century document recording the administration of Akbar’s empire, and a part of the much larger document, the Akbarnama. They love to live and build in colonies given their social and gregarious nature. Being graminivorous, they find that paddy fields furnish valuable granaries for a food supply.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #1DxMkii, #PromediagearTR424L, #DeityD3Pro, #EF600f4LISIII, #Beachtek, #BeautifulBirds, #Birding, #India, #Telangana, #wildlife_perfection, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #planetbirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #TelanganaBirds, #wildlife_captures, #wildlifeseekers, #animalfanatics, #wildlifephotography, #wildlife_inspired, #wildlifecentral, #Manjeera, #ManjeeraWildlifeSanctuary, #conservationphotography, #BayaWeaver

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

Old World Babblers

The Old World Babblers are a family of passerine birds diverse in size and coloration, characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. This group is among those Old World bird families with the highest number of species still being discovered. I also included Pnoepygidae as they have long been placed in the babbler family Timaliidae. Featured here are only the few I have been fortunate to observe and photograph across various habitats in Asia Pacific.

#wildartworks, #babbler, #wrenbabbler, #birdinginthewild, #birdphotography, #Timaliidae, #Pellorneidae, #Pnoepygidae, #Leiothrichidae, #BukitFraser, #Malaysia, #India, #TelanganaBirds, #thailand, #KaengKrachanNationalPark, #DoiInthanonNationalPark, #DoiSanJu, #DoiLuang,

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