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.

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

Spot-bellied Eagle Owl

The Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl (Ketupa nipalensis) also known as the forest eagle-owl is an immense and imposing owl of dense wet lowland and hill forests of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The silver-gray adult is majestic, with a large yellow bill, black eyes, and sweeping sidewards-facing “horns.” The juvenile is much paler, almost white, with shorter tufts. It gives deep echoing hoots. It is primarily nocturnal, but will on occasion hunt by day; takes prey as large as small deer.

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#wildartworks, #birdinginthewild, #birdphotography, #conservationphotography, #thailand, #kaengkrachan, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #bbcearth, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, @bbcearth, @wild.planet, @wildlifeonearth, @earthpix, #best_birds_planet, @discovery, #natgeowild, #kaengkrachannationalpark, #owl, #spotbelliedeagleowl, #eagleowl, #nallamalaforest, #munnanurforest,

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

Blue-eared Kingfisher

The Blue-eared Kingfisher is a diminutive dark blue kingfisher with no rufous on the ear-patch. It has an orange spot in front of the eye, white ear tufts on the sides of the neck, and an ultramarine-blue head and neck with darker blue bands giving it a scaly appearance. The upper parts are a glossy dark blue with paler blue central band down the back to the rump. A white chin and throat with deep orange underparts. The males have black bill with brownish-red base, while the females have almost entirely red bill. The juveniles also have dark blue upper parts, but rufous cheeks and ear-coverts similar to the Common Kingfisher. They inhabit well-shaded waterways in forested areas.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #PromediagearTR424L, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @awpc.hk, #animalsofinstagram, @globalcapture, #blueearedkingfisher, #kingfisher, #Malaysia, #SungaiCongkak, #Congkak, #HuluLangat, #Lanchang, #singapore

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

Puff-throated Babbler

The Puff-throated Babbler is a medium-sized babbler, often encountered foraging in noisy, lively flocks on or around the forest floor. It occurs from lowlands up into hilly and mountainous forests often spotted flipping leaves on the ground in foraging flocks.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #yesbbcearth, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #india, #umamaheshwaramtemple, #achampet, #puffthroatedbabbler, #babbler, #telanganabirds, #nallamallaforest, #ananthagiri, #kaengkrachan, #Thailand

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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

Silver-breasted Broadbill

The Eurylaimidae are a family of passerine birds that occur from the eastern Himalayas to Indonesia and the Philippines. These strikingly patterned broadbills of Asia are forest canopy birds, often revealed only by their throaty staccato calls. The Silver-breasted Broadbill is a small quiet bird with a distinctly silky, smooth-feathered appearance. Pale below and warm soft brown above with a black crescent above the eye and a glossy blue patch on the dark wings. It usually moves around through the middle layers of foothill and montane forest and does not often join mixed-species foraging flocks, instead tending to stick to medium-sized groups of its own species.

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#wildartworks, #Eurylaimidae, #broadbill, #carnivorousbird, #insectivorous, #birdinginthewild, #birdphotography, #conservationphotography, #silverbreastedbroadbill, #thailand, #kaengkrachan, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #bbcearth, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, @bbcearth, @wild.planet, @wildlifeonearth, @earthpix, #best_birds_planet, @discovery, #natgeowild, #kaengkrachannationalpark

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

Bluethroat

The Bluethroat is a beautiful thrush-like bird that tends to stay hidden. A dull gray above, but a head-on view reveals a stunning pattern of electric blue and orange on the throat with some variation in pattern across range. Females show fainter colors than males, sometimes lacking blue entirely, but are still very boldly patterned. They have a variable song including imitations of other species among a jumble of trills, whistles, and chirps. They are typically found in scrubby, brushy habitat, often in edge areas: reedbeds, overgrown fields, and thickets. Usually skulky but singing males can perch conspicuously atop a bush. They breed across Europe and Asia into Alaska and winter from northern Africa to southeast Asia.

#wildartworks #wildlifephotography #jungle #wild #forest #wildlife #conservationphotography #wildlifeonearth #bbcearth #natgeowild #natgeoindia #bluethroat, #Muscicapidae, #flycatcher, #oldworldflycatcher, #telanganabirds, #wildtelangana, #manjeerawildlifesanctuary, #Manjeera, #manjira, #hyderabadbirds,

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

Himalayan Bluetail

The brightly coloured adult male is unmistakable in range, a blazing sapphire blue with orange flanks and white throat and belly. The female is brown with a white throat, orange flanks, and pale blue rump and tail. The Himalayan Bluetail has a bright blue eyebrow and brighter, deeper blue upper parts in the male. Their song is a simple, repeated “tcher-thcew-wee!”. They breed in submontane forest up to the treeline descending in the winter, often moving into edge habitats.

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#wildartworks, #Canon, #PromediagearTR424L, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #animalsofinstagram, @globalcapture, #DoiAngkhang, #chiangmai, #DoiPhaHomPokNationalPark, #DoiPhaHomPok, #Thailand, #himalayanbluetail, #flycatcher, #oldworldflycatcher, #Himalayanredflankedbushrobin, #orangeflankedbushrobin, #bushrobin, #doi,

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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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