Behind the lens

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

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

Common Hawk-Cuckoo

The common hawk-cuckoo, popularly known as the brainfever bird, is a medium-sized cuckoo resident in the Indian subcontinent. It bears a close resemblance to the Shikra, even in its style of flying and landing on a perch. Males have ashy-gray upperparts, white underparts with rufous streaking and barring, a broadly barred tail, and a distinct yellow eye rim. Females and juveniles are browner with bolder streaking below. During their breeding season males produce a loud, repetitive three note call. Common Hawk-Cuckoos feed mainly on insects and are specialised feeders that can handle hairy caterpillars. The species is arboreal and rarely descends to the ground. Mainly a brood parasite of babblers. Found in gardens, groves, and deciduous and semi-evergreen forests.

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Indian Fox/ Bengal Fox

The Indian Fox or the Bengal Fox is endemic to the Indian subcontinent, except in the coastal regions & the Western Ghats. They are usually seen near agricultural areas and human settlements. Although known to be distributed throughout the subcontinent, their occurrence is based on factors such as prey availability. They have long, bushy tails with black tips, which distinguish them from the similar-looking Desert Fox. They are omnivorous opportunistic feeders and prey on insects as well as small mammals.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Canon1DxMkii, #PromediagearTR424L, #DeityD3Pro, #EF600f4LISIII, #Wildlife, #naturephotography, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #Telangana, #YenkathalaGrasslands, #Enkathala, #EnkathalaGrasslands, #Mominpet, #wildtelangana, @wildtelangana, @save_yenkathala, #indianfox, #bengalfox, #fox, #canidae, #smallestcanid,

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The winter migrants of Yenkathala

Once again I venture into the Yenkathala/ Enkathala grasslands, home to as many as 191 bird & numerous wildlife species like the Indian Grey Mongoose. In winter these spectacular grasslands host some beautiful migrants - the Montagu’s & Pallid Harriers - which fly from Russia and Eastern Asian countries traveling over 5,000 kilometers to winter here in the dry sub-humid type of grasslands.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Canon1DxMkii, #PromediagearTR424L, #DeityD3Pro, #EF600f4LISIII, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #TelanganaBirds, #HyderabadBirds, #YenkathalaGrasslands, #Enkathala, #EnkathalaGrasslands, #Mominpet, #wildtelangana, @save_yenkathala, #MontagusHarrier, #montaguharrier, #pallidharrier, #paleharrier

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Indian Grey Mongoose

Noted for their audacious attacks on highly venomous snakes such as king cobras, the mongoose are any of nearly three dozen species of small bold predatory carnivores found mainly in Africa but also in southern Asia and southern Europe. The 33 species belong to 14 genera with the most common and probably best-known being the 10 species of the genus Herpestes, among which are the Egyptian mongoose, or ichneumon (H. ichneumon), of Africa and southern Europe and the Indian grey mongoose (H. edwardsii), made famous as Rikki-tikki-tavi in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.

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Pied Bush Chat

The Pied Bush Chat is a small passerine bird found ranging from West Asia and Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent & Southeast Asia. About sixteen subspecies are recognised through its wide range with many island forms. It is a sedentary “chat” associated with open habitats in tropical and subtropical Asia. The males are black with a white vent and a white wing patch while the females are dark brown with a reddish-brown rump and underparts. Females can resemble the migratory Siberian Stonechat, but can be separated by the absence of an eyebrow and of any white on the collar or wing. 

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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.

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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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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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