The Pied Kingfisher – Ceryle rudis, as it is called in Ornithology, is a Real King of all the Kingfishers. As the name suggests, Kingfishers are masters at hunting fish. There are in all about 90 species of Kingfishers, out of which 12 are found in India and 8 are found in South India and…
This is an Intermediate Egret – Mesophoyx intermedia, a member of the Ardeidae family of Egrets. The bird is in breeding plumage, with flowing Mantle Plumes. The Feathery Plumes give it the name Egret — “Aigrettes” meaning flowing soft feathers in French and Old English. These birds were hunted down in this plumage, to get…
These are Malabar Pied Hornbills – Anthracoceros coronatus — One of the ten Horn-bill species of the country, captured at Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, a birdwatchers paradise in Uttara Kannada district, by one of SOM readers Naveen Raja from Vidyashankar Nagar, Mysuru. Large birds with disproportionately large beaks with a Cascade over the beak, hence the…
A pair of Red Avadavat, also known as Red Munia or Strawberry Finch (Amandava Amandava), seen fighting for a feather. This moment was captured by city lensman G.S. Ravishankar near the Outer Ring Road in Mysuru.
By Ragoo Rao, Ethologist Bird-brained. Calling someone bird-brained is an insult as it refers to the person as a dunce or a dimwit. The size of the brain of birds is likened to the brains of a dimwit. This might have been true until now as we were ignorant of the capabilities of small-brained birds….
By Ragoo Rao, Ethologist The Purple Swamp Hen is a large water hen with a distinctive heavy red bill and forehead shield. It has red eyes and a deep blue head and breast with black upper parts and wings. In bright sunlight the plumage shines with an intense blue sheen. These birds use a variety…
Pelicans are large squat birds of the water bodies. Of the three Species of Pelicans in the Indian Region, the Great White Pelican – Pelicanus onocotalus; The Dalmatian Pelican – Pelicanus crispus, and the third Spot-billed Pelican – Pelicanus philippensis, the third Spot-billed Pelican – Pelicanus philippensis, is the most widespread resident bird. It is…
A Red Munia caught on camera as it was busy building a nest close to Ring Road at Devanur, Mysuru.[Pics by M.N. Lakshminarayana Yadav].
By Ragoo Rao The humble and adorable little birds, chirping and flitting around in our compounds and courtyards, the House Sparrow is a confirmed hanger on to man ever since humans started depending on agriculture and created settlements. These birds have even been mentioned in most of our mythologies and folklores, along with the common…
An Indian Roller – Coracias benghalensis, formerly falsely called as Blue Jay, busy feeding its baby bird (with insects and frog) which waits hungrily for its supper. This parenting moment was captured by SOM photographer M.N. Lakshminarayana Yadav at Bandipur National Park. Indian Roller is called ‘Neelakanta’ in Kannada & Sanskrit and is the State…
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