By Ragoo Rao, Ethologist Summer is fast arriving. Days are getting warmer; lakes and ponds are going low on storage and water scarcity is fast approaching. We, humans, have made good arrangements for our supply of water even through scarcity spells. What about the creatures around us, like birds, mammals, and reptiles? They also need…
Peacock population increasing in Mysuru
February 27, 2022Lack of human movement due to COVID lockdowns, curfews one of the reasons Mysore/Mysuru: Peacock population in and around Mysuru has increased, bringing cheer among bird lovers and residents. Chamundi Hill, Lalithadripura, Hebbal Lake, Kukkarahalli Lake, Lingambudhi Lake, Vijayanagar Third Stage, Hebbal Industrial Area, Lalitha Mahal premises, Mahadevapura and villages like Varakodu, Alanahalli, Bhugathahalli and…
Shikra, the leopard of avian kingdom
January 23, 2022By Ragoo Rao, Ethologist The Shikra has long been known for its great courage, coupled with intellect as a hunter. It is the most common bird used in the art of falconry across the country in pre-independence times. Falconry is the keeping and training of birds of prey, especially the falcon, and hunting with them,…
The Egyptian Pharaohs
May 30, 2021By Ragoo Rao, Ethologist The vultures are hungry; the vultures are waiting; as disgusting as a vulture eating… These are the phrases we use to describe a person as despicable — an obnoxious behaviour, more so at the dining table. In fact comparing a despicable man with a vulture is an insult to the latter…
T.P. Chlorigaster…
October 21, 2020By Ragoo Rao, Ethologist, [Pic. by SOM reader H.S. Sreeranjini] T.P. What…? Who is it? Sounds like a pedigree name for a nobleman, from an aristocrat family!!! Relax, it’s neither a nobleman nor a pedigree name for a Royal Family. It’s just the Taxonomical name for a Pigeon. The Yellow-footed Green Pigeon. Hasiru Paariwala in…
Kite Flying…
October 7, 2020By Ragoo Rao, Ethologist Go Fly a Kite” is a phrase in English, which we use sometimes to tell a child or a teenager, to do, when we find them too interfering into our adult matters. Flying a Kite is considered a juvenile fancy (No it is not, I think a lot of old people…
Hebbal Lake: Birds & Birders’ Paradise
October 4, 2020By Ragoo Rao, Ethologist Hebbal Lake, a lake nestled in the midst of a bustling industrial area, a lake that was perennial and never went dry, a lake that hosted plenty of migratory birds, a lake that set several first and only sightings of many birds, a lake that had a good inflow of storm…
Tit… The 11 O’Clock Bird
September 30, 2020By Ragoo Rao, Ethologist [Pic. by SOM reader H.S. Sreeranjini] Tzeee….Tzeeee….Tzeeeee… the familiar sound of the grey and black bird, the size of a Sparrow, quite often mistaken for the male House Sparrow, is that of Cinereous Tit – Parus Cinereous. Until recent times, called as the Great Tit – Parus major, it has now…
Tukk… tukkk… tukkk… goes the Coppersmith
September 16, 2020By Ragoo Rao, Ethologist This is the repetitive, monotonous, steady sound, one hears in a grove of trees, or a single standing heavy tree, that gives the bird that makes this sound, the name Coppersmith Barbet – Megalaima haemacephala as known in the Ornithological world. In yesteryears, when the metal copper was manually beaten into…
Shikra… The Leopard of Birds
September 2, 2020By Ragoo Rao, Ethologist Shikras — Accipiter badius, in Taxonomical terms, the urban raptor, a bird of prey, a small but fierce predator, is likened to the Leopards of the Cat family, owing to their fierce and brutal hunting techniques, blended with intelligence and strategy, exactly like the Leopards. The urban treetops, specially the leafy…
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