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Brahminy starling { Szpak bramiński, Sturnia pagodarum }
New Delhi, India
Ania Tuzel© All rights reserved - No Unauthorized Use.
600mm - f/7.1 - 1/800 - ISO 560
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It is always beautiful to see the gathering of geese during the migration! They are many! They rest and feed to undertake a long journey!
The bar-headed goose is a goose that breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes and winters in South Asia, as far south as peninsular India. It lays three to eight eggs at a time in a ground nest. It is known for the extreme altitudes it reaches when migrating across the Himalayas.
[Credit: WildFilmsIndia]
Gallineta Pechiblanca, White-breasted Waterhen, Amaurornis phoenicurus.
Especie # 717
Keoladeo National Park
Rajasthán
India
A silhouette of an Oriental darter at the time of Sunset in the Keoladeo national park, Bharatpur, India.
This is a kind of a signature shot for the place, and I did not get it the last time. So made it a point to reach the spot well before time (it can get pretty crowded) and got this shot.
An oriental darter calling out to establish territory. The light from behind works very well in this case to emphasize his throat colours.
A white throated kingfisher intently watching the water body from a perch. He was so engrossed that I could approach very close to him for this uncropped shot.
Oriental dwarf kingfisher, also known as Three toed kingfisher, is endemic to the Indian subcontinent and south east Asia. It is the smallest kingfisher in the Indian subcontinent, even smaller than the common kingfisher, and so bright are it's colours that photographers are crazy after it.
A grey heron landing with a fresh fish in it's beak.
Grey herons are widely distributed, occurring throughout much of Asia as far east as Japan. They also breed in South Africa, while migrants are regular throughout much of Africa. Grey Herons are generalists in habitat use. They are typically found in and around shallow water, generally along watercourses and shorelines, and usually in locations having roost trees nearby. They may occur in inland fresh waters, along estuaries, or in marine habitats. Shallow water, relatively large prey, and 4 or 5 months of an ice-free breeding season seem to be essential characteristics of suitable habitat.
The Grey Heron usually hunts solitarily, but in situations where food is more concentrated, birds may feed in loose aggregations or even mixed species flocks. The usual method of capturing prey is by a rapid Bill Thrust, preceded by retracting its head and neck. Pecking is used on dry ground, such as for earthworms. Food is nearly always dipped in the water, if available, before being swallowed. It is handled by biting, stabbing, and pounding to soften, to remove spines, to position for swallowing (fish are swallowed head first), or for breaking into smaller pieces.
Portrait of a white breasted kingfisher with a blurred backdrop of a spotted deer. The kingfisher was perched nicely on this dead wood. Since this is a common bird, I was going to pass him, but just then I noticed a few deer grazing some distance behind it.
Realizing that I could get in a position for such a shot, I got down from the cycle-rickshaw and took some shots. It wasn't as easy as it seemed at first, since the deer were moving and I also wanted a favourable head turn from the kingfisher, but after a bit of shuffling and about a dozen shots, I got what I had in mind.
A male black necked stork with a freshly killed (actually it was still alive) common moorhen. The stork has a large beak which it uses as a weapon and pierces in the body of the prey, impaling it till it dies. Then it carries the prey to a convenient spot or to the nest depending on the season.
This black crowned night heron was perched in this same pose for maybe hours. I loved the way morning light fell on him. The tree branches are a bit of a clutter, but they also frame the subject nicely I think.
The European roller (Coracias garrulus) breeds in all but the most northern parts of a region stretching from Western Europe to Central Asia including Kashmir. The entire global population of European Roller winters in Africa and is a true passage migrant through the Indian Subcontinent.
During autumn passage, large numbers of European Rollers pass through northwestern and western India (and smaller numbers through the south) from August to November. During spring passage however, the species largely migrates back to its breeding grounds through the Arabian peninsula and as such, not seen in India.
A male Montagu's harrier on a stone perch.
Montagu’s Harrier is named after the naturalist George Montagu, who is also known for writing the Ornithological Dictionary in 1802. Measuring between 43 and 47 cm, the adult male of the species is a stunning dark grey with black edges on its wings. It also sports rufous (reddish-brown) streaking on its belly, which is one of the ways by which it can be differentiated from the pallid harrier.
They feed primarily on grasshoppers, locusts and other insects, as well as reptiles, rodents, and other small mammals. Following the migratory path of locusts and grasshoppers, Montagu’s harriers were once one of the most common harriers to winter on the Indian subcontinent. This is less and less so as their favourite grassland habitats diminish.
We found this Indian eagle owl while looking for short eared owls in the little rann of kuchh, Gujarat, India. Didn't know that they too were sighted there.
This male Pallid harrier was finishing off a kill, when two house crows descended nearby for scavenging. They didn't want to wait till the harrier had finished, and started pestering him. The harrier, of course, was aware of the threat and guarded the kill by spreading his tail and wings first. However, the crows were quite persistent. One went ahead and started pulling on the Harrier's tail. To this, he reacted aggressively and jumped in the air in an effort to shop them away. That is the moment when I clicked this.
Wire tailed swallows near a local water body in Mumbai. I was shooting the one perched on top of the stump, when the other one flew by. Got it in one frame of the many.
A pheasant tailed jacana walking on the surface of water covered with water hyacinth.
The pheasant-tailed jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus) is a jacana in the monotypic genus Hydrophasianus. Like all other jacanas, they have elongated toes and nails that enable them to walk on floating vegetation in shallow lakes, their preferred habitat. They may also swim or wade in water reaching their body while foraging mainly for invertebrate prey.