This cuckoo, like other Malkohas, is non-parasitic breeder – that is it builds it’s own nest and raises it’s own young…
The scientific name of this bird commemorates the French botanist Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour.
The Southern Ground Hornbill or cafer (Bucorvus leadbeateri), is one of two species of ground hornbill and is the largest species of hornbill.
The Alexandrine Parakeet is named after Alexander the Great, who is credited with the exporting of numerous specimens of this bird from Punjab into various European and Mediterranean countries and regions, where they were considered prized possessions for the nobles and royalty. Though still classified as a species of “Least Concern” Alexandrines have all but disappeared from within Nagpur city. This situation was very much the reverse in the 80’s when Alexandrines would literally boss out the smaller Plum-headed parakeets
The Common Woodshrike (Tephrodornis pondicerianus) is a species in the helmetshrike family Prionopidae. The woodshrikes were formerly placed in the Campephagidae (cuckooshrikes)
World Wetlands Day occurs on February 2, every year. It marks the date of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands, called Ramsar Convention, on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
Yellow Bittern is a very shy bird of the wetlands and is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918
This picture may not have much aesthetic merit but I am pleased that I could manage it! Black Eagle is a rarity in Nagpur.
This picture is full frame and was taken at 1000mm handheld, with 400iso at 1/50sec with subject at a distance of 21m, in retrospect I can easily say I could have done it much better but there was a higher possibility that I would not have got a shot at all!! Click for 3 more pictures
The species name brama is from the French name Chouette brame and indirectly refers to this owl’s Indian habitat by way of homage to Brahma, the Hindu supreme spirit. In Hindu mythology the owl is a vahan (mode of transport) of Lakshmi, goddess of wealth. This myth has let to sacrifices of owls in hopes of finding treasures and hidden wealth.
Yeah! Whatever… This is what this young male Lion seems to be saying. Classified as vulnerable were once widely distributed across entire Africa, Europe ad India. This map tells the sad story of it’s decline https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lion_distribution.png
This bird is represented in an Ancient Egyptian hieroglyph that had the phonetic value “ba”
The Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus) is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. Nagpur gets a very small population of them passing through while they migrate. These are birds of vast open lands and naturally finding one in city is rather unusual. I was lucky to get this shot on 25th Jan 2012…
While the bird is classified as “Least Concern” by IUCN the threat to them is because 70% of the breeding European population is now using farmlands to build their nest. Crop harvests have a devastating effects on the nests.
Trivia: Its common name commemorates the British naturalist George Montagu.
