The Blacksmith Lapwing or Blacksmith Plover (Vanellus armatus) occurs commonly from Kenya through central Tanzania to southern and southwestern Africa. The vernacular name derives from the repeated metallic ‘tink, tink, tink’ alarm call, which suggests a blacksmith’s hammer striking an anvil.
The Kudu is one of the most elegant antelopes of Africa
A Purple-rumped Sunbird Male in a territorial mood
The name impala comes from the Zulu language meaning “gazelle”
Rueppell’s Glossy-Starling – immatures have dark eyes! It is named after Wilhelm Peter Eduard Simon Rüppell (20 November 1794 – 10 December 1884). He was a German naturalist and explorer. Rüppell is occasionally transliterated to “Rueppell” for the English alphabet.
Indrella ampulla is a species of tropical terrestrial air-breathing gastropod mollusk in the family Ariophantidae. This is the type species of the monotypic genus Indrella, which is endemic to the Western Ghats of India.
This is the only species in the genus Indrella, however the animal color is polymorphic: the visible soft parts of the snail can be various colors, including red and pale yellow.
Glossy Ibises are threatened by wetland habitat degradation and loss through drainage, increased salinity, groundwater extraction and invasion by exotic plants. It is also threatened locally by hunting, disturbance and pesticides.
Lion-tailed macaque ins its typical rain forest habitat. With a total population estimated to be just 3000 the lion-tailed macaque ranks among the rarest and most threatened primates….
The Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis), also called the Blue Jay in former times is a member of the roller family of birds. They are found mainly in the Indian Subcontinent, but also in a wider arc stretching from Iraq to Thailand and are best known for the aerobatic displays of the male during the breeding season. They are very commonly seen perched along roadside trees and wires and are commonly seen in open grassland and scrub forest habitats. It is not migratory, but undertakes some seasonal movements. Several states in India have chosen it as their symbol.
A recent assessment for IUCN reports 3000-3500 of these animals live scattered over several areas in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The lion-tailed macaque ranks among the rarest and most threatened primates. Their range has become increasingly isolated and fragmented by the spread of agriculture and tea, coffee, teak and cinchona, construction of water reservoirs for irrigation and power generation, and human settlements to support such activities. They don’t live, feed or travel through plantations. Destruction of their habitat and the fact that they avoid human proximity, has led to the drastic decrease of their population.