Temple peacock silhouette, DNP

The National bird of India with its flowing train is a sight to behold. The train of feathers which are spatula shaped in the tip and has a colorful eye is used to attract the female during courtship. An elaborate ritual of fanning of the train and a display to accompany with to attract the female. Whilst the male has the long train female – peahen lacks it. They feed on wild berries and seeds and also prey on snakes, lizards and rodents at times. The peacock here is sitting on top of a temple structure and is silhouetted against the sun.  These are classified as least concern by IUCN.

Desert Lark on the rock, DNP

The desert lark breeds in deserts and semi-deserts from Morocco to western India. It has a very wide distribution and faces no obvious threats, and surveys have shown that it is slowly increasing in numbers as it expands its range. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of “least concern”.

Rarity – Dark morphed long legged buzzard, DNP

The long-legged buzzard is a bird of prey in the genus Buteo. It feeds mostly on small rodents, although it will also take lizards, snakes, small birds and large insects. There are many different colour forms, but usually long-leggeds have a clear orange tint to the plumage, red or orange tail, pale head and largely white underwings. There is usually a distinctive black carpal patch and dark trailing edge to the wing. The rump and “trousers” are often dark or deep rufous. Plumage varies from ghostly pale individuals to very dark ones. Some plumages are almost similar to those of the steppe buzzard, the eastern subspecies of the common buzzard. This is classified as least concern by IUCN.