Nov 04
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, Falcon, laggar falcon, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500

Laggar falcon male lifting a stone, DNP

The laggar falcon is a mid-sized bird of prey which occurs in the Indian subcontinent. It resembles the lanner falcon but is darker overall, and has blackish “trousers” (tibiotarsus feathers). Fledglings have an almost entirely dark underside, and first-year subadult birds still retain much dark on the belly. This falcon mostly feeds on birds, including doves and gamebirds, but principally passerines; also wide variety of small mammals, including bats; reptiles. Laggar Falcons used to be the most common falcons in the region, but numbers have declined markedly in recent times and today it is probably nowhere a common species anymore. The main threats are the intensification of pesticide use in the region and use as a decoy to trap large falcons.It is classified as Near Threatened by IUCN.
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Nov 04
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, lizard, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, spiny tailed lizard

Spiny tailed lizard in the afternoon sun, DNP

Spiny tailed lizard is a genus of Asian agamid lizards, the member species of which are commonly called spiny-tailed lizards, uromastyces, mastigures, or dabb lizards. Lizards in the genus Uromastyx are primarily herbivorous, but occasionally eat insects and other small animals, especially young lizards. They spend most of their waking hours basking in the sun, hiding in underground chambers at daytime or when danger appears. Their spiked tail is muscular and heavy, and can be swung at an attacker with great velocity, usually accompanied by hissing and an open-mouthed display of (small) teeth. Uromastyxs generally sleep in their burrows with their tails closest to the opening, in order to thwart intruders.
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Nov 04
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, Rufous tailed shrike, Shrike

Rufous tailed shrike juvenile, DNP

This migratory medium-sized passerine eats large insects, small birds, rodents and lizards. Like other shrikes it hunts from prominent perches, and impales corpses on thorns or barbed wire as a larder. It breeds in open cultivated country, preferably with thorn bushes. The red-tailed shrike or Turkestan shrike,is a member of the shrike family. It was formerly considered conspecific with the isabelline shrike and the red-backed shrike. Until recently, usually treated as conspecific with Isabelline wheatear, but differs in its tawny-rufous vs pale greyish crown; darker sandy-grey upperparts and tail; bold vs indistinct white supercilium and strong white vs buffy underparts. It is classified as least concern by IUCN.
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Nov 04
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Digitalfrescos, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500, Sandgrouse

Chestnut bellied sandgrouse Female, DNP

The chestnut-bellied sandgrouse is a species of sandgrouse. They are found in sparse, bushy, arid land which is common in central and northern Africa, and southern Asia. Though they live in hot, arid climates, they are highly reliant on water. They have been known to travel up to 80 kilometres (50 mi) in one day in search of water. All species of sandgrouse that have been studied in habitat have proved to be entirely vegetarian throughout their lives, specialising in leguminous weed seeds and seldom eating grass seeds. It is classified as least concern by IUCN. A somewhat small, plump bird, the chestnut-bellied sandgrouse has an unmarked head, dark under-wings, a blackish lower-belly, and a chestnut upper-belly, after which it is named. The dark-tipped bill is slate-blue, and there is a pale green circle around the eyes. The male chestnut-bellied sandgrouse is somewhat drabber than the female, with a pale brown back and a narrow chest band, compared to the female’s more elaborate, mottled back of tan, brown and dark brown. The juvenile lacks the elongated tail feathers of the adult bird, and has more densely barred upperparts.
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Nov 04
by Admin in Rajasthan 0 comments tags: Alwan, art, Avian, Bangalore, Bird, birds, Bustard, Digitalfrescos, GIB, Great Indian bustard, Nikkor, Nikkor 500, Nikon, Nikon D500

Great Indian bustard male moulting, DNP

The Great Indian Bustard or Indian bustard is a bustard found on the Indian subcontinent. A large bird with a horizontal body and long bare legs, giving it an ostrich like appearance, this bird is among the heaviest of the flying birds. Once common on the dry plains of the Indian subcontinent, as few as 150 individuals were estimated to survive in 2018 (reduced from an estimated 250 individuals in 2011) and the species is critically endangered by hunting and loss of its habitat, which consists of large expanses of dry grassland and scrub. These birds are often found associated in the same habitat as blackbuck. The dry semi-desert regions where it was found in parts of Rajasthan has been altered by irrigation canals that have transformed the region into an intensively farmed area. It is protected under Wildlife Protection Act 1972 of India. It is classified as Critically endangered by IUCN. The state of Rajasthan initiated “Project Great Indian Bustard”, on World Environment Day 2013, identifying and fencing off bustard breeding grounds in existing protected areas as well as provide secure breeding enclosures in areas outside protected areas. When the “national bird” of India was under consideration, the great […]
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