Black Drongo

  A black bird with the fork V shaped tail is a resident of India. Photographically this is a very tough bird to expose, I generally prefer to wait til the light is about to harsh and then make images. This gives the sheen in the black feathers of the bird, as sheen here. While driving through one can observe these get extremely interested and approach very close to your vehicle. They do that hawk the insects and other prey like grasshoppers, bees, ants, termites, dragonflies etc. The adult black drongo is identified by a white spot at the base of its gape line (mouth) as can be seen in this picture. They are really aggressive and fearless birds and have seen on numerous occasions they have much bigger eagles, buzzards, hawks etc.

Bay backed Shrike

The shrikes are lovely posers, they perch right on top of the twings, shrubs and give a clear view, however they are the toughest to approach to make an image. This was one such occasion when the bird cooperated to make an image but still further away to my liking. These are residents of the scrub lands and grasslands, feeding on insects and other small worms etc. Sometimes they are known to impale the prey on a sharp object like a thorn before devouring them.  

Changeable hawk-eagle – Attitude

The stare , the look and attitude of a bold raptor, that’s what we saw with this individual. As with the tradition whenever we have seen a CHE perched in the open like this we have always spotted a tiger next. We did see the tiger tank female’s cubs after seeing this individual :-). A medium sized raptor that is seen in the southern and southeast Asian forests. This prefers well wooded areas sitting in the open branches under the forest canopy scanning for prey. The reason for the name changeable is because the occurrence of more than one form / morph of the bird. This eagle feeds on a variety of prey that includes birds, mammals, snakes and lizards. One of the most widespread and common Asiatic hawk-eagle species, their status is classified as least concern by IUCN.

Peacock, Kabini

Iridescent blue green color of 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. These are classified as least concern by IUCN.  

Great egret – Large white heron

As the name implied the great egret is a large white heron. The distinguishing feature of the great egret is the yellow beak, black legs. During breeding season as with other waders, egrets there is a small display feathers that are grown. A small part is seen on this picture too. Their diet is predominantly fishes, frogs and small mammals. The species is classified as least concern by IUCN.