Scaly breasted munia

This is another tiny 11-12 centimeter bird with a large black stubby, conical beak is a predominantly feeds on grass seeds, millet, rice etc. They have adopted to feeding off tall weeds and even those seeds that have fallen off on the grounds. They are a social species known to roost together and are also seen with a flock of other munias too. They usually feed together and initially a few birds will move ahead and then a few of the other set of birds move. These birds are known with different names such as Spice finch, Nutmeg mannikin etc. These are marked as least concern as per IUCN. These birds are caught for pet trade.

Laughing Dove

The name Laughing dove is because the call of this common bird of the backyard is like human laughter. The individual here is seen sunning itself with the wings open. The Laughing Doves are most easily identified by the distinctive rufous and black neck pattern. These doves mainly feeds on grass seeds, grains and sometimes small insects and termites. The laughing dove are monogamous – the pair lasts a lifetime, however in the case of a loss of a partner they do replace partners. They are classified as least concern by IUCN.

Tiger, Nagarhole | Kabini

This tiger was hiding in the bushes in Nagarhole, Kabini. This fellow did not move out until later in the evening (around 6.20) as we had to exit the park by 6.30 PM. This is a high ISO – 3200 image on extreme low light. Tigers are the largest members of the cat family and the national animal of India. There used to be a time when there was over 8 subspecies of tiger across the world but three of them are extinct. India houses more than half of the world tigers and the tigers found in India are called as the Royal Bengal Tiger.  They mainly feed on deer, Wild pigs, Bison. As an apex predator in their territory they are hunted for Body parts thereby they are listed as Endangered as per IUCN, mainly due to hunting and habitat loss.

Tiger by the pool

This tiger had come in for a dip in the pool in Nagarhole, Kabini. This was a male tiger which was known by the name Backwater Male. Tigers are the largest members of the cat family and the national animal of India. There used to be a time when there was over 8 subspecies of tiger across the world but three of them are extinct. India houses more than half of the world tigers and the tigers found in India are called as the Royal Bengal Tiger. They mainly feed on deer, Wild pigs, Bison. As an apex predator in their territory they are hunted for Body parts thereby they are listed as Endangered as per IUCN, mainly due to hunting and habitat loss.

Tiggu cub

Tiggu cub An early March visit to Kabini gave us this opportunity to photograph this cute little cubs in the tiger tank area of Kabini, Nagarhole tiger reserve. A long wanted sighting of the cub was fulfilled by this sighting. The image was made in extreme conditions in anti light and at the fag end of the safari in the morning, however for a first ever sighting of the cubs for me it was worth all the while. We were lucky to get this image as from the next safari onwards due to some work going on in the water tank the access to the road near the tank was cut off. The image is a huge crop of the tiger cub hence there is degradation in the quality.