National Bird of India is commonly found in its sublime form in Bandipur National Park. I caught this majestic male Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) on a rainy day around Mulapura area of Bandipur. The largest deer in India, Sambar (Cervus unicolor), looks on.
Rain made these beauties keep still and gave the lovely saturation colors.
Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata) is a common passerine bird in the subcontinent. This munia, in the dining area at Bandipur JLR, was making nests. The drizzle during monsoon gave lovely saturation colors.
Found nearly everywhere on earth, Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) is the most widespread bird of prey. It can reach speeds of over 322 km/h in a dive to catch a prey, making it the fastest animal in the world.
This is a teaser – more on this soon on http://HowYouDoin.wordpress.com
Power attracts opposite sex. Elephants show their dominance by tussling with rival males, and driving them out of their territory. The winner gets all the females. Young bull Elephants practice until they are strong enough to drive out the reigning Tusker.
The image shows two young Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) tussling in the Kabini part of Nagarhole National Park. Late in the evening safari we got a radio message about 3 young tuskers tussling, it was cloudy and dark by the time we reached the spot. One of the tuskers soon left, and these two fought till late dusk.
Pied Kingfishers (Ceryle rudis) are expert fishers. They hunt by hovering over the water and diving bill first directly into water to catch fish. Their ability to hunt in both salt and fresh water, and eat a prey while in flight is unique, shared by no other Kingfishers.
Monochrome image shot at Jakkur Lake.
EXIF: Av mode f/5.6 1/2500 -1.33 ISO-200
Native of South America, Bougainvillea is a flowering plant found across the world. An interesting feature of this plant is the coloration of modified or specialized leaves, known as bracts. White colored flower is less attractive. Hence the plant develops colorful bracts, pink in this case, to attract insects for pollination.
Shot at Valley School campus, Bangalore.
EXIF: EOS 450D + 55-250mm IS @ 250mm f/8 1/125s ISO-400 Manual exposure.
Birds preen to groom and repair feathers. This helps to maintain good aerodynamics. Most birds have Uropygial gland, that produces oil used to waterproof and condition feathers. Birds pick through feathers methodically, applying the oil and rearranging feathers. Preening also removes parasites.
The image shows Great thick knee preening.
EXIF: Eos 450D + 55-250mm @ 250mm f/5.6 1/400 ISO-200
Rock Agamas are one of the most common reptiles in India. Two species of this reptile are found in India, Peninsular Rock Agama (Psammophilus dorsalis) and Blanford’s Rock Agama (Psammophilus blanfordanus).
Male of the species assumes a vibrant red or yellow color on the head and anterior in the breeding season (April-May). The image on top is that of Peninsular Rock Agama. Male and female of Blanford’s Rock Agama is shown in the image below.
Common Hoopoe is found across Afro-Eurasia and has a distint long and slender beak. Hoopoes catch insects on ground and their beak aids them to catch their prey in the undergrowth. They face a difficulty in eating the captured insect. Hence, Hoopoe throws the prey into the air and takes it in (as in the image at top).
Seems to be saying what a great meal that was!
Mugger crocodile is a fresh water crocodile, found across Indian subcontinent. They lay eggs on the banks of rivers, or lakes, covered with mud. The warmth of the ground hatches the eggs in about 55-75days.
In the image above, the eggs are on a rock. This might never hatch.
