Butterflies of the Himalayas .....

''What the caterpillar calls the end of the world ,

the master calls the butterfly ''

This is going to be a  long ,wordy but a very colorful post to go through ....

Sit back with a mug of coffee ....

I have always been very intrigued by these beautiful two winged  creatures . They could be seen everywhere sailing majestically through the hot air or fluttering from one flower to another . While birding in the foothills of Himalayas I remember an abundance of these flutter-by's...

While writing this post I wondered why this name ''butterfly ''??

 ....name has originated as a contraction of butter-colored flies'' Brimstone butterfly '' first species seen when they awake from hibernation  in Europe...many  more stories to  it . Butterflies are a perfect example of change and transformation so loads of magical folklores associated with it in different societies and cultures .The Native Americans ,Greek , Romans all have different stories to tell. The Zuni people saw butterflies as indicators of weather to come  . The  Japanese view butterflies as souls of living and the dead .

Butterflies are not just beautiful creatures but are crucial bio-indicators . They are barometers of biodiversity and water .Like any creature , a butterfly needs certain conditions fulfilled to survive in a give environment If these conditions are not met , then the butterfly will not leave ecosystem , but the population there will die out .Isn't that really sad .....We are so trapped in our different worlds and chained to our cellphones , internet.... and more .

We in today's world have forgotten the simple pleasures of nature observing a flower bloom and a butterfly come and sit on it with great poise .....

Romancing the rain and dark clouds.......

 Far away from the madding crowd, half a day spent by the side of a pond assimilating all I could in this heaven of peace and watching the pelicans elegantly swimming and romancing the rain.

 The great white pelican is a huge bird and during the breeding season the male has pinkish skin on his face and the female has orangey skin . The male birds are larger and the beak grows in a downward arc ,female bird has a shorter and a straight beak. I assume that this a pair of rosy pelicans swimming in murky green waters ....

 Immature pelicans are grey and have dark flight feathers ....

 Since we have witnessed some good monsoon, so we are going to be graced by some  gorgeous migratory birds in the coming winter. Hopefully, I am going to be back soon with some more clicks of my feathered friends .

Happy birding ....

Acrobatic plum headed.....

I haven't been flexing my photography muscles ....

Will be back soon with some interesting clicks ....

A day with the Bulbuls ....

 Talking of bulbuls... gregarious birds .

They often give me company in the morning when I am in the kitchen cooking up a meal  for my loved ones. In India people  generally throw some grains in the backyard or feed the birds on the roadside .This is where I spotted these birds feeding .

Feeding birds turns out to be a very satisfying and a rewarding hobby . I kept watching the birds observing their behavior and time just flew .....

Another spiked hair do .....

Nature a perfect artist ....

(perfect wet- gel look )

The crests of birds are of two types  recumbent or recursive . The recumbent crests have feathers that are straight and lie down essentially flat on the head until the bird  fans them out to where they stand out .The recursive is noticeable even when the crest is not fanned out because it features feathers ,that , when lying down curve upward at the tips ,when standing up , often slightly forward toward the front the head.

The Himalayan Bulbul I assume has recursive crests...anybody out there can shed some more light on it , do let me know .

Happy birding ...

With its shades on .....

The sun is playing hide and seek ...hiding behind white candy floss clouds .

 Hope it rains in the coming days .

Have a fun-filled weekend ..

Happy birding ...

Harbinger of rain....

Rain bird 

They are the monsoon birds -harbingers of rain . 

It is a slender ,long tailed , crested black and white bird .

Its call is loud piu-piu-pee-pee-piu .

When I looked up at the sky I could see dark rain clouds hovering over the vast cityscape ..

Eagerly waiting for a drop of rain to fall on the parched earth.

Myriad colors and hues ....

Great barbet 

They get their name from the bristles which fringe their heavy bills .

 A pair of Great Barbet moved up the slope and could see them hopping from a branch to another ...

Nature has bestowed it with a palette of colors ...

Happy Birding..

In the wild woods ....

After a long drive of eight hours we reached a quaint village ahead of Ramgarh .
Tucked between the oak and pine forest on either sides is Sonapani (Himalayan village ).We were pleasantly welcomed by the yellow- throated marten jumping between branches .
At the break of dawn headed for a walk exploring the woods , breathing fresh air and that is when I spotted a pair of white crested laughing thrush hopping from one branch to another and off they flew into the thicket of the woods .

The next day I  was all ready to head for the woods in pursuit of the white crested laughing thrush.As we were getting close to the the woods could hear loud chattering of the birds ...ofcourse the crested thrushes were down there in the woods .Decided to go down the slope  and could spot the crested beauties all around me laughing loud in the forest. 

It all began with one bird on the branch singing away to glory and then one after the other about three pairs of crested thrushes began to sing in group chorus .Each bird had its own calls to contribute -result was birds singing in perfect harmony .I was in aww...... actually a thought  flashed my mind , I was witnessing a

''White crested laughing thrush choir ''

Happy birding ..

In the woods ....

The forest was aloud with the calls of the white crested laughing thrush ..

 I'll be back soon with some more clicks of birds from the foothills of Himalayas ...

Happy Birding ..

King fishers cafe ....

The sun god had still not graced
us with its golden rays ,

but I could hear the musical notes of birds in the background .

We decided to sit by riverside,suddenly

 a bird just plunged in the waters and came out with a fish. The confirmation added to my excitement it was the ''crested kingfisher '' resident of the Himalayas .The crested kingfisher is generally spotted by the forested streams and by riversides of Himalyan foothills .

Clean and clear waters are the key factors in the kingfishers survival.The water has to be clean enough for the bird to see its tiny little prey skimming through the surface .

This pond was like a restaurant for the birds ,perched on the branch peering into  the water below .There stood the others as still as the rock ... 

The king just dived into the waters and was back in a flash with the prey in the dagger like bill.Swinging its neck and knocking the prey against the hard rock before swallowing it down 

 Getting over with its morning meal ruffled its feathers and wings and was ready for its next dive ...

So,there they are  perched again on the rock peering through the waters for the silver flash to glide .This pond would  be rated the best by the crested kingfishers .....so many of them could spotted around .

Kingfisher's cafe....Eat ,preen and refresh...

Happy birding....

Grand fatherly looks .... .....

Rambling old bungalow  surrounded  by neem trees where birds sing their songs before settling to a quite during dusk ... Ok, this I'm talking about is my in-laws place in Mathura.

 I could hear a loud krr-r-r-r kutruk kutruk .

Though it's a little difficult to spot the barbets but you certainly get to know that they are around.

It was earlier known as the large green barbet but now it is called the Brown headed barbet ( seems to be very evident- grass green color with a brown head).
 It has a bare patch of skin around the eye which I think gives it a very grand fatherly look ......

Happy birding ...

Flycatchers all the way....

Sallying out from a perch to snatch an insect and returning to the same or a different perch. This technique is called '' flycatching''and some birds are known for it are several families of flycatchers .

 Grey headed canary flycatcher...

Verditer flycatcher..

They are usually found perched near the tip of a dead branch alertly ,then dart after the flying insect,grab it and returns back to its perch.

Ultramarine flycatcher(female )

Blue throated flycatcher

Generally, flycatchers are  dressed in drab plumage with a few which are spectacularly colored.The songs of the flycatchers are reasonably simple and distinct.

Flycatchers are very common near water where you find a multitude of insects that have spent their early life stages under water and over grassy fields .I spotted all these flycatchers sitting by a stream in Sattal a preferred habitat of many members in the family ...

Where do the birds finally go ????

 Hello World !!!
This sunday morning when I picked up the newspaper came across this article ...

''Where do birds finally go''?
 The world is populated with flocks of birds ,but strangely ,one never see bodies lying around unless it is the remains of dead bird left behind in a fight,where it is been devoured by an animal.So,what happens to birds when they die a natural death?Where do the birds go to die ?? After reading this article I actually started pondering about it .....

Everybody out there please let me know your views about it .... Has this question ever flashed your mind ???

Announcing Spring ....

Nights are getting shorter ,

the days longer .

Bright flowers and chirping of birds ,

ponds dotted with wild ducks 

Announcing spring.....