The raucous white-breasted waterhens
I had just returned from work and was parking my vehicle, when I heard some loud strange noises in the field beyond the boundary wall of my house. It was raining and I should have rushed into…
Morning yoga with a scaly breasted munia
Manna Dey immortalized these birds in Teesri Kasam, when he sang Chalat musafir moh liya re pinjre wali munia… I have always found scaly breasted munias very attractive specially for their designer waistcoats. One morning, as I was enjoying…
Indian silverbills or white-throated munias
Quite often these drab-looking tiny birds are overlooked in favour of their more colourful counterparts. The Indian silverbills are one such species which though ubiquitous, are often ignored. They usually forage in groups and are very gregarious.…
The Langurs of Sevagram
Sevagram is synonymous with Mahatma Gandhi. He spent a large part of his life here during India’s freedom struggle. And one of his prized possessions was a tiny figurine of three wise monkeys who embodied the principles…
Neelkanth: The Indian Roller Bird
This is one bird which you will commonly find perched on wires along roadsides. The Indian roller bird or the Neelkanth. As children whenever we had our trips to Nagpur, one of our common pastimes used to be counting…
Golden orioles: My favourite summer sight
Sevagram can be terribly atrocious in the summers with the temperatures climbing to over 45 degrees C. But there are some blessings of nature one can look forward to even when the sun is blazing down. Delicious…
Rikki Tikki Tavi in my garden!
Hey I spotted Kipling’s Rikki Tikki Tavi with his entire family in my garden! I didn’t know that this mongoose family (mongooses? mongeese?!) likes taking a morning walk on the boundary wall! But what a gorgeous fur coat the…
Shy visitor: Black-hooded Cuckooshrike
Delightful morning. Waited with breathless anticipation wondering if this new visitor to the mango tree could be captured for posterity. Each time it shyly disappeared between the leaves in the canopy, my arms ached with holding the…
A divine morning
Some mornings are divine. You wake up to the find out that the rain gods decided to work overtime during the night. The whole world has been washed clean and the leaves are glistening green. The air…
The spot-billed pelican: Calm swimmer
It was so calming to spend several minutes watching this spot-billed pelican swim away at Kaziranga National Park. Pelicans are known for their distinctive beak and throat pouch, which they use to scoop and store fish. I’m reminded of…
