a collection of ramblings
Raganathittu Bird Sanctuary is famous not only for its multitude of water fowl - but also for its bats. It has a huge population of flying foxes, Dracula-esque beasts that fly around eerily in the sky but are really just red fluffy adorable things. (I LIKE BATS, OK.)
When at Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, we got scarily close to this appropriately-named mugger crocodile. Believe it or not, its open mouth was not a gesture of defiance or defense but rather the position it was in the entire time. These crocodiles tend to be frighteningly still for long periods, before a sudden flash of movement… Continue reading Open Wide
So yesterday I gave a TED talk. But that isn't what I'm talking about now. Wait till Sunday. What I'm going to talk about now is something completely unrelated: kingfishers. It's probably pretty obvious by now I freaking love them. Big ones. Ones that don't fit the standard definition (or color range). Heck, even watching… Continue reading The Little King
Pied kingfishers, while not as sexually dimorphic as the butterfly I posted day before yesterday, are nevertheless distinugishable. While the color scheme - done in the creative shades of black, black, white, and white - does not offer any clue, looking at their chests is the vital key. Males have an unbroken double black band… Continue reading Pied Detective
On our recent trip to Coorg, we stopped at a place known as Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary on the way back. Which was amazing. We saw so many new birds that even now I've not gotten over it. This bird in particular was the first one I've seen in its genus. It's the Indian River Tern,… Continue reading Terning Heads
somewhere up a tree 