A Walk In The Woods Uttarakhand

23/06/2023

Elephants are expressive creatures.

They display joy, anger, grief, compassion and love.

But a mother’s love for her calf is the strongest emotion of all.

Elephant mothers carry their babies for almost two years before giving birth.

Mother and child remain in constant touch, the calf never straying more than a trunk’s length from its mother, while she gently steers it by grasping its tail with her trunk.

Elephants have the longest childhoods of any creature on earth other than man and, like us, they stay in family groups until they reach puberty (10-15 years).

However while the females may stay with the matriarchal herd for life,
the young bulls must leave as soon as they reach puberty.

Capable of mating at the age of ten, they will not be socially mature until they have reached the age of thirty,
at which time they will have attained the size and the experience to compete against the other bulls for the females when they are on heat.

23/06/2023

Common Name:
Indian elephant

Scientific Name:
Elephas maximus

Geographic habitat:
Widely distributed across India

Height:
2.3-3.3m

Length:
5.5-6.40m (tip of trunk to tip of tail)

Weight:
Male: 3500 - 6000kg;
Female: 2500 - 4000kg

Population:
Around 26,000

Did you know?
Elephants spend about 16 hours a day eating. They require approximately 150-200 kgs of food and up to 200 litres of water each day.

Status:
Endangered (IUCN)

23/06/2023

The Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis), also called the common Indian monitor,
is a monitor lizard distributed widely in the Indian Subcontinent, as well as parts of Southeast Asia and West Asia.

This large lizard is mainly a terrestrial animal, and its length ranges from about
61 to 175 cm (24 to 69 in) from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail.

Young monitors may be more arboreal,
but adults mainly hunt on the ground, preying mainly on arthropods,
but also taking small terrestrial vertebrates, ground birds, eggs and fish.

Although large Bengal monitors have few predators apart from humans who hunt them for meat, younger individuals are hunted by many predators.

They are capable of rapid movement on the ground. Small individuals may climb trees to escape, but larger ones prefer to escape on the ground.

They can climb well. On the ground, they sometimes stand on the hind legs to get a better view or when males fight other males.

They can also swim well and can stay submerged for at least 17 minutes. They can use both trees and bushes for shelter.

23/06/2023

Changeable Hawk-Eagle

Nisaetus cirrhatus

Medium-sized eagle with massive rounded wings.

Appears very small-headed in flight.

Name is slightly misleading, as there are only really two color morphs, pale and black.

Pale-morph adult is dark brown above with a white breast overlaid with dark streaks.

Juvenile is much paler, with cleaner white underparts and less extensive striping and barring anywhere on the body.

Dark morph is dark all over with paler outer wing feathers, and can be mistaken for dark Honey-Buzzards; look out for the hawk-eagle’s much longer wings and more slender profile.

Inhabits forests, forest edges, and expansive parks and plantations.

-photography

23/06/2023

Indian Paradise-Flycatcher

Terpsiphone paradisi

A graceful looking flycatcher,
the adult male sport a long ribbonlike tail.

The males occur in two color morphs cinnamon and white.
Both color morphs sport a glossy black head with blue ring around the eye,
but white morph is entirely white below while the cinnamon morph has cinnamon upperparts and tail,
and dirty white underparts.

The females are cinnamon above with a grayish throat, a shorter tail,
and they lack the male’s blue eyering.

They make short aerial sallies after insects, usually returning to the same perch. Occasionally descends to ground to pull apart insects.

Chiefly found in wooded habitats.
Their call is a harsh “shreew.”

23/06/2023

Indian Peafowl

Pavo cristatus

An unmistakable, large ground bird.

The unmistakable iridescent blue male spreads out its ornamental upper tail feathers when courting females.

Females have a shorter tail, an iridescent green neck, and browner plumage.

Found in forest, forest edge, and agricultural land. Often seen on paths or alertly feeding in the undergrowth.

Can be fairly confiding especially when found close to human habitation.

Its loud screaming “may-yow” calls are heard incessantly during the rainy season.

22/06/2023

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Merops leschenaulti

Beautiful, dainty bee-eater with a bright reddish head and yellow throat.

Dark “necktie” most noticeable when in flight overhead.

Inhabits forest edge, wooded clearings, and open areas with clusters of trees; often uses exposed perches.

Some populations undertake regional movements, vacating breeding grounds after the monsoons pass.

Often gives bright chirrupy calls.

22/06/2023

Asian Green Bee-eater

Merops orientalis

A small, dainty bee-eater of open woodlands, farmland,
and sparse human habitation.

Mainly green with a bluish throat, slender black eye mask and throat band, rufous or slightly rusty crown and back of the neck, and central tail streamers.

Juveniles are duller than adults and lack the long tail feathers. In flight, note the rusty underwing with a black trailing edge.

Flies gracefully as it catches insects and other prey.
Calls are a series of gentle liquid trills or more staccato notes.

21/06/2023

Indian Pitta

Pitta brachyura

A colorful stubby-tailed bird, also known as “Navrang,” translated as “nine colors.” Colors are most striking when the bird is in flight.

This bird has long, strong legs and a stout bill, a buffy crown with a black stripe in the middle, a black eye-stripe,
and and buffy underparts with bright red on the vent. Upperparts are green, with a blue shoulder patch.

It is usually seen foraging on forest floors with thick undergrowth, catching insects in leaf litter.

This bird is vocal, giving its characteristic two-noted whistle call at dusk and dawn.

01/01/2023

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."

16/11/2022

01/11/2022

“Life is like a rope,
that swings us through hope.
Always believe that today is better than yesterday!”

Junonia lemonias
(Linnaeus, 1758) - Lemon Pansy

It is brown with numerous eye-spots as well as black and lemon-yellow spots and lines on the upperside of the wings. The underside is a dull brown, with a number of wavy lines and spots in varying shades of brown and black. There is also an eyespot on the lower side of the forewing.

🦋

01/11/2022

NATIONAL BUTTERFLY OF INDIA

Orange Oakleaf
(Kallima inachus):
The Orange Oakleaf is a large, colorful butterfly with a beautiful deep blue sheen and a striking orange band on the upper side of its wings, making it immediately recognizable.
However, its underside superbly resembles a dried leaf, helping it masquerade like one to escape predators in the moist forests of central, northern and northeastern India where it occurs.