Behind the Lens

a blog every Friday on a specific species of animal or bird and stories of photos

Search for a specific species, genre or even a location or use the directory for a complete list of species I have photographed and written about till date.

Listen to my TEDx talk.

Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Pygmy Cupwing/ Pygmy Wren-babbler

The Pygmy Cupwing or Pygmy Wren-babbler, is a species of bird in the Pnoepyga wren-babblers family, Pnoepygidae. It is found in southern and eastern Asia from the Himalayas to the Lesser Sunda Islands.

Essentially a tiny brown tennis ball, dark brown above with densely packed black-and-white scaling on the underside. It gives the impression of a tailless rodent as it makes its way furtively through dense shrubbery and leaf litter. It can be quite vocal and is jarringly loud for its size, giving single well-spaced piercing whistles on different high pitches, and occasionally an accelerating, usually rising rapid series of whistles.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #PromediagearTR424L, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #BukitFraser, #FrasersHill, #Malaysia, #PygmyCupwing, #pygmywrenbabbler,

Read More
Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

White-capped Redstart/ White-capped Water Redstart

The White-capped Redstart or White-capped Water Redstart (Phoenicurus leucocephalus) is a passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae native to the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, much of China, and to certain regions of Central Asia.

The White-capped is a chunky, brightly-colored redstart found along rushing boulder-strewn mountain streams. It is black with a wine-red belly and tail and a blazing white cap. in poor lighting, the bird appears to be all dark save for the cap. It can frequently be seen flicking its tail up and down and flaring it open while perched on a streamside rock or stump. The call is a long, sharp whistle with an abrupt ending, with a far-carrying, ventriloquial quality - it can be heard in the background in the video.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #PromediagearTR424L, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @awpc.hk, #animalsofinstagram, @globalcapture, #KaengKrachanNationalPark, #Thailand, #whitecappedredstart, #whitecappedwaterredstart, #redstart

Read More
Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Ashy Prinia

The Ashy Prinia or Ashy Wren-warbler is a small and common warbler in the family Cisticolidae. A resident breeder in the Indian subcontinent, it ranges across most of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, eastern Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and western Myanmar occurring in all habitats except for woodlands with a thick canopy.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #yesbbcearth, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, @globalcapture, #ashyprinia, #prinia, #ashywrenwarbler

Read More
Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Hill Prinia

A large, fierce-eyed prinia with a long, oft-cocked tail. Breeding adults have a gray head, white throat and brow, brown upperparts, and pale, brown-washed underparts. Nonbreeding adults lack the gray but retain the white brow and throat. May be confused at a distance with Yellow-bellied Prinia, but is much larger, and has a more extensive brow and no bright yellow anywhere on the body. Usually found in open, scrubby habitats, including overgrown fields and forest edges.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #yesbbcearth, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, @globalcapture, #hillprinia, #prinia

Read More
Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Common Snipe

A squat, cryptically-plumaged shorebird with a very long bill. It inhabits a wide range of wetland habitats, from damp meadows to salt marshes. Mostly inconspicuous, it feeds in muddy ground by probing with its bill, usually near reeds or other grassy cover. Often not seen until flushed, when it usually rises from fairly close range with a rough rasping call. In Asia, beware of the extremely similar Pin-tailed, Swinhoe's, and Latham's Snipes, all of which lack the white trailing edge of Common and have a slower, less erratic flight.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #conservationphotography, #bhigwan, #BhigwanBirdSanctuary, #Kumbhargaon, #ujnibackwaters, #commonsnipe, #snipe, #wader,

Read More
Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Indian Nightjar

The Indian nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus) is a cryptically -coloured small nightbird which is a resident breeder in open lands across South Asia and Southeast Asia. Note the white “moustache” streak, golden-brown collar, and pointed buff-and-black feathers above the wing. The male shows bright white patches near the wingtips and on the tail-tips in flight. They are found in a range of wooded habitats, from hilly dry forest to garden edges.

Like most nightjars it is crepuscular and is best detected from its characteristic calls at dawn and dusk that have been likened to a stone skipping on a frozen lake - a series of clicks that become shorter and more rapid. There is considerable plumage variation across its range and can be hard to differentiate from other nightjars in the region especially in the field.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #yesbbcearth, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #india, #telanganabirds, #ananthagiri, #ananthagiriforestrange, #vikarabad, #IndianNightjar, #nightjar, @wildtelangana, #Damagundam, #chincholi,

Read More
Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Paddyfield Pipit/ Oriental Pipit

The Paddyfield or Oriental pipit is a small passerine bird in the pipit and wagtail family. It is a resident breeder in open scrub, grassland and cultivation in southern Asia east to the Philippines.

A sparrow-sized, resident pipit with brown plumage that varies in tones in different parts of its range. All birds have a bi-coloured bill with a curve to the tip of the upper bill. The breast is streaked and the upperparts have variable amounts of streaking. It is common in open habitats such as wetlands, farms, fields & even large parks. Very similar to Blyth’s and Richard’s Pipits, but relatively compact and has a more distinct eyebrow, fainter or no streaking on the back of the neck, a larger head, and a shorter tail than either Blyth’s or Richard’s.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #yesbbcearth, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @globalcapture, #TelanganaBirds, #Narsapur, #ammavaripetacheruvu, #warangalbirding, #Bhattupalle, #ameenpurlake, #BhigwanBirdSanctuary, #Kumbhargaon, #UjniBackwaters, #paddyfieldpipit, #orientalpipit, #pipit,

Read More
Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Glossy Ibis

The Glossy Ibis is a medium-sized wading bird with a distinctive long, curved bill and dark plumage that can appear glossy in good light. It is a widespread species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean regions of the Americas.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #yesbbcearth, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @globalcapture, #TelanganaBirds, #ammavaripetacheruvu, #ammavaripeta, #warangalbirding, #Bhattupalle, #BhigwanBirdSanctuary, #Kumbhargaon, #UjniBackwaters, #shorebirds, #waders,

Read More