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.

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

Red Junglefowl

This “original chicken” is smaller than its domestic descendants, and is widespread throughout South & Southeast Asia and can also be found as an introduced species in many regions around the world (especially prevalent on many Pacific Islands, including Hawaii). In its introduced range and some areas of its native range it has interbred widely with feral and domestic chickens, producing intermediate hybrids. Many of these birds cannot be distinguished from genuine wild-type birds. Within native range calls are useful for ID: the wild male’s crowing is hoarse and choked off towards the end, unlike the loud, vibrant calls of the domestic rooster.

#wildartworks, #wildlifephotography, #jungle, #Wild, #forest, #Wildlife, #conservationphotography, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #windsornaturetrail, #Kabini, #pench, #Tadoba, #tipeshwar, #BishanAngMoKio, #KaengKrachan, #redJunglefowl, #junglefowl, #fowl, #pheasant,

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

Eurasian Hoopoe

An unmistakable cinnamon coloured bird with a zebra-striped wings, a Chinese fan of a crest (usually held closed, but often raised just after landing), and a rapier of a bill. The hoopoe favours semi-open habitats such as heathland, farmland, orchards, grassy lawns, where it feeds on the ground, probing with its long bill for insects.

#wildartworks, #wildlifephotography, #kabini, #jungle, #Wild, #nagarholetigerreserve, #nilgiribiosphere, #nagarhole, #kabinibackwaters, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #nammakarnataka, #tipeshwar, #Tadoba, #tadobaandharitigerreserve, #yawatmal, #penchnationalpark, #pench, #telanganabirds, #Manjeera, #AmeenpurLake, #ananthagiriforest, #NarsapurForest, #bhigwanbirdsanctuary

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

Giant Golden Orb Weaver/ Giant Wood Spider

Nephila is a genus of araneomorph spiders noted for the impressive webs they weave. Nephila consists of numerous species found in warmer regions around the world, although some species formerly included in the genus have been moved to Trichonephila. The name Giant Wood Spider is used to refer mainly to Nephila pilipes, which is very often seen, owing to its size and needless to say the size of its web. This is a common spider in the jungles of peninsular India, where webs built across large open spaces (and at times spanning up to 2 meters) are not uncommon. They are also called the Giant Golden Orb Weaver. Often, the webs of all these Golden Orb Weavers are inhabited by kleptoparasites. As a group, they also exhibit extreme male dwarfism and female gigantism.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Wildlife, #naturephotography, #earthcapture, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #yesbbcearth, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @globalcapture, #giantwoodspider, #goldenorbweaver, #giantgoldenorbweaver, #nephilapilipes, #nephila, #spider, #woodspider, #goldensilkorbweavers, #goldenorbweavers, #giantwoodspiders, #banana spiders,

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

Red-naped Ibis

A medium-sized ibis with a dark body, often showing a bluish-green sheen. The crown and nape are covered in bright red warts. A white patch is usually visible near the shoulder of the wing. The bill is long and downcurved. This species can be confused with the similar-looking Glossy Ibis, but Glossy Ibis is smaller and lacks the red warts and white shoulder patch. In flight, the legs of Red-naped Ibis don’t extend beyond the tail, unlike in Glossy Ibis. Unlike most other ibis, Red-naped favors drier habitats, such as rye fields. It is usually found singly or in loose groups.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #conservationphotography, #bhigwan, #BhigwanBirdSanctuary, #Kumbhargaon, #ujnibackwaters, #Tadoba, #kabini, #rednapedibis, #ibis,

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

Indian Eagle Owl/ Bengal Eagle Owl

The Indian or Bengal eagle-owl (Bubo bengalensis), also widely known as the Rock eagle-owl, is a large horned owl species native to hilly and rocky scrub forests in the Indian Subcontinent. It is splashed with brown and grey, and has a white throat patch with black small stripes. It is usually seen in pairs and has a deep resonant booming call that may be heard at dawn and dusk.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Canon1DxMkii, #PromediagearTR424L, #DeityD3Pro, #EF600f4LISIII, #Wildlife, #naturephotography, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #Telangana, #YenkathalaGrasslands, #Enkathala, #EnkathalaGrasslands, #Mominpet, #wildtelangana, @wildtelangana, @save_yenkathala, #ramnathgudpalle, #indianeagleowl, #bengaleagleowl, #rockeagleowl, #eagleowl, #owl, #raptor

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

Indian Paradise Flycatcher

A graceful & glamorous flycatcher, the adult male sports a long ribbonlike tail. The males occur in two color morphs cinnamon and white. Both color morphs sport a glossy black head with a blue ring around the eye. The white morph is entirely white below while the cinnamon morph has cinnamon upperparts & 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 and occasionally descending to ground to pull apart insects. These are chiefly found in wooded habitats.

#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, #indianparadiseflycatcher, #paradiseflycatcher #flycatcher, #AnanthagiriForestRange, #muscicapidae, #AnanthagiriForest, #Telangana, #Kabini, #AmeenpurLake, #NarsapurForestRange,

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

Sambhar

The Sambhar (Rusa unicolor) are a large deer species native to the Indian subcontinent, South China & SE Asia listed as a Vulnerable Species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Sambar have many subspecies which vary in size and appearance, and it is known as the largest Oriental deer with some adult males reaching 550kg in weight. Their populations have declined substantially due to severe hunting, local insurgency, and industrial exploitation of habitat.

Sambar have a thick coat of long, coarse hair which forms a dense mane around the neck, especially in males. The males can be distinguished by their antlers, as well as being slightly larger and darker than females and young. The name is also spelled Sambur, Sambhar or Sambhur.

#wildartworks, #wildlifephotography, #kabini, #Wildlife, #nagarholetigerreserve, #nilgiribiosphere, #nagarhole, #kabinibackwaters, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #tipeshwar, #pench, #deer, #Rusaunicolor, #Tadoba, #tadobaandharitigerreserve, #penchnationalpark, #pench, #sambar, #sambhar, #sambur, #sambhur,

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

Grey Francolin

The Grey Francolin is a species of francolin found in the plains & drier parts of the Indian subcontinent and Iran. This species was formerly also called the grey partridge, not to be confused with the European grey partridge. They are mainly ground-living birds and are found in open cultivated lands as well as scrub forest and their local name of teetar is based on their calls, a loud and repeated Ka-tee-tar...tee-tar which is produced by one or more birds. The term teetar can also refer to other partridges and quails. During the breeding season calling males attract challengers, and decoys were used to trap these birds especially for fighting.

#wildartworks #wildlifephotography #jungle #wild #forest #wildlife #conservationphotography #wildlifeonearth #bbcearth #natgeowild #natgeoindia #grasslands #Kumbhargaon #Bhigwan #Pench #Tadoba #Ranthambore #kabini #LittleRannofKutch #greyfrancolin #francolin #partridge

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