Behind the lens

a blog every Friday on a specific species of animal or bird and jungle lore

Species Directory

Listen to my TEDx talk.

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

Whiskered Tern

The Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida) is a small buoyant 'marsh' tern in the family Laridae that superficially resembles the Common Tern, but is stockier and with a less forked tail. The breeding adult has a distinctive dark smoky gray body & contrasting white cheeks (which can look like broad white "whiskers" in flight) underneath a black cap. The non-breeding plumage is a pale silvery gray overall with a faded shadow of the cap. Note the rather stout bill (albeit thinner than Gull-billed Tern) and square tail. It feeds by picking from the surface, not splash-diving like typical terns. Common around wetlands, lakes, and rivers.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #conservationphotography, #bhigwan, #BhigwanBirdSanctuary, #Kumbhargaon, #ujnibackwaters, #whiskeredtern, #tern, #marshtern,

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

Indian Skimmer

The Endangered Indian Skimmer or Indian Scissors-bill (Rynchops albicollis) is one of the three species that belong to the skimmer genus Rynchops in the family Laridae. An unmistakable bird - black above and white below with a bright orange bill (the lower mandible is longer than the upper). It favors slow-moving rivers with sandbars, on which it forms noisy colonies, often in association with terns.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #conservationphotography, #coringawildlifesanctuary, #bhairavapalemmudflats, #indianskimmer, #indianscissorsbill, #endangered, #Rynchopsalbicollis,

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

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

Kentish Plover

The Kentish plover is a small wader of the family Charadriidae that breeds on the shores of saline lakes, lagoons, and coasts, populating sand dunes, marshes, semi-arid desert, and tundra. A small, pale plover with broken black collar, sandy upperparts, grayish legs, and rather fine black bill. Seen mainly in coastal stretches, sandy beaches, dry mudflats, and at salt ponds, usually near water; also locally inland.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #conservationphotography, #bhigwan, #BhigwanBirdSanctuary, #Kumbhargaon, #ujnibackwaters, #kentishplover, #plover, #wader, #indapurgrasslands, #kadbanwadi,

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

Great Stone-curlew/ Great Thick-knee

The Near Threatened Great Stone-Curlew/ Great Thick-knee (Esacus recurvirostris) is an odd looking, large wader & a resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh into South-east Asia. They’re found on the banks of flowing rivers and lakes with rocky or sandy shores & usually seen standing still on shore, though they can be quite shy, often flushing even at a distance.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #conservationphotography, #bhigwan, #BhigwanBirdSanctuary, #Kumbhargaon, #ujnibackwaters, #greatstonecurlew, #greatthickknee, #thickknee, #wader, #indapurgrasslands, #kadbanwadi,

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

Painted Stork

The painted stork is a large wader in the stork family with a long yellow bill that curves down at the tip. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. Their distinctive pink tertial feathers of the adults give them their name.

#wildartworks #canon #Wildlife #wildlifephotography #telanganabirds #natgeoindia #conservationphotography #indian_wildlifes #indianwildlifeofficial #wildlifeonearth #planet_untamed_magazine #bbcearth #natgeowild #birdsofthedeccan #hyderabadbirds #lakesofhyderabad #ameenpur, #biodiversityheritagesite, #HyderabadBiodiversity, #heritagesite, #ameenpurlake, #ancientmanmadelake, #manmadelake, #paintedstork, #stork, #manjeera, #sungeibuloh, #ranganathittubirdsanctuary, #bhigwanbirdsanctuary,

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

Red-backed Sea Eagle/ Brahminy Kite

The Brahminy Kites (Haliastur indus), formerly known as the Red-backed Sea Eagle in Australia, are medium-sized raptors that are easily recognized by their white head and chest. They are also known as Red-backed Kites, White-and-red Eagle Kites or White-headed Kites. These birds of prey are widespread throughout tropical Asia.

In Indonesia, they are known as elang bondol and is the official mascot of the capital and largest city of Indonesia - Jakarta. In Hinduism, the bird is considered as the contemporary representation of Garuda, the sacred bird of Lord Vishnu - the preserver in the holy Hindu Trinity. According to a fable from central Bougainville Island, a mother left her baby under a banana tree while gardening, and the baby floated into the sky crying and transformed into Kaa'nang, the Brahminy kite, its necklace becoming the bird's feathers.

#wildartworks, #Canon, #Bird, #Birdinginthewild, #BirdWatching, #Wildlife, #WildBirds, #naturephotography, #your_best_birds, #planetbirds, #earthcapture, #photo_pond, #earthpix, #naturyst, #conservationphotography, #yesbbcearth, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @awpc.hk, @globalcapture, #brahminykite, #kite, #redbackedseaeagle, #garuda, #langkawi, #eagle

Read More