Common Kingfisher (Small Blue Kingfisher)

Most of you know kingfisher brand famous for :-) ! Yes this is this bird, the logo of Kingfisher group! Small Blue Kingfisher or Common Kingfisher, one of the most colorful birds on earth. As the name indicates this is a small bird compared to other kingfisher species, a sparrow sized bird. They are widely distributed across Asia and Europe. Mostly they are residents of their location throughout year, some times migrate locally in search of food.

They feed mostly on fish caught through diving. Their vision is very well developed to see its prey underwater! As I described pied kingfisher, this is also true certifier of water quality.

The first image is taken near Hoskote (Bangalore outskirts) and the second one near Anekal (Bangalore outskirts)....Few hours of patience, calm, camouflage yielded this quality...

Indian Spotted Eagle

It is always that fascinates are the apex predators of animal kingdom that plays major role in keeping ecological balance. They keep the population of its prey under check thus preventing any over growth and becomes pests. The presence of  apex predators are direct indicators of various prey base and hence certifies of the quality of the habitat ! Its good to have quality environment around us for our own existence.

The population across the food chain shrinks as it moves up, so the comparative population of top predators compared to the ones that are at the bottom of food chain are less. These predators have evolved with loads of features that exits us. They are geared up to hunt in wild !

In the avian kingdom, the raptors (or Birds of Prey) are one of the top predators and placed at the top of food chain. Indian spotted eagle is one among them.

Indian spotted eagle are about 60 cm in length and has about 150 cm wing span. They are unfortunately vulnerable - being pushed gradually towards extinction. This species prefer dry forests, plantations or grass lands and show less affinity towards wet lands. Their habitat needs to be conserved. They prey mostly on mammals, birds and sometimes frogs etc.,

The famous mobsters, a gang of crows finally surrounded this majestic bird and started harassing. The flight of this bird from a perch to perch attracted them. Coordinated efforts for more than 15 mins  by crows succeeded to mob it and chased away. Intelligent eagle came back after some time as crows go and sat for hours and I left the spot! It was disproved that the misadventure of single crow to mob it again, it cried for support from other crows but did not get and left the place, eagle was least bothered !

Indian Eagle Owl

Owls continue to be the symbol of mystery! Most of them are nocturnal species. The two neighbors in this category (available around Bangalore) are Bran Owl and Indian Eagle Owl (or Rock Eagle Owl or Bengal Eagle Owl) among others including spotted owl lets, Brown fish owl, Mottled wood owl, Indian scops owl, short eared owl so on and so forth!

The specialty features of their eyes, ears, and the sound less flight made them one of the most efficient hunters of the night. They relay on star light and the sharp ears to locate their prey and hunt in pitch dark. The eyes are believed to be at least 3 times sensitive to light than human! Bran owls can detect and locate their prey by just listening to the heart beat of its potential food!

Barn owl and Indian eagle owls hunts from perch. Their powerful talons, soundless flight and strong sensory organs makes the prey almost impossible to escape once target is locked. The front facial disc has been adopted to reflect any sound towards ears and make owls more sensitive to minute sounds made by their prey. They can rotate their head almost 360 deg and the eye movement is restricted and front faced. If homo sapiens had that big  eye like eagle owl, then it would have been the size of oranges (as compared to ratio of eye size to head) ;)

The owls are treated as bad omens and often killed. Also they have been butchered due to some superstitious beliefs causing a major threat to their existence. Owls are protected under wildlife act in India.

The owls prey mostly on rodents and are naturally the farmer friends helping them to protect their crops from rodents. They contribute to ecological balance by keeping a check on rodent population which are pests !!! 

The mystery continues......

© swaroopbharadwaj - No reproduction of this image without written permission from the photographer!

swaroopbharadwaj (at) gmail.com

Spot billed pelicans

This is the habitat shot of pelicans (painted stork in the background), the image made at Hoskote lake, Bangalore, India which has emerged as birding hot spot since it attracted various water birds. In recent years this important habitat is supporting about 170 + species of various birds.

Spot billed pelicans are near threatened species as per IUCN listing. The reason of their decline is the habitat loss and human disturbance. Bangalore and surroundings are blessed to have these magnificent birds. They feed on fish.

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© swaroopbharadwaj - No reproduction of this image without written permission from the photographer!

swaroopbharadwaj (at) gmail.com

One more image made at a reservoir near Hosur, A relatively close-up rather than habitat image.

Pied Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher:

The image is taken around 8:00AM at Hoskote lake. These birds are the residents of the lake since 4 years (as per my observations). They are expert divers hovering in the air above water looking out for fish (prey). As they dive vertically, the splash of water and the sound resembles as if a pebble is thrown into the water.

They are found in pairs or a small family. Their presence is a good indicator of fish population in the water body which indicates the health of water.

Here is the image.  

© swaroopbharadwaj - No reproduction of this image without written permission from the photographer!

swaroopbharadwaj (at) gmail.com