Sunday, 8 March 2020
7-3-2020 THATTEKAD, INDIA - WHITE BELLIED BLUE FLYCATCHER (FEMALE) (Cyornis pallidipes)
8-3-2020 THATTEKAD, INDIA - CRESTED GOSHAWK (Accipiter trivirgatus)
The crested goshawk (Accipiter trivirgatus) is a bird of prey from tropical Asia. It is related to other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards (or buteos) and harriers, and thus placed in the family Accipitridae.
The crested goshawk breeds in southern Asia, from India and Sri Lanka to southern China, Indonesia, Taiwan, and the Philippines. It is primarily a lowland bird, and an all-year resident. Even in upland habitat it is resident in winter, for example in the Himalayas foothills of Bhutan or in Sal (Shorea robusta) forest in India's Dehradun district. In these lands at the northern end of its range, it is generally very rare however. Essentially it is limited to tropical and warm subtropical areas. In Malaysia and Singapore there is increasing evidence of this species adapting to life in urban centres.
Like its relatives, this secretive forest bird hunts birds, mammals and reptiles in woodland, relying on surprise as it flies from a perch to catch its prey unaware. It builds a stick nest in a tree and lays two or three eggs.
Friday, 6 March 2020
7-3-2020 THATTEKAD, INDIA - MALABAR WHISTLING THRUSH (Myophonus horsfieldii)
The Malabar whistling thrush (Myophonus horsfieldii) is a whistling thrush in the family Muscicapidae. The bird has been called whistling schoolboy for the whistling calls that they make at dawn that have a very human quality. The species is a resident in the Western Ghats and associated hills of peninsular India including central India and parts of the Eastern Ghats.
Malabar whistling thrushes are usually found in dark undergrowth in dense riverine forest. They typically forage in the margins, beds and adjacent ground of rocky hill streams and rivers in forest, secondary growth and plantations from foothills up to 2200 m above sea level but reach the plains in the rainy season. The species is found all along the Western Ghats south of the Surat Dangs. They are also found along the Satpura range to Chhattisgarh, northwestern Orissa (Surguja and Simlipal National Park), and locally in the Eastern Ghats. Populations are not migratory but are known to disperse widely in winter. An individual that was ringed in Mahabaleshwar in the summer of 1972 was recovered in the winter of 1976 in Sampaje, Coorg. Although historically recorded twice from Mount Abu, more recent surveys have not recorded the bird or suitable habitat in that location.
7-3-2020 THATTEKAD, INDIA - BROWN SHRIKE (Lanius cristatus)
The brown shrike (Lanius cristatus) is a bird in the shrike family that is found mainly in Asia. It is closely related to the red-backed shrike (L. collurio) and isabelline shrike (L. isabellinus). The genus name, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits. The specific cristatus is Latin for "crested", used in a broader sense than in English. The common English name "shrike" is from Old English scríc, "shriek", referring to the shrill call.
Like most other shrikes, it has a distinctive black "bandit-mask" through the eye and is found mainly in open scrub habitats, where it perches on the tops of thorny bushes in search of prey. Several populations of this widespread species form distinctive subspecies which breed in temperate Asia and migrate to their winter quarters in tropical Asia. They are sometimes found as vagrants in Europe and North America.
Thursday, 5 March 2020
6-3-2020 RAIPUR , INDIA - ROSE COLOURED STARLING (Pastor roseus)
%2010.jpg)
The rosy starling (Pastor roseus) is a passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae, also known as the rose-coloured starling or rose-coloured pastor. The species was recently placed in its own monotypic genus, Pastor, and split from Sturnus. This split is supported by recent studies, though other related species within its new genus are not yet known for certain.
The genus name Pastor, and the old English name come from the Latin pastor, "shepherd", and by extension a pastor. The specific roseus is Latin for "rose-coloured".
Formerly, some authorities also considered the maroon oriole to be a species within the genus Pastor.
Wednesday, 4 March 2020
Tuesday, 3 March 2020
Sunday, 1 March 2020
29-2-2020 SAN CARLOS PARQUE, MADRID - EUROPEAN RABBIT (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
%2021.jpg)
The European rabbit is smaller than the European hare and Mountain hare and lacks black ear tips, as well as having proportionately shorter legs. The fur of the European rabbit is generally greyish-brown, but this is subject to much variation. The guard hairs are banded brown and black, or grey, while the nape of the neck and scrotum are reddish. The chest patch is brown, while the rest of the underparts are white or grey. A white star shape is often present on kits' foreheads but rarely occurs in adults. The whiskers are long and black, and the feet are fully furred and buff-coloured. The tail has a white underside, which becomes prominent when escaping danger. This may act as a signal for other rabbits to run. Moulting occurs once a year, beginning in March on the face and spreading over the back. The underfur is completely replaced by October-November. The European rabbit exhibits great variation in colour, from light sandy to dark grey and completely black. Such variation depends largely on the amount of guard hairs relative to regular pelage.
European rabbits are found in southwestern Europe (including Portugal, Spain, and western France) and in northwest Africa (including Morocco and Algeria). Their ideal habitat consists of short grasslands with secure refuge (such as burrows, boulders, hedgerows, scrub, and woodland) near feeding areas. In large coniferous plantations, European rabbits only occur in peripheral areas and along fire breaks and rides.
%2020.jpg)
European rabbits are herbivores (graminivores) and coprophages. They eat a wide variety of herbage, especially grasses, favoring the young, succulent leaves and shoots of the most nutritious species. Hungry rabbits in winter may eat tree bark and blackberries. Like other leporids, European rabbits also consume their own fecal pellets, which are filled with protein-rich bacteria.
European rabbits exhibit an interesting mating system; dominant bucks are polygynous, whereas lower-status individuals (both bucks and does) often form monogamous pairs. Rabbits signal their readiness to mate by marking other animals and inanimate objects with an odoriferous substance secreted through a chin gland; this process is known as "chinning". The breeding season usually takes place from January to August. Does give birth to 3-7 kittens after the gestation period of 30 days. Shortly before giving birth, the doe will construct a separate burrow known as a "stop" or "stab", generally in an open field away from the main warren. These breeding burrows are typically a few feet long and are lined with grass and moss as well as fur plucked from the doe's belly. The breeding burrow protects the kittens from adult bucks as well as from predators. Kittens are altricial, being born blind, deaf, and furless, and they are totally dependent upon their mother. The young born to the dominant buck and doe enjoy better nesting and feeding grounds; they tend to grow larger and stronger and become more dominant than kittens born to subordinate rabbits. Does nurse their kittens once a night, for only a few minutes. After suckling is complete, the doe seals the entrance to the stop with soil and vegetation. The kittens grow rapidly and their eyes open 11 days after birth. The ears do not gain the power of motion until 10 days of age and can be erected after 13. At 18 days, the kittens begin to leave the burrow and at 4 weeks they are weaned. Young bucks become reproductively mature at four months of age, while does can begin to breed at three to five months.
29-2-2020 SAN CARLOS PARQUE, MADRID - EURASIAN RED SQUIRREL (Sciurus vulgaris)
%2030.jpg)
The European rabbit is smaller than the European hare and Mountain hare and lacks black ear tips, as well as having proportionately shorter legs. The fur of the European rabbit is generally greyish-brown, but this is subject to much variation. The guard hairs are banded brown and black, or grey, while the nape of the neck and scrotum are reddish. The chest patch is brown, while the rest of the underparts are white or grey. A white star shape is often present on kits' foreheads but rarely occurs in adults. The whiskers are long and black, and the feet are fully furred and buff-coloured. The tail has a white underside, which becomes prominent when escaping danger. This may act as a signal for other rabbits to run. Moulting occurs once a year, beginning in March on the face and spreading over the back. The underfur is completely replaced by October-November. The European rabbit exhibits great variation in colour, from light sandy to dark grey and completely black. Such variation depends largely on the amount of guard hairs relative to regular pelage.
%2031.jpg)
European rabbits are found in southwestern Europe (including Portugal, Spain, and western France) and in northwest Africa (including Morocco and Algeria). Their ideal habitat consists of short grasslands with secure refuge (such as burrows, boulders, hedgerows, scrub, and woodland) near feeding areas. In large coniferous plantations, European rabbits only occur in peripheral areas and along fire breaks and rides.
European rabbits are herbivores (graminivores) and coprophages. They eat a wide variety of herbage, especially grasses, favoring the young, succulent leaves and shoots of the most nutritious species. Hungry rabbits in winter may eat tree bark and blackberries. Like other leporids, European rabbits also consume their own fecal pellets, which are filled with protein-rich bacteria.
%2032.jpg)
European rabbits exhibit an interesting mating system; dominant bucks are polygynous, whereas lower-status individuals (both bucks and does) often form monogamous pairs. Rabbits signal their readiness to mate by marking other animals and inanimate objects with an odoriferous substance secreted through a chin gland; this process is known as "chinning". The breeding season usually takes place from January to August. Does give birth to 3-7 kittens after the gestation period of 30 days. Shortly before giving birth, the doe will construct a separate burrow known as a "stop" or "stab", generally in an open field away from the main warren. These breeding burrows are typically a few feet long and are lined with grass and moss as well as fur plucked from the doe's belly.
The breeding burrow protects the kittens from adult bucks as well as from predators. Kittens are altricial, being born blind, deaf, and furless, and they are totally dependent upon their mother. The young born to the dominant buck and doe enjoy better nesting and feeding grounds; they tend to grow larger and stronger and become more dominant than kittens born to subordinate rabbits. Does nurse their kittens once a night, for only a few minutes. After suckling is complete, the doe seals the entrance to the stop with soil and vegetation. The kittens grow rapidly and their eyes open 11 days after birth. The ears do not gain the power of motion until 10 days of age and can be erected after 13. At 18 days, the kittens begin to leave the burrow and at 4 weeks they are weaned. Young bucks become reproductively mature at four months of age, while does can begin to breed at three to five months.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)