BIRDWALKERMONDAY WILDLIFE BLOG

This Blog contains Wildlife, Plants and Bird Photos from Walks, Safaris, Birding Trips and Vacations. Most of the pictures have been taken with my Nikon P900 and P950X cameras. Just click on any image for a larger picture. On the right column under the Blog Archive are the entries by date. Below that under Animal categories all the diffent species of Animals, Birds, Insects and Plants contained in the website are listed. Clicking on any entry will show all the entries for that species.

Thursday, 19 March 2020

12-3-2020 KERALA, INDIA - BRAHMINY KITE EAGLE (Haliastur indus)

The brahminy kite is distinctive and contrastingly coloured, with chestnut plumage except for the white head and breast and black wing tips. The juveniles are browner, but can be distinguished from both the resident and migratory races of black kites in Asia by the paler appearance, shorter wings, and rounded tail. The pale patch on the underwing carpal region is of a squarish shape and separated from Buteo buzzards. The brahminy kite is about the same size as the black kite (Milvus migrans) and has a typical kite flight, with wings angled, but its tail is rounded unlike the Milvus species, red kite, and black kite, which have forked tails. The two genera are, however, very close.

The call is a mewing keeyew.

This kite is a familiar sight in the skies of Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and southeast Asia and as far south as New South Wales, Australia, through which region it is widespread and resident. They perform seasonal movements associated with rainfall in some parts of their range.

They are mainly seen in the plains, but can sometimes occur above 5000 feet in the Himalayas.

It is evaluated as being of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, the species is on the decline in some parts such as Java.

The breeding season in South Asia is from December to April. In southern and eastern Australia, it is August to October, and April to June in the north and west. The nests are constructed of small branches and sticks with a bowl inside and lined with leaves, and are located in various trees, often mangroves. They show considerable site fidelity nesting in the same area year after year. In some rare instances, they have been seen to nest on the ground under trees. A clutch of two dull-white or bluish-white oval eggs measuring 52 x 41 mm is laid. Both parents take part in nest building and feeding, but likely only the female incubates. The incubation period is about 26 to 27 days.

It is primarily a scavenger, feeding mainly on dead fish and crabs, especially in wetlands and marshland, but occasionally hunts live prey such as hares and bats. They may also indulge in kleptoparasitism and attempt to steal prey from other birds.Brahminy kites have even been recorded taking advantage of Irrawaddy dolphins herding fish to the surface, in the Mekong River. A rare instance of a bird feeding on honey at the hive of Apis florea has been recorded. It also eats rice or cooked food left as an offering in India.

12-3-2020 KERALA, INDIA - BRONZE WINGED JACANA (Metopidius indicus)

12-3-2020 KERALA, INDIA - FENCE POST TREE (Gliricidia sepium)

12-3-2020 KERALA, INDIA - DITCH JEWEL DRAGONFLY (Brachythemis contaminata)

12-3-2020 KERALA, INDIA - MILE A MINUTE VINE (Ipomoea cairica)

12-3-2020 KERALA, INDIA - LESSER WHISTLING DUCK (Dendrocygna javanica)

12-3-2020 KERALA, INDIA - GREY PANSY BUTTERFLY (Junonia atlites)

The Grey Pansy (Junonia atlites) is a nymphalid butterfly native to South Asia, characterized by its pale greyish-brown wings with intricate dark wavy lines and prominent, pinkish-black eyespots. Commonly found in open, sunny areas like gardens, fields, and wetlands, this 55-60mm butterfly frequently basks with its wings spread.

J. atlites is found in Bangladesh, India, southern China, Cambodia, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, western and central Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Key Facts About the Grey Pansy:

Appearance: The upperside is pale greyish buff, while the underside is much paler with fainter markings. Both wings feature a series of distinct eye-spots (ocelli).

Habitat & Behavior: Often observed gliding low over open grassy patches or near water bodies. They are, however, relatively rare in certain areas, such as Singapore.

Larval Food Plants: The caterpillars feed on plants in the Acanthaceae and Linderniaceae families, particularly Hygrophila species.

Regional Variation: Junonia atlites exhibits seasonal forms (wet- and dry-season forms) in parts of its range, such as Malaysia.

Pollinator: The adult serves as an active pollinator, feeding on nectar.

It is commonly found in the low country and hills of South Asia, including India and Sri Lanka. Junonia atlites, the grey pansy, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in South Asia.

Upperside of both sexes pale lavender brown, apical half of wings paler. Forewing: cell with, three transverse, short, sinuous black bands, the outermost defining the discocellulars; a similar short, somewhat broader band beyond the apex of the cell; two transverse discal dusky black fasciae, the inner highly sinuous and outward, angulate above vein 4, the outer straighter, somewhat lunular, bordered by a series of whitish ovals with dusky or black centers. The black-centered spots in the ovals in interspaces 2, 5, and 6 margined posteriorly with rich ocherous yellow.

Beyond this series of ovals is a lunular, narrow, transverse dark band, followed by sinuous subterminal and terminal broad dark lines. Apex of wing slightly fuliginous. Hindwing: a short slender black loop from veins 6 to 4 at apex of cell-area; two discal sinuous transverse dark, fasciae in continuation of those on the forewing: followed by a series of dark-centered ovals in interspaces 2–6, the ovals in interspaces 2, 5, and 6 with the dark centers inwardly broadly bordered with ochreous yellow; postdiscal, subterminal and terminal dark lunular lines as on the forewing.