Face-off – Snake vs Snail
Jun
30
2015
What happens when a snail comes face-to-face with a Malabar Pit Viper?
What happens when a snail comes face-to-face with a Malabar Pit Viper?
On our rainy morning safari in Bandipur, we came across a Stripe-necked Mongoose very close to the safari track. Unmindful of our presence, it was moving around busily looking for a quick morsel. It came across this plastic water bottle lying in the grass. And it took to it as a kid takes to a new toy. The mongoose cuddled with the bottle and rolled around for a few minutes. What explains this behavior? Probably, as our naturalist said, the mongoose was looking to relieve an itch. Seemingly satisfied, the mongoose moved ahead and climbed a nearby rock […]
I spent 3 days at Bandipur over the past weekend. With weather oscillating between sunny and rainy, it was an interesting trip. Having seen Sloth Bears, a Bengal Tiger and a few Indian Elephants over the first 2 days, I was looking forward to the last safari. With heavy rains in the night and a very cloudy (and chilly) morning, imminent rain threatened our safari plans. Didn’t realize that the raindrops would start very soon into the safari. As the light drizzle went on and on (almost till the safari ended), it also gifted us some lovely photography opportunities. […]
In April this year, on a night walk near Agumbe, we came across this spider. It looked very different from what I’d seen before. Also, the web caught my attention and I photographed it from a couple of different angles to try and capture the essence. After I got back, the photograph was safely backed up in my hard drives along with the rest of the images from the trip and life went on. Until, I was running through the trip photographs with a friend a month later. When he saw the image, he jumped […]
Basilianus sp. (possibly Basilianus stolickzae) Family: Passalidae Photographed in Agumbe, Karnataka on June 15, 2012
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) Photographed in Bangalore on Jan 01, 2010
Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius) Photographed in Bangalore on Jan 01, 2010
Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) The Brahminy Kite (also known as Red-backed Sea-Eagle) is found along water bodies and coasts of peninsular India, South-east Asia and Australia. A medium-sized raptor, this bird is distinguished by its characteristic chestnut-brown plumage contrasted by white head and breast. The juvenile can be confused with a Black Kite due to very similar size and coloration. Two distinguishing characteristics – rounded tail (lack of forked tail) and a large white patch on the underwing – help differentiate in the field. This bird was photographed in Hesaraghatta, Bangalore on Feb 06, 2010.
Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) This is a widespread kingfisher across Asia and Africa, estimated to be the third most common kingfisher in the world (Source: Wikipedia). Distinguished by its black-and-white plumage, this kingfisher hunts by hovering over water or waiting on a overhanging branch looking for prey in the water. Once the prey is spotted, the bird dives into the water to hunt it. This bird was photographed in Ranganathittu (near Mysore, India) on Aug 14, 2010.
Golden Frog (Hylarana aurantiaca) Photographed in Agumbe on Aug 21, 2011