Little egret

The Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) is a small Heron, about 25 inches tall. It has long legs and long neck and is all white in plumage color.

It has a black beak in all seasons and is small in size. The black color of the beak is opposed to that found in the cattle egret and reef egrets, which never have black beaks. The former always has yellow and in the latter, it may be grey or white. The intermediate egret and the great egret have black beaks only in the breeding season. It is otherwise yellow.

In addition this species possesses long black legs but its feet are yellow. During the breeding season, breeding adults develop two long, slender nape plumes. The subspecies Egretta grazetta grazetta which is found in India has a grey-green patch of skin between the bill and eyes. In breeding pairs this becomes a bright red or blue colour.

The little egret is generally found throughout India, around water bodies, often in small parties, wading around shallow water or in grass. It is thought to be dependent on sight for locating its prey and thus prefers clear water.

It generally feeds on fish but takes insects, crustaceans and molluscs too. They are known to run within water with raised wings to dislodge fish from their hideouts.

It breeds in groups on trees, usually in the company of other herons and ibises. Its breeding season varies from July/august in northern India and December in south.

Seen at Rachenalli lake, Jakkur, Bangalore on 3rd Feb on a foggy morning.

Little egret

Common Iora feeding on a frog

The common Iora (Aegithina tiphia) is a small bird, distributed across the plains and lower hills across India. It can usually be seen in gardens and orchards.

 

The bird is sexually dimorphic with the male having a black wing and tail at all times and a black cap and back during the breeding seasons.  Females on the other hand, have an olive colored wing and tail as pictured here. The undersides are yellow and there are white bars on the wings.

The male is known for its acrobatic displays in breeding season, when it will dart into the air with all its feathers puffed up and then return to the spot in a spinning spiral motion. It will  then flirt its tail like a peacock and droop its wings, accompanied by whistling sounds.They usually forage in large trees, in small groups and can be seen among mixed mixed foraging flocks with other birds and their diet consists mostly of insects which it hunts underneath leaves. It also catches insects on the wing.

I was photographing one such Iora, hunting for insects, late in the morning when suddenly it came up with a larger catch. from my photographs, I saw that it was not an insect, but a frog! I didnt expect that frogs were a part of its diet. 

The bird stuck around for a while as it thrashed the frog and struggled to eat it. The frog appears to be some sort of a bush-frog. I could not record it swallowing the frog, but I`m guessing it finally did manage to do so.

Sighted in Gudalur on Nov 9 2012 at 8 AM on a clear sunny morning.

Common Iora feeding on a frog

Tail-less Whip Scorpions (Amlypygids)

 

Featured in these images are creatures known as Amblypygids. A creature belonging to the same class as spiders and scorpions – Arachnida.

Amblypygids are also called as Whip Spiders or Tailless Whip Scorpions. They however, lack the tail that is present in scorpions and whip-scorpions.

The Amblypygi have a set of long spiny pedipalps extending out in front of them. These are used for predation to seize prey such as crickets, spiders, moths etc. Although they look scary, they are harmless to humans.

They are mostly nocturnal and hide under, barks or logs or leaves at daytime. They walk sideways with their long front legs extended and when they catch prey with these, they are torn up with their chelicerae (jaws). Their long pedipalps are also sensory in nature.

After mating, eggs are carried by the mother Amblypygid and when the young ones hatch, they climb onto the mother’s back and are carried by her until the next moult.

More on Amblypygids

Tail-less Whip Scorpions (Amlypygids)

Malabar Pit Viper

The Malabar Pit Viper (Trimeresurus malabaricus) is also sometimes referred to as the Rock viper or the Malabar rock pitviper.

It is a venomous species of snake belonging to the Crotalinae or the pit viper family. The Crotalinae are characterised by the presence of  a triangular head and heat-sensing pit organs located between the eye and the nostril on either side of the head. The pits are openings to a pair of very sensitive infrared detecting organs, which helps them to find the small warm-blooded prey on which they feed.

They are found  in Southwest India in the Western Ghats between elevations of 600-2000 m and are typically abundant during the monsoon season. These snakes are mostly nocturnal, preferring to find a cool spot where the bask during the day time. The chosen spot is usually a favourite to which it returns day after day.

Even though they become active at night, they are by nature ambush predators, and will wait patiently for the prey to come to it rather than stalk the prey. Once the prey is near enough, the snake strikes with alarming speed and injects its venom.

The bite of this snake is generally not life-threatening. The venom may cause pain and swelling but is known to subside after a day or two. The reason for this may be the small doses of venom injected per bite. However, the bite may be more dangerous in children.

Several colour morphs are commonly observed in this species, including yellow, green and brown. The reasons for the different morphs and their contributions to its ecology are unknown.

These pit-vipers are egg-laying and are thought to engage in guarding their eggs as well. Very little is known about the ecology of this species and more studies are required to uncover the habits of this snake.

	Sighting Information:
Location:	Agumbe
Date:	22nd and 23rd June 2012
Time:	Various times
Weather:	Monsoon rains
Other Details:	The pictured images are of three different individuals from three locations within Agumbe Rainforest Research Station.

Malabar Pit Viper

Brown-cheeked Fulvetta

The Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, (Alcippe poioicephala) is also known as the Brown-cheeked Alcippe and was formerly referred to as the Quaker babbler.

It is a resident breeder in India, generally found in the undergrowth in moist forests and scrub jungle. It is a dull coloured bird characterised by brown above, a greyish cap, dark cheeks, a whitish throat and a short dark beak.

They generally feed on insects and nectar but here, they can be seen feeding on berries. Usually occur in groups of 6-10 birds. They are generally hard to sight due to their preference for the undergrowth but can be heard due to their characteristic song:

They breed in between Jan-June. Nests are placed in forks in branches and is cup shaped. Two or three eggs are laid.

	Sighting Information:
Location:	.Agumbe, Karnataka
Date:	23rd June 2012
Time:	1:00 PM
Weather:	Cloudy with interspersed rain
Other Details:	Several individuals seen together in a mixed foraging group along with White-bellied tree pies and Grey-headed bulbuls.

Brown-cheeked Fulvetta

Grey-headed Bulbul

The Greyeaded bulbul (Pycnonotus priocephalus)  is an endemic species of bulbul found in the Western Ghats. It has an olive green colour with a grey head, crown and throat.

The forehead is also olive green and the flanks are dark grey. The undertail coverts are also grayish. The beak is greenish gray while the legs are pinkish. The iris of this bird is a distinct bluish white colour.

They are seen either singly or in groups or 4-8 individuals. It is patchily distributed and listed as “Near threatened” by IUCN due to steady forest clearance where it occurs.

During breeding season, it is restricted to the mid-elevation evergreen forests between 700-1400m elevation while inthe non-breeding season it is present in lower altitude moist deciduous and scrub forests. It feeds on berries and fruits.

The call is a sharp tweet with just a single syllable:

Nests are commonly built in reed bamboos and is a platform. Only a single or sometimes two eggs are laid. Both parents take part in incubation and feeding.

	Sighting Information:
Location:	Agumbe Rainforest Research Station, Agumbe
Date:	23rd June 2012
Time:	Afternoon; 1:10 PM
Weather:	Raining
Other Details:	A group of Grey headed bulbuls, seen with Brown-cheeked Fluvettas, Flowerpeckers, Sunbirds, White-bellied Tree-pies etc.

Grey-headed Bulbul

Small-handed Bush Frog

Featured here is the Small-handed bush frog (Indirana semipalmata) also known under the names Brown Leaping Frog, South Indian frog or Small-handed Leaping frog.

The distinctive features of this frog include its large tymphanum, granular warty flanks. The temples and the sides of the eyes are black. A dark band is also present between the eyes at the top of the head. The limbs also has dark stripes across, which can barely be distinguished in these images.

The toes and finger tips are dialated into discs and this species gets its name from the half-webbed toes.

It is generally a terrestrial species, occurring around vegetation near water bodies. It is however endemic to the Western Ghats and occurs at altitudes of between 200 and 1,100m above sea level.

They lay eggs on wet rocks and trees and the tadpoles remain in such thin films of water and undergo metamorphosis without ever entering standing water. They are kept moist by water dripping from rain and rain.

The tadpoles are known to have hooked beaks which allow them to move along hard surfaces. The tadpoles are thought to feed on bark material and on plankton growing on the bark.

This frog is locally abundant and is listed to be of least concern by IUCN.

	Sighting Information:
Location:	Agumbe Rainforest Research Station, Agumbe
Date:	24rd June 2012
Time:	Morning; 10:30 AM
Weather:	Cold, Raining
Other Details:	A singe individual seen sitting in an areca palm frond on the veranda. The tadpoles are seen on the walls of the same veranda, about a meter away from where the frog was.

Small-handed Bush Frog