Raptor Friday is a series of posts on Green Ogre India, published on Fridays and celebrating encounters with birds of prey.
It is indeed a majestic sight, and you can’t but stand there with your jaw hanging open, watching this glorious common kestrel (falco tinnunculus) hover overhead. You obviously can’t afford to gape at this site if you are a tiny rodent, or a small bird, or the garden lizard, because you could get a hell lot closer view with the talons outstretched , within no time. Continue reading S.P.R.E.A.D of the Common Kestrel
A birding trip to Koonthakulam, Tamil Nadu, revealed a rare sighting of Lesser Kestrels, seasonal migrants that pass through India en route to Africa Continue reading Raptor Friday: A meeting with a Lesser Kestrel
On broad soaring wings, the mighty White-bellied Sea Eagle patrols the coastline, plunging every now and then into the ocean for fish or sea snakes. Its aerobatic displays can make test pilots envious. If you see one, stop and watch. I … Continue reading Raptor Friday: The White Tiger of the shores
What’s the fuss about the Serpent Eagle’s crest? At first glance, it isn’t even there. But wait and watch… I first ran into the Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela) in BR Hills on my first-ever trip with Beej, Sahastra and Sunita, and I wondered why those who named this bird thought it was crested. Why not Bulge-eyed Serpent Eagle? To me, the Changeable Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus) — earlier known by its well-deserved name of Crested Hawk-Eagle — ought to have benefited from any title that contained “crest”. Majestic in flight This dark-plumaged forest eagle had no visible crest though even … Continue reading Raptor Friday: Crested Serpent Eagle
There are enough roadkills, but why are vultures absent from our skies? An independent filmmaker explores the reasons Himalayan Griffons engage in a scuffle Several animals are killed in road accidents but we hardly see any vultures hovering above and … Continue reading Raptor Friday – Last Hope for Disappearing Vultures
Though dirt-common, the Brahminy Kite is both gorgeous and majestic if you care to give it a second glance An adult Brahminy Kite surveys the landscape beneath overcast skies To quote my good friend Nikhil: “The only mistake the Brahminy Kite ever committed that made him a non-celebrity among birders is that he became a little too common.” That sums up the Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) for you. Elegant, breathtakingly colorful, and boasting of a close-to-divine place in Hindu mythology and religion, it happens to be only a little too common for people to take a second glance… Back in … Continue reading Raptor Friday: Brahminy Kite
The Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) visits the subcontinent in winter. It is also resident in the Himalayas and to a lesser extent in the Western Ghats Continue reading Raptor Friday – The Common Kestrel