Nyctibatrachus cf. aliciae (Alice night frog)
Date: 10/02/2008
One of the many species of frogs in the western ghats still to be described completely
Flies mating
Date: 09/04/2009
A rainy day afternoon, I just was talking on the phone and strolling on the road in front of my house when I saw this pair mating on a pole wire. It only goes to say there's a lot happening, anywhere you are!
Baby King Cobra - side profile
Date: 08/10/2009
King Cobra babies are about 30cms when born and do have venom glands from birth. They are usually born during the months of august/september in the wild western ghats
Leopard cub - backside
Date: 08/16/2009
This 3 month old leopard cub was abandoned by the mother in a sugarcane field close to the nagarhole forest its now in the safe hands of the forest department. Since the cubs haven't learnt the way of the wild from their mother and survival on their own might be difficult, they might not be released in to the wild
Elephants mudbath
Date: 03/30/2009
Elephants are like kids, they enjoy playing with the water, playing in the mud and slush.
Night Heron
Date: 03/31/2009
Usually these birds are found close to shores of swampy lakes but in Kabini you can see them in the open
Elephant spraying water
Date: 03/10/2009
In the summers, elephants spend a lot of time close to water. When we came to a waterhole expecting a tiger, we saw this guy playing without a care in the world. He was no farther than 200ft.
Blue Jay - scape
Date: 03/30/2009
This state bird of karnataka is a very good subject for photography, you can go quite close and still they won't fly
Blue Winged Leafbird
Date: 02/02/2009
The leaf birds blend so well with the greenery of the trees that its hard to photograph them, one of the rare occasions when the bird sat on a dry tree.
Grizzled Giant Squirrel
Date: 01/30/2009
One of the most endangered endemic squirrels in India, found mostly on the cauvery belt.
Freshwater jellyfish - Craspedusta Sowerbii
Date: 02/02/2009
These freshwater jellyfish were found in the cauvery river for the first time. These have been sighted in Indian in only three places so far.
Freshwater jellyfish - Craspedusta Sowerbii
Date: 02/02/2009
These freshwater jellyfish were found in the cauvery river for the first time. These have been sighted in Indian in only three places so far.
Bush frog
Date: 10/03/2008
These bush frogs are nocturnal like most frogs, and make a lot of noise for the size that they are. This one is so small, his weight is supported by a leaf
Beddome's cat snake
Date: 10/04/2008
The cat snakes are nocturnal and which is why they have these big eyes, which almost look like a cat's eye and hence the name
Asian koel - female
Date: 07/03/2008
This is one of the common species found in India, what is interesting is that the male of this bird is pitch black and almost like a crow, other than its red eye. So making it really easy to tell a male from a female
Pratin cole - water scape
Date: 05/16/2008
The typical habitat of a pratin cole, mud bank islands in fresh water.
Hoopoe
Date: 04/26/2008
This beautiful bird is quite special, as it is found almost all around the world. In India too they are found from the southern jungles to Ladakh
Pratin cole - juvenile
Date: 05/03/2008
This young pratin cole was quite curious and was moving around trying to figure out who we were
Brahminy starling
Date: 04/26/2008
After a very cloudy morning, when the sun comes out, it brings out most birds to bask.
Cicada
Date: 04/26/2008
The loud soundmakers of the jungle. Only males produce the cicadas' distinctive sound. Some cicadas produce sounds up to 120 dB, among the loudest of all insect-produced sounds. In addition to the mating song, many species also have a distinct distress call.
Scorpion tail
Date: 04/04/2008
Also known as the metasoma, the scorpion's tail, comprises of six segments, the last containing the scorpion's anus and bearing the telson (the sting). The telson, in turn, consists of a pair of venom glands and the venom-injecting barb.
Mountain hawk eagle - scape
Date: 04/05/2008
A very close cousin of the Crested hawk eagle, this is found mostly in the western ghats.
Western ghats - Rainforest
Date: 03/23/2008
Water vapor slowly rises up from the rain forests of western ghats
Forest calotes
Date: 04/10/2008
Forest calotes (Calotes rouxii) found mostly in the Western ghats is a little smaller than the Garden lizard (Calotes versicolor)
King cobra - female
Date: 04/11/2008
The world's largest venomous snake, is often found in places like this. A cowshed in a village in the western ghats. The dry palm leaves stocked up make a nice home for it.
March of the mushrooms
Date: 04/05/2008
In the evergreen rain forests, there's always a fight for sunlight and these mushrooms are no exception. They have grown in the direction of a small patch of open sky in the forest.
Bleeding tree
Date: 04/10/2008
Is there a message this tree is giving out? The tree known as ramapatra (Cinnamon Mlabaricus) gives out fruits that are used to make dyes of red color.
Skink
Date: 01/04/2008
Skinks belong to the lizard family and are often confused for snakes because of their reduced limbs and smooth skin.
Bandavgarh terrain
Date: 12/22/2007
This photograph summaries the terrain of bandavgarh. The grasslands, the wooded forest, the rocky hills
Barking deer male - Portrait
Date: 01/04/2008
These animals are very shy, one of those rare occasions that the deer posed. Like all other deers even this guy is very curious
Red rumped swallows in rain
Date: 03/22/2008
We were driving in the rains when we saw this group of swallows perched on a wire, as the rains grew heavy they cuddled up inside a temple next door.
Rose ringed parakeet - Portrait
Date: 12/28/2007
Parakeets are hard to photograph as they roost quite high. I was staying in a beautiful govt. campus and when I came out to the terrace of the 3rd floor room, there were many parakeets on top of the tree next to the building. I had to wait for an hour before they ignored my presence.
Long billed vulture - Flying
Date: 01/26/2008
The long billed vultures are endangered and their habitats are shrinking by the day. The rocky hills of Ramangara are one of the last. These vultures have a large wingspan and are quite huge.
Egyptian vulture
Date: 01/26/2008
Also known as the scavenger vulture, it is known to have a lot of importance in the ancient egyptian world. These vultures are smaller in size and weigh around 2-3kgs.
Shaheen falcon
Date: 01/26/2008
Shaheen falcon or Perigrine falcon is known to be the fastest among the animal kingdom, and can reach upto 350+ kmph. And is one of the smaller raptors.
Palebilled flowerpecker
Date: 01/20/2008
Also known as Tickell's flowerpecker is the smallest bird (~8cm) in India, and is so restless a bird that its very tough to track and shoot them.
Slender loris - sunlit
Date: 01/27/2008
This is the smallest primate found in India. They are elusive and nocturnal making their sighting so rare that few have seen these primates in the wild.
Common kestrel
Date: 12/21/2007
The kestrel belongs to the Falcon genus, they are quite small compared to kites and eagles.
Black winged kite - hovering
Date: 12/22/2007
Black winged kites usually hover to look for the prey and return back to a high perch. This one was patrolling the grasslands.
Oriental Scops Owl
Date: 12/16/2007
This ultra rare bird, just gave us a sneak peek even after waiting for hours. There are very few images of this bird in the wild. It was well disguised in the thicket of a tall tree. It almost looks like a miniature fox.
Ruddy shelduck pair
Date: 12/16/2007
The number of birds in bharatpur has been going down every year. This is mainly because of the water scarcity. Ducks and water birds like these cannot survive without water. The water is now being pumped into the Bharatpur lake to sustain these birds.
Jungle babbler closeup
Date: 12/16/2007
Jungle babblers are very common and usually are in a group of seven and hence the name Seven Sisters. In Bharatpur they are least bothered by humans and keep wandering on the road.
White breasted kingfisher
Date: 12/16/2007
Kingfishers though very common are extremely shy birds and to a photographer they are a challenge. After I almost given up on shooting kingfishers, I got lucky.
Black winged stilt
Date: 12/16/2007
Stilts feed in shallow water, wading and catching prey on or near the surface. They pick up their food from the sand or water. The long legs allow it to walk in deeper water than other waders.
Tigress sniffing
Date: 12/21/2007
This tigress was trying to sniff out the territory of another male perhaps
Praying mantis
Date: 11/03/2006
The praying mantis (mantis means prophet in greek) is an insect common in the indian jungles. When at rest, the mantis' front forelegs are held up together in a posture that looks like its praying. These front legs are equipped with rows of sharp spines used to grasp its prey. They wait unmoving and are almost invisible on a leaf or a stem, ready to catch any insect that passes.
Barking deer hiding
Date: 11/03/2007
The very shy and elusive barking deer is quite rarely seen in the open and the moment any sound is heard, it disappears into the thickets.
Signature spider
Date: 10/20/2006
The signature spider weaves its web to leave behind a mark which looks like the letter X, The pattern is said to attract insects and other prey. Funnily the body looks like the face and has eyes but the eyes are tucked away in the tuft of hair below, look carefully and you'll find.
Tall Teak tree
Date: 09/22/2006
This is one of the tallest teak trees in karnataka, more than 100ft tall. It can easily dwarf 10 storey building. It also is apparently one of the oldest. Hundreds of years in the making is what the locals claim.
Bird in action
Date: 09/22/2007
Just when I thought I had enough shots of the Crested serpent eagle, the bird did something unexpected and I had to capture the moment
Orb-weaver spider
Date: 08/26/2006
Driving through a small village in the western ghats, saw water droplets locked on spider web, and on close inspection found this small guy.
Falls near sharavati valley
Date: 08/26/2006
An unknown water falls on the sharavati valley belt. Surrounded by thick evergreen jungles, sharavati valley is home to some of the endemic species of western ghats
Cricket frog - Fejervarya kudremukhensis
Date: 07/23/2006
This guy was in the middle of the road to the guesthouse we were staying in. We saw him while driving, stopped the car to let him cross the road but he just wouldn't cross the road, he was snugly sitting between the wet grass.
Bonnet macaque with kid
Date: 07/23/2007
Shot on a bridge near a waterfall, these monkeys were part of a huge group that had almost settled around the bridge due all tourists throwing food, at times the tourists get into trouble with these guys and cause damage both to themselves and the apes.
Langur
Date: 07/22/2007
This is one of the Langurs I shot in the western ghats. Its very cleary seen that the amount of fur on this langur is much higer than the ones found in plains. They've very easily adapted to the cold and wet weather.
Bandipur vegetation
Date: 06/19/2006
This is a scape of the vegetation at the Bandipur national park, the waterholes are the lifeline of these jungles in summers, huge congregations of animals can be seen at these waterholes in summers
Orintal honey buzzard
Date: 06/18/2007
Quite a rare sight, mostly these birds are seen flying. This was the first time I saw one basking on an open branch
Wilddog (Dhole) - Relaxing
Date: 06/19/2006
This was in a pack that was seen with a kill. Looked like they had devoured a cow, which had wandered into the jungle. This male was well fed it looked like from the way he's sitting with food, just next to him
Wilddog (Dhole) - Running
Date: 06/19/2006
The pack was feasting on a cow, and very little of the kill was left. One of the dogs realized this and caused all this action, its quite rare to see dogs chasing dogs
Mist on the hills
Date: 06/01/2006
This was shot in the evening, when we saw the monsoons advancing, until then the skies were crystal clear and showed no signs of rain, but in the evening this was the scene at a hill about a km away
Monsoon approaching
Date: 06/01/2006
The monsoon clouds approaching are clearly seen. As the rest of the Munnar town is still with clear skies and sees sunshine, the anamudi peak is completely covered with clouds in this picture. This marked the beginning of monsoon in Munnar
Thattekad house scape
Date: 06/02/2006
Can you spot the house? snuggly fitted on the fringe of Thattekad bird sanctuary, and true kerala backwater style, the house opens up into the backwaters and not the road. The forest behind the house is home to around 300 species of birds and is India's bird diversity hotspot
Anamudi Peak
Date: 06/02/2006
Anamudi, is the highest peak south of the Himalayas in India, at 2,695 metres (8,842 feet) the surroundings of this peak houses the Eravikulam national park and is abode to the endemic Nilgiri tahr (Mountain goat) and also a wide range of other life forms
Srilankan frog mouth female
Date: 06/02/2007
Its a dream to most birders and photographers to be able to see this bird in its natural habitat, and mostly no one comes empty handed from Thattekad, these birds are so well camouflaged that one can't spot them even when they are a couple feet away.
Srilankan Frogmouth pair
Date: 06/02/2006
The Bird on the left is the male and the other is the female. These rare birds are completely nocturnal, and are found in the thickets of the evergreen forests, These are the only photographs in my gallery which have been shot with Flash.
Oriental Bay Owl
Date: 06/02/2007
Being one of the rarest birds in India, very few photographs of this nocturnal creature are available, and getting this shot was an adventure in itself, shooting hand held in low light and making way through thick evergreen forests.
Tahr with kid
Date: 06/02/2006
Just lucky to get a shot like this. If you look close, the calf is in the background and it just looks like they are kissing each other. Ya it is a illusion
Langur - Portrait
Date: 05/27/2007
Also know as the gray langurs, these are the most common apes found in the South Indian jungles. Quite intelligent and social, they are found in small groups sitting and preening each other or sitting idle like this guy.
Nilgiri Tahr - Feeding
Date: 06/02/2007
The Tahrs are so tame at Eravikulam that one can almost touch them, yeah but one should never touch them, there were all kinds of tourists trying to touch inspite of warning, and some goats tried to ram them. Anyway later they learnt the lesson.
Gray mongoose
Date: 05/27/2007
Mongooses are pretty common to spot but hard to photograph as they very shy and disappear in a jiffy. This guy was quite curious and stopped for a short while before going inside the shrubs.
House Sparrow
Date: 05/26/2007
House sparrows used to be so common in cities like bangalore 10 years back, now they are almost extinct in town areas. I shot this guy in a resort in Bandipur.
Crested serpent eagle yoga
Date: 05/26/2007
This guy is probably trying yogasan with one leg in the air and spreading open his wings. Fun aside, this guy was I think trying to dry his wings after a shower hit the forests
crested hawk eagle stare
Date: 05/19/2007
Also known as changeable hawk eagle, this is a very powerful raptor of South India. Its quite curious and brave, though we were pretty close, it never flew too far and kept staring at us.
crested hawk eagle perplexed
Date: 05/19/2007
Saw this guy in the morning while driving up the hill, though he was quite surprised to find couple of pipes pointing at him, something else caught his eye and he flew across us just before giving this one last pose.
Elephant crossing
Date: 05/19/2006
This elephant was in a group with a calf, so the group did a mock charge on us and finally ran across the road to go into a water hole on the other side of the road. Being close to a mother elephant with a calf is the most dangerous situation one can be in these parts of the jungle.
Worker bee
Date: 03/25/2007
This is a worker bee collecting pollen from the coffee flower, as you can see its got small packets of pollen attached to its legs almost like missile career aircrafts, during the coffee blossom season, all worker bees collect pollen and drop it at their hive and again resume the process. Some worker bees which don't work are often killed by other worker bees.
Elephant calf feeding
Date: 04/08/2007
Elephants when are with their calfs are the most dangerous. They are too protective to let anyone come into even a huge boundary around. The only time to get close to them is when there is a huge herd around.
Elephant dust
Date: 04/06/2007
During the summers, the only place which is rich is the backwaters, along with water and grass to feed on, they provide nutrients. The elephants kick the ground and dig to get their quota of daily nutrients in the rich soil.
Band of elephants
Date: 04/08/2007
Its summer and all these elephants have go together at the kabini backwaters, its a good time enjoyed with water, grass, soil nutrients and friends. Till they again get back to the jungle and get back in the evening.
Spotted Owlet yawn
Date: 03/07/2007
Spotted owlets are pretty commonly seen in and around towns and places of human habitation, like all owls this owl ofcourse has been up all night and is now too busy yawning
Paradise Flycatcher habitat
Date: 02/18/2007
This is how, the male paradise flycatcher attracts the female. It stands out in the jungle. And though they are inside thickets the white robe makes it so obvious. And the long streamers dance around when they fly, which is like a ballet.
Eurasian house martin
Date: 02/17/2007
The martins nest on edges of bridges, and such constructions. Close to a water body. This was a bridge on the Supa river, where one can see tons of Malabar pied hornbills.
Asiatic Lioness
Date: 02/04/2007
This was shot at the Tyavarekoppa (10km from Shivamogga), this is one of my very few shots in captivity. I usually don't shoot captive animals. But the animals at this sanctuary were really looking wild and well nourished. So did want to capture them, and also shooting through an inch wide mesh can be quite an adventure
Koel
Date: 01/28/2007
This was shot on the last day of a fruitful trip, we had seen around 7 sloth bears, 3 elephants but I had still got a good shot, just when I was packing my camera, saw this guy peep out from the neighboring tree.
Tusker
Date: 02/12/2007
The asiatic elephant is the charm of south indian jungles. Some go as far to say "if there's no elephant, its not a jungle". And my trip to the jungles without seeing one is not quite a trip. This particular tusker was a frequent visitor to the waterhole in a friend's farm on the fringe of the Mudumalai sanctuary
Rhino couple
Date: 03/12/2006
The rhinos are found in the grasslands of Kaziranga, to see them one has to go on an elephant ride, as they are pretty dangerous when one is on a jeep or on foot, and also the places they inhabit cannot be reached via jeeps. On an elephant one gets to go pretty close to these guys
Rhino
Date: 03/12/2006
Kaziranga, where this was shot, has the world's single largest breeding population of Indian rhinoceros, with the 2006 census estimating the present population to be around 1855, around 70% of the world's total wild population of 2700.
Just married
Date: 07/15/2006
The male is finally yawning after trying to shoo away the photographers for a long time as he also figured we are not a threat. But it looks like the couple have been having a long marriage.
