Lifescapes Gallery

He’s very successful at his vocation, but the White-throated Kingfisher of Coorg is definitely not one of those brooding, silent killers so beloved of Hitchcock fans; he prefers to announce his presence with a loud chuckle or a staccato laugh that suggests he’s not short of gallows humour, even if the joke’s lost on his Read more >>

White-throated Kingfisher, Coorg | Posted in Birds, Coorg | 12 Comments »

Being mugged is every traveller’s nightmare. Being mugged and then consumed as the main course in a mugger’s banquet, is the stuff that makes it to the horror movie hall of fame. But being killed and converted into a Smoothie to be slurped at leisure, takes the (dis)honours and is certainly not something you’d like Read more >>

Robber Fly, Coorg | Posted in Coorg, Insects | 8 Comments »

Whether you’re part of the Dragonfly Squadron, the Butterfly Command, or the Bug & Beetle Corps, you’d do well to steer clear of the airspace around Kabini. This is a biospheric Bermuda triangle, where identified flying objects fly in but don’t fly out, and nothing’s heard of them ever after. This ‘No Fly’ zone is Read more >>

Asian Paradise-flycatcher, Kabini | Posted in Birds, Kabini | 8 Comments »

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the prettiest pharmacist of them all? Just meander along the bejeweled emerald aisles of Coorg, and the answer will leave you in no doubt. After all, which other apothecary is so cheerful and inviting, bedecked in brilliant shades of yellow and red, reaching out majestically with wispy green tendrils? Read more >>

Glory Lily, Coorg | Posted in Coorg, Flora | 11 Comments »

You hear a Babbler issuing a shrill warning from behind a bush. Then you hear the sudden alarm call of a Thrush. What follows is a cacophony of vociferous voices in various bird languages, much like a plenary session of the United Nations. Where the lay observer would expect to find an agitated avian congregation, Read more >>

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Coorg | Posted in Birds, Coorg | 11 Comments »

In this age of reality shows and talent hunts, there’s somebody who’ll fly away with all the honours if there was to be a test of cross-terrain adaptability for the animal kingdom. When it comes to hunting in the waters of the Kabini, the Osprey, or Fish Eagle, prefers to let his talons do his Read more >>

Osprey, Kabini | Posted in Birds, Kabini | 14 Comments »

The measure of a good coffee in South India is often a function of the ‘lengths’ to which the coffee maker is prepared to go to mix his concoction. The man seen here, nonchalantly drawing a meter-long string of decoction and milk, from one arm to the other, is a minor celebrity of sorts in Read more >>

Meter Coffee, Coorg | Posted in Coorg, Culture | 11 Comments »

In the grasslands of Kabini, which boast some of the world’s largest concentration of herbivores and their predators, the one constant of life…is death. Here, where the various roles in the food chain are played out unerringly on a daily basis, the consequence of such a well stocked larder is a large proportion of leftovers. Read more >>

Long-billed Vulture, Kabini | Posted in Birds, Kabini | 9 Comments »

He’s small, cheerful, and is known to be a good singer, often humming a gentle tune under his breath as he goes about his business. What stands out, however, is the audience reaction to his songs, which varies from frustrated sighs, to strangulated oaths and the odd expletive tossed his way. For the paddy farmers Read more >>

Scaly-breasted Munia, Coorg | Posted in Birds, Coorg | 13 Comments »

Meet a very different kind of wolf. This isn’t the two-legged kind that whistles at bus-stops as curvy specimens of the opposite gender pass by. Nor does he make eyes at them, though that would be a bit of an overdose, considering he has eight eyes of varying sizes. And eight legs to beat a Read more >>

Grassland Funnel Web Spider, Coorg | Posted in Arachnids, Coorg | 23 Comments »