Malabar Whistling Thrush — Whistling Schoolboy — Myophonus horsfieldii — Muscicapidae family

Those who do not know Malabar Whistling Thrush, will be surprised to know that the bird sings very similar to human whistling. Sometimes, locals call it Whistling Schoolboy! Its scientific name is Myophonus horsfieldii. It belongs to Muscicapidae family of birds.



With its ink-blue shoulders, the Malabar Whistling Thrush wears a different kind of beauty. At first, looking from far, you will be confused whether the bird jumping from branch to branch and diving down suddenly is a crow or a cuckoo. Closing in is not easy. So! The long lens becomes useful. Hope you are delighted to see the beautiful Malabar Whistling Thrush here in this post.

At Purandar Fort

That walk was so nice! At Purandar Fort, after parking our motorbike, we went for the trail that takes to the top of the fort. It is a normal trail walk in the beginning that gets harder moving ahead. But it was joyous. Returned with extreme sun-tan that took a week to get rid of, scenic sights memorized and photographed are well kept with me. Here is me photographed by my super-photographer wife with her great eye for creativity.

Gangotra flower [AKA Bandhaniya / बनधनिया, गंगोत्रा, Gal phulle / गल फुल्ले] - scientific name: Cyathocline purpurea - of sunflower family [Asteraceae] - Synomyms: Tanacelum purpureum, Cyathochine lyrata

A misty morning in Konkan on our dusky drive from our stay to a nearby beach was so beautiful that it has left a lifetime photograph in my mind. Some glimpses my camera could pixel are equally beautiful. Bunches of small wild purple-colored flower named Gangotra made heavenly sight to see. Here I share you with some photographs of the beautiful Gangotra flower that is also known as Bandhaniya and Gal phulle. In Hindi language, it is written as गंगोत्रा, बनधनिया and गल फुल्ले. Perhaps, Gal phulle is how it is called in Nepal. The flower is surprisingly widespread! The scientific name of the beautiful purple flower is Cyathocline purpurea. And secondary-surprisingly, Gangotra flower belongs to sunflower family [Asteraceae family in science terms]. The scientific synonyms of Gangotra flower are Tanacelum purpureum and Cyathochine lyrata.

Enjoy the beauty!

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Tribal child

We were so surprised to see a tribal community just around 5 kilometers from the city of Lonavala! It was super-contrasting. On one side, the city-crowd was enjoying the modern life, and on the other side, the tribal community was enjoying the life from the time gone by! There is a partially drivable trail to Rajmachi from Lonavala; the location the trail passes through is extremely scenic and unbelievable to be adjoining a city. Enroute, there is a small patch of a few huts of a tribal community.

People usually walk the trail passing along the huts of the tribe. The tribal children out there were a bit curious to see us on motorbikes. It is not that they have not seen motorbikes, but it is rare out there! One of the curious children gave a neat pose. Here it is in this post :)

Forest trails of Ranthambhore National Park

It was just awesome! Our timing to visit the Ranthambhore National Park was good and bad, both. Early monsoon ruined our season-timing to spot the tiger, but the same early monsoon delighted us with the picturesque trails, landscapes and terrains of Ranthambhore that are not seen by the most. Here I present you with some glimpses of the beautiful forest trails of the "jungle book" Ranthambhore National Park…

Female Olive-backed Sunbird [Also known as Yellow-bellied Sunbird] - Scientific name: Cinnyris jugularis

Tired of searching for the tiger inside the forest, we were returning back to exit the gate of Ranthambhore National Park. Even though disappointed to miss any tiger sighting, seeing peacocks, deer, rabbits, owls, monitor lizards, etc. in their natural habitat was highly pleasing for the soul. This female Olive-backed Sunbird was yet another delight out there. Chirping and swiftly flying here-n-there, sitting back on the same branches, it was truly a joyous being. Fortunately, the pretty little bird allowed some good photographs. One out of those is above in this post.

Olive-backed Sunbird is also known as Yellow-bellied Sunbird. Its scientific name is Cinnyris jugularis.

Pink water lilies

I have photographed these beautiful water lilies at Hadshi. Reaching there early in the morning was so good. The morning light made these water lilies look way more beautiful.