Dry tree

Indian dog

This cute little Indian dog was a bit curious about everything around. So I got curious about it, and took this photograph — the cute and poor Indian dog.

Aghori

Elephant Statue

A few years back, we went to Agroha in Haryana. It is a temple of Agrasen Maharaj. The art in every form there was beautiful. One such example was this elegantly sculpted and painted elephant statue. How creative! And oh yes, do take a look at another statue I have published in the past, from Agroha — a Shehnai player.

Isn't the elephant statue beautiful?

Happy Makar Sankranti 2014

Asian Paradise Flycatcher

Scientifically known as Terpsiphone paradisi, the Asian Paradise Flycatcher is a beautiful bird of medium-size found in Asia. As the name suggests, they eat flies! The best part is, they catch them on the flight. Due to this behavior, they look like dancing in the air especially the males with their beautiful long tails. It is a beautiful sight to see.



The Indian name of Asian Paradise Flycatchers is Swargiya Nartak [स्वर्गीय नर्तक], which means Dancer of the Heaven due to their dance-like flying style.



There is a peculiar belief [or maybe truth] that there are 2 male plumages of Asian Paradise Flycatcher:
1] White body and tail [first photo]
2] Brown body and tail [twenty second photo]

Some believe that the second type is a juvenile or a sub-adult.

Female Asian Paradise Flycatchers have brown body, white belly, short brown tail, grey-black head, blue beak, blue eye-border, blue legs. They look quite similar to the second type of male mentioned above, with short tail.



Asian Paradise Flycatcher looks an exotic bird, and we may believe at first sight that it must be endangered [me too thought so]. But Asian Paradise Flycatcher is categorized as Least Concerned by IUCN [International Union for Conservation of Nature].



Here is a beautiful set of photographs of Asian Paradise Flycatcher. Enjoy!