Common mormon female, papilio polytes form stichius, just out of its pupa. You can see the pupa just below the butterfly, on the curry leaf plant murraya koenigii, which served as its host plant.

It is always fascinating to have a closer look (isn’t it?! Click on the images for larger versions). See the pattern on the eyes and how its nectar tube is coiled in.

Getting basked in the daylight before its first flight. Check the iridescent powder like dots on its wings, which are actually tiny scales. These scales are said to serve different purposes, like keeping it water proof, deterring predators, etc.

Photographs from Oct 2007 @ home, Kottayam, Kerala.

Related posts

• Intimacy with Insects: mayfly on my keyboard (7)
• Intimacy with Insects: lady bug (7)
• the small copper (11)
• the peacock butterfly (8)
• butterfly mating and marmots at the alps (0)

Tags: butterfly, common mormon, curry leaf, first flight, host plant, insect, intimacy, murraya koenigii, nectar, nectar tube, papilio polytes, papilio polytes stichius, pupa

No Comments »

One day we heard a lot of commotion just outside of our house. We saw 3 or 4 purple sunbirds, red whiskered bulbuls and yellow browed bulbuls at the same location, hovering and squeaking around. Though the possibility of a snake was there, it was ruled out because we saw a crow-pheasant (greater coucal) nearby, which is another enemy and nest raider of the smaller birds. Probably there is some bird nest nearby and the crow-pheasant was after it.

The greater coucal, Centropus sinensis, at the scene of action.

As usual, we took our camera and though the birds were in a distance, captured some photographs. These photographs were taken on 15 Feb 2008, from our home at Kerala. As usual, the photographs were processed and closely checked very late, more than a year later. We were taken in for a surprise. All of a sudden there is a snake in the picture! That too, a long snake with its long tail entwined all over the all-spices tree in our backyard…

The male purple sunbird, cinnyris asiaticus (~ nectarinia asiatica), as you see, is in the breeding plumage. They are glossy purple during breeding time and have brownish upper and greyish-white under sides during non-breeding time. You can see the predating snake sneaking through the all-spices tree on the right.

Birds, especially the smaller ones, have an effective (well, sometimes) defense system against snakes. If one of them finds a snake, they make sure that the whole world knows about it, by flapping and chirping out loud. This brings the rest of the community to the scene of action. Altogether, they make an aggressive attempt to mob and drive the snake away.

Red whiskered bulbuls, pycnonotus jocosus, at the scene of action. We had earlier discovered that the red whiskered bulbuls are nesting nearby. Some of these >> red whiskered bulbul nests were photographed around the same time. So it is of ultimate interest to both these birds to get rid of the enemy off their domain.

Yellow browed bulbul, lole indica, at the scene of action.

Related posts

• red whiskered bulbul (4)
• the great papaya fight (9)
• the elusive frogmouth and the cup fungi (2)
• indian treepie (4)
• great cormorants; silhouettes & orchestrated nest building (9)

Tags: bird nest, birds, birds of kerala, breeding, centropus sinensis, cinnyris asiaticus, crow pheasant, lole indica, nectarinia asiatica, nest, plumage, purple sunbird, Pycnonotus jocosus, red whiskered bulbul, snake, sunbird, yellow browed bulbul

2 Comments »

The male orange tip butterfly, striking a majestic pose, with its legs firmly placed on the plant and err.. the female orange tip below…

Orange tips (anthocharis cardamines) are common across Europe and found in some regions of Asia with temperate climates. The male has the characteristic orange tip on its forewings while the tips are greyish for the female.

and… for a better view of the tranquil mating…

Well, somebody else is not quite happy with their tranquil mating. Another male orange tip flies on to interrupt the pair.

All these happened in this beautiful valley of the Alps, at Valsavarence, Vale d’Aosta in Italy.

The Alps host a wide range of endemic species of the animal kingdom, including the alpine marmots (marmota marmota). Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. You can see the main burrow of a marmot family here. This burrow is just a part of their larger underground networking system. The whole terrain would be full of holes and burrows interconnected. We found this while following an ibex, an alpine antelope, and my foot got into many of those numerous marmot holes.

Interestingly, close relatives to the alpine marmots are found at Ladakh in India too.

More pictures from Aosta Valley are at our Nature Italia Gallery   <<<  

Aosta Valley is 2 hours from Turin, and near the French border. We were stationed at Valsavarenche, in the Gran Paradiso National Park, which is the oldest national park of Italy.

Related posts

• the small copper (11)
• the peacock butterfly (8)
• mating (11)
• kozhikode and kuttichira mishkal mosque (9)
• Intimacy with Insects: common mormon butterfly (0)

Tags: alpine, alps, anthocharis cardamines, aosta, butterfly, gran paradiso, ibex, italy, marmot, marmota, marmots, mating, orange tip, valley, valsavarenche

No Comments »

“This is my papaya!”

“No, this is mine!”

Reminiscing the great papaya fight of 2005 through an old photograph.

Rufous Treepie and Small Green Barbet competing for the papaya.

Birds of Kerala

Related posts

• കേരളത്തിലെ പക്ഷികള്‍ (25)
• indian treepie (4)
• the elusive frogmouth and the cup fungi (2)
• red whiskered bulbul (4)
• nest raiders at our backyard (2)

Tags: barbet, birds, birds of kerala, dendrocitta vagabunda, indian treepie, megalaima viridis, papaya, rufous treepie, small green barbet, treepie, white cheeked barbet

9 Comments »

A few days at kozhikode opened up a myriad of reasons in our heart to say that it is one of the best places we have been, so far. The varied cultural/historical/architectural diversities which it still preserves, the astounding friendliness rendered by the people, the geographical beauty along with the beaches, all made kozhikode a place close to our heart.

Kozhikode was supposed to be only a ’stop by’ during our kerala trip. It ended up as one of our  major destinations. One reason could be the contrast in the regions within kerala. Though we belong to the pala (specifically bharananganam) nazrani achayan clan, boasting a  rich cultural and traditional backup, much of it is on the fading route. This could be one of the reasons that kozhikode, less influenced by westernization and still preserving a lot of its unique culture, came up as a heaven on earth for us.

Kuttichira community
The city centre itself is filled with a lot of smaller localities surrounding mosques and temples. One of our first venture was the Kuttichira community, specifically the Mishkal Mosque, Kuttichira Tank and the Juma Masjid. Though we started off as enthusiastic tourists, we ended up researching the history, culture, architecture and the community of the area. The local community were a lot enthusiastic to provide information, which showed their friendliness.

Mishkal Mosque at Kuttichira, Kozhikode, was built by Nakhuda Mishkal in the 14th century. Nakhuda Mishkal was a renowned trader and ship owner from Yemen. As you can see, the mosque was designed in the traditional kerala architecture of that period.

The Mishkal Mosque at Kuttichira stands as a symbol of communal harmony. In 1510 AD, the Portuguese had attacked the mosque and partially destroyed it. Supposedly, their mission was to divide and rule, breaking the harmony between hindus and muslims. The Samoothiri (Zamorin), the local ruler at that time, didn’t fall for this and helped in defending and repairing the mosque. 

The mosque was 5 storeyed, but after the destruction, it remained as a 4 storeyed structure. The walls of the mosque, except the ground floor are made of wood. Remnants of the portuguese destruction can still be seen on the upmost floor.

Do you know that the burka/purdah came to Kerala as part of the fashion and modernity, which was Arab influenced?

The kids in the locality actively involved in performing before our video/still cameras too.

As per the local residents: the area surronding this vast pool is a place akin to the Piazzas (Squares) of Italy, where the locals meet and the day/nightlife activities are carried out.

Shoal of fishes at the Kuttichira Tank…

Thanks to all Kuttichira residents for opening up a new world for us! We will surely visit you again.

More photographs on the Kuttichira Mishkal area are available at http://www.rocksea.org/images/kerala/

Geographical Location of the Kuttichira Mishkal Mosque is given below. Switch to the Hybrid or Satellite mode of the map, Zoom In, and you can see a tiny blue-white mosque and a large rectangular tank! Easily accessible by road from the Beach Road.

Related posts

• kerala christian names, their origin and english equivalents (44)
• The only Reason (9)
• roots (24)
• onam with nature (16)
• mating (11)

Tags: achayan, beach road, bharananganam, calicut, communal harmony, culture, hindus and muslims, italy, juma masjid, kerala, kozhikode, kuttichira, Kuttichira tank, mishkal, mishkal mosque, mosque, nakhuda mishkal, nazrani, pala, piazza, portuguese, religion, samoothiri, temple, tradition, westernization, zamorin

9 Comments »