The Blue Tiger

The Blue Tiger, Tirumala limniace is a common butterfly which I was able to photograph while visiting the Adyar Poonga. It belongs to the Danaid group (commonly known as crows and tigers) of the Brush-footed butterfly family, Nymphalidae. This butterfly shows gregarious migratory behaviour in southern India. The migratory populations have been observed mostly to consist of males.

It is a medium-sized butterfly with both wings having bluish-white semihyaline spots and streaks on a black background.

Tirumala limniace

The butterfly larva generally feed on plants of Family Asclepiadaceae. The host plants include Asclepias, Calotropis and Crotalaria. Larva is yellowish-white, with a pair of fleshy black and greenish white filaments on the 3rd and 12th segments. The chrysalis is green with golden scattered spots.

The White-throated Kingfisher

The White-throated Kingfisher, Halcyon smyrnensis also known as the White-breasted Kingfisher or Smyrna Kingfisher, is a tree kingfisher which is widely distributed. This kingfisher is a resident over much of its range, and may only move short distances.

Photographed this feathered gem while returning from Adyar Poonga, the wetlands eco-restoration project currently underway along 58 acres adjoining the Adyar Creek and river.

Halcyon smyrnensis

This is a large kingfisher, about 11 inches in length. The adult has a bright blue back, wings and tail. Its head, shoulders, flanks and lower belly are chestnut, and the throat and breast are white. The large bill and legs are red in colour. The flight is rapid and direct, the short rounded wings whirring. In flight, large white patches are visible on the blue and black wings. Sexes are similar, but juveniles are a duller version of the adult.

The call of this kingfisher is a chuckling chake-ake-ake-ake-ake. They are particularly noisy in the breeding season. It perches conspicuously on wires or other exposed perches within its territory, and is a frequent sight. It can be spotted quite far from any water body. This species mainly hunts large crustaceans, insects, earthworms, rodents, snakes, fish and frogs.

Indian Peafowl

Was lucky to photograph this Indian Peacock, Pavo cristatus while out walking early morning in Kalakshetra. This is a young male taking its morning walk:-) The Indian Peafowl is a resident breeder in the Indian subcontinent. The related species, Pavo muticus or the Green Peafowl breeds from Burma east to Java.

Pavo cristatus

The species is found in dry semi-desert grasslands, scrub and deciduous forests. It forages and nests on the ground but roosts on top of trees. It eats seeds, insects, fruits, small mammals and reptiles.

The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen. The Indian Peacock has iridescent blue-green plumage. Peafowl are most notable for the male’s extravagant display feathers which, despite actually growing from their back, are known as a ‘tail’. The upper tail coverts on its back are elongated and ornate with an eye at the end of each feather. These are the Peacock’s display feathers. The colours of the feathers are a consequence of the micro-structure of the feathers, which diffracts light much like the rainbow of colours displayed by an oil film on water.The female plumage is a mixture of dull green, grey and iridescent blue, with the greenish-grey predominating. In the non-breeding season the females can be distinguished from males by the green colour of the neck as opposed to the blue of the males. Females are about 34 in long and weigh 2.75–4 kg, while males average at about 7 feet in full breeding plumage and 42 inches when not in breeding plumage and weigh 4–6 kg.