Tommie’s & Grant’s are antelope brothers (or sisters) on East African plains. The Tommy is smaller, has a black side stripe and has normally two horns unlike this unlucky one (1&2) that I met in the #mara. 3 &4 show the Graceful Grant’s Galloping Gamely! #Antelope #Alliteration

Wonderful to be acknowledged by the Karnataka Forest Department for our services to the state and #elephants. Wildlife Trust of India ifaw Whitley Fund for Nature IUCN SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group IUCN Species Survival Commission PCCF WL & CWLW, Odisha

The Topi means a hat in Hindi. The peculiar headdress of this African antelope gives it the same name, given by the British who used the word in colonial English for their pith helmet. The #mara is full of them as evinced by these photos from all times of the day and at sunset.

Call them Cute or label them Ugly, warthogs are pigs with Character. See these twins pose for the camera up close or to them with the classic #african #acacia which is now called a #vachelia!! #masaimara #Kenya #mammalwatch

So happy that Wildlife Trust of India #pangolins project has resulted in Kashung Tennyson, President, Tangkhul Naga Wungnao Long, Tangkhul Headman Association signing a landmark resolution BANNING HUNTING & CONSUMPTION of PANGOLINS in Tangkhul Naga Territories (230 villages of Manipur!)

Sometimes, a portrait of a common bird can be stunning as well. Are helmeted guineafowl not quite striking birds? Don’t you agree that the cerulean blue & crimson face sets off that spotted cloak brilliantly while the upstanding unicorn horn gives it a mythical aura? IndiAves

Driving along the #masaimara I saw the enormous wings of a Secretary bird, a ground living bird of prey, take in the draught and knew instinctively that it would fly. The camera caught it awkwardly take a short soar, legs splayed, onto its nest! Nice to see. IndiAves

From my African tour let me take you to #texas #usa🇺🇸! First the amazing Whooping Cranes at Goose island & Aransas where they winter in small numbers. The rarest crane in the world is also #Americas tallest bird! See their size compared to the smaller Sandhills in the last 2 pix

Americans call their Buteo buzzards, hawks. Never mind, they are quite gorgeous! The Red-shouldered Hawk is smaller & prettier with horizontal stripes not vertical like the Red-tailed! The bright rufous tail when the adult flies is stunning unlike the pale juvenile (4) IndiAves

The Northern Harrier is what the name suggests. A harrier of small rodents and Lagomorphs which scurry to their burrows as the slight yet ominous shadow of the low flying #raptor skims the grass. This pair put on a magnificent aerial show for me in #texas IndiAves

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The White tailed Hawk is not a Buteo! But I would still think it has more buzzard in it or buzzard-eagle! A large, handsome soot and snow raptor with a chestnut shoulder & a flashing black bordered white tail, it posed well in the marshes of San Bernard NWR. IndiAves

The other White-tailed in the marshes of southern Texas is its sub-species of the White-tailed deer, a good looking pale fawn cervid with white throat, inner ears and a flash of the tail as it takes off reminiscent of the hawk! Very common through #texas #wildlife

The best wildlife sighting I had as I walked a trail at Edith Moore WR was a nine-banded armadillo collecting leaves for its nest. I am afraid it dropped its precious cargo as it saw me and took cover under a park bench. I retreated to allow it to continue its interesting quest!

#mammalwatching is not only about large charismatic carnivores! I got just as much fun watching the common raccoon climb a tree, the uncommon swamp rabbit hop through the marsh or rodents like the large coypu & even the Hispid Cotton Rat as it fed on grain left for birds!

#InternationalPrimateDay Saki is a wine-bearing companion in Urdu poetry, the pen name of a famous writer (HH Munro) in literature and the most astounding primate I have seen (in captivity)! Woolly #monkeys with a long tail, Sakis are South American in distribution. Male & female

There cant be anything as grand in colour, size and charisma among birds as the macaws, the emperors of the #parrot world. Here are portraits of four macaws. The Scarlet & the Red and Gold (1&2) close up shows differences The Blue & Gold (3)is unmistakable as is the Military (4)

Can pigeons not look as stunning as parrots? The scintillating iridescence of the Pheasant Pigeon, the crested flamboyance of the Victoria Crowned, the virgin white of the Pied Imperial and the Grey topped emerald of the Green Imperial bear testament to their ability! IndiAves

Malkohas & Oropendolas have similarity in being chunky birds with wicked beaks, colourful eyes and bold plumage. Here the similarity stops. The malkohas (like this chestnut breasted) are south East Asian Cuckoos while the oropendolas (like this crested) are New World blackbirds.

Ospreys are monotypic (only member of family) & cosmopolitan fish eaters found across the globe’s fresh waters. In Texas, I saw the North American sub-species (carolinensis), the largest of them all, with no breast streaking in the male. An impressive #birdofprey IndiAves