Nishith Pursnani - Wildlife Photographer

🦉 Birds !! 🐣

Birds of India

India has a lot of beautiful and colourful species of birds and is also home to many of endemic and endangered species of birds. As of 2021 there are in total 1364 species of birds found in India, of which 81 are endemic to India and 212 species are globally threatened.

Indian Pitta

Indian Roller

Common kingfisher

White-throated kingfisher

Indian golden oriole

Purple Rumped Sunbird

White-bellied drongo

Hoopoe

Asian Koel

Black Redstart

Tickells Blue Flycatcher

Golden Fonted Leaf Bird

Indian Vulture

Cinereous Vulture

Red Headed Vulture

Himalayan Griffon Vulture

Honey Buzzard

Osprey

lesser golden-backed woodpecker

Yellow-crowned Woodpecker

Spotted Owlet

Jungle Owlet

Brown fish Owl

Indian scops Owl

Indian white-eye

Red-vented bulbul

Indian paradise flycatcher

Verditer flycatcher

Nilgiri wood pigeon

Jungle babbler

Grey francolin

shrike

Short-toed snake eagle

Black stork

Asian openbill stork

Painted stork

🐾Wild Cats !! 🐾

🐅 Tiger (Panthera tigris) 🐅

Tigers are the largest cat species in the world. An apex predator, a tiger primarily preys on ungulates, such as deer and wild boar. Tigers are solitary hunters, and generally search for food alone at night. They are also good at swimming and their roar can be heard as far as three kilometres away.The tiger is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. As of 2015, the global wild tiger population was estimated to number between 3,062 and 3,948 mature individuals. India currently hosts the largest tiger in wild population. Major reasons for population decline are habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation and poaching.
The Bengal tiger is a subspecies of the Panthera tigris tigris sometimes referred to as the mainland Asian tigers found in India. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today.India's tiger population was estimated at 2,603 to 3,346 individuals by 2018.

Scientific name: Panthera tigris tigris .

Lifespan: 10 to 12 years (In the wild).

Conservation status: Endangered.

Speed: 49 to 65 km/h (In Short Bursts).

Order: Carnivora.

Mass: 90 to 310 kg (Male, Adult), 65 to 170 kg (Female, Adult).

Tiger cub from Umred Pauni Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra, India

Tigeress from Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India

Tiger from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India

Tiger cub from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India

Tiger cub with Tigress from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India

Tiger from Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India

Tigress from Umred Pauni Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra, India

Tigress from Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India

Tiger from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India

Tigress from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India

Tiger from Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India

🐆 Leopard (Panthera pardus) 🐆

Leopards are powerful large cats closely related to lions, tigers, and jaguars. They live in sub-Saharan Africa, northeast Africa, Central Asia, India, and China. You can identify most leopards by their light color and distinctive dark spots called as rosettes(as they resemble the shape of a rose). like Tigers, leopards are also solitary creatures.
The Indian leopard is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. The species Panthera pardus is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Indian leopards mostly prey on Chital, Sambar and langur, but they are also known to prey on Spotted Deer, Nilai, Wild Pig, cattle, hare, dog and porcupine. As of 2020, the leopard population within forested habitats in India's tiger range landscapes was estimated at 12,172 to 13,535 individuals.

Scientific name: Panthera pardus fusca.

Lifespan: 12 to 17 years (In the wild).

Conservation status: Vulnerable.

Speed: 58 km/h (Maximum, Running).

Order: Carnivora.

Mass: 50 to 77 kg (Male, Adult), 29 to 34 kg (Female, Adult).

Leopard from Jhalana Forest Reserve, Rajasthan, India

Leopard Cub from Jhalana Forest Reserve, Rajasthan, India

Leopard from Jhalana Forest Reserve, Rajasthan, India

Leopard Cub from Jhalana Forest Reserve, Rajasthan, India

🦁 Lion (Panthera leo) 🦁

The lion is a large cat native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body, short, rounded head, round ears, and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. lions are social species, forming groups called prides. A lion's pride consists of a few adult males,females, and cubs. Male protect the prides whereas female lions usually hunt, preying mostly on large ungulates.
The Asiatic lion is a subspecies of lion that today survives in the wild only in India. It was also known as the Indian lion. These lions are quite similar to African lions both in appearance and size. However, they are slightly smaller compared to their African relatives. The male Asiatic lion has a relatively short, sparse and darker mane compared to the fuller mane of the African lion and The Asiatic lion's diet is made up of both large and small mammal prey such as deer, wild boar and antelope. The species has also been known to feed on domestic cattle. Presently, its range has been restricted to Gir National Park and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of Gujarat. Historically, it inhabited much of the Middle East to northern India. Their population has steadily increased since 2010 . In June 2020, an estimation exercise counted 674 Asiatic lions in the Gir forest region.

Scientific name: Panthera leo persica.

Lifespan: 16 to 18 years (In the wild).

Conservation status: Endangered.

Speed: 56 km/h (Maximum, Running).

Order: Carnivora.

Mass: 160 to 190 kg (Male, Adult), 110 to 120 kg (Female, Adult).

Lion pride from Gir National Park, Gujarat, India.

Lioness from Gir National Park, Gujarat, India.

Lioness with 2 cubs from Gir National Park, Gujarat, India.

🐞Bugs and Butterflies 🦋

The insects are known to be the most successful and diverse animals on earth. They have adopted for almost every conceivable type of environment from the equator to the arctic and from sea level to the snowfield of highest mountains, on land, in air and water and almost everywhere. The insects are considerably estimated to comprise more than 75 percent of the known species of the animals.
Estimates of the total number of insect species, or those within specific orders, often vary considerably. Globally, averages of these estimates suggest there are around 1.5 million beetle species and 5.5 million insect species, with about 1 million insect species currently found on earth and are described.
India hosts three of the world's biodiversity hotspots which are the Western Ghats, the Eastern Himalayas, and the hilly ranges bordering India, each having numerous endemic species.
The national insect of India is Butterfly and according to the Zoological Survey of India, there are 1,318 species of butterflies in India. The butterflies from the family Papilionidae or Swallowtails are considered the national insect of India.