5th instar caterpillar of Great Mormon (Papilio memnon agenor)

5th instar caterpillar of Great Mormon (Papilio memnon agenor)

Place : Chisopani, Singtam, East Sikkim 
Date: March 31, 2014
Pic: Shital Pradhan

Buceros bicornis (Great Pied Hornbill- Male and female) - Sikkim Bird

Buceros bicornis (Great Pied Hornbill - Female)

Other name: Great Hornbill, Great Indian Hornbill

Venue: Sawney, Singtam, East Sikkim

Date: March 31, 2014

Pic: Pritam Shilal

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Coraciiformes
Family:	Bucerotidae
Subfamily:	Bucerotinae
Genus:	Buceros
Species:	B. bicornis

Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus (Great Black-headed Gull) - Sikkim Bird

  Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus (Great Black-headed Gull)

Place : Singtam, East Sikkim 

Other name:
Fish Gull, Great Black-headed Gull, Pallas's Gull

Date: Marh 21, 2014
Pic: Santosh Sharma

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Laridae
Genus:	Ichthyaetus
Species:	I. ichthyaetus               Source : Wikipedia:

Ficedula strophiata (Rufous gorgeted flycatcher) - Sikkim Bird

Ficedula strophiata (Rufous gorgeted flycatcher)

Place : Shantinagar, Singtam, East Sikkim 

Other name:
Orange-gorgetted Flycatcher, Orange-gorgeted Flycatcher, Orange-breasted Flycatcher, Red-throated Flycatcher

Local Name:  
Lepcha : Phatttagrakpho, 
Nepali: Siphya 

Date: Marh 2, 2014
Pic: Shital Pradhan 

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Muscicapidae
Genus:	Ficedula
Species:	F. strophiata	Source : Wikipedia

Two birds; two stories

I am new to bird watching and I am glad to say I am enjoying it. In the last two months I have come across more than 40 species of avian diversity. From the smallest of humming birds to the biggest, the Cormorants; the avian world is beautiful and beyond any comparisons. In recent times, I am very fond to two birds; sparrows as a whole and a common mynah particularly the one I had recently discovered that had a deformed upper mandible and I named him “Machindra”.

Couple of days back, we observed World Sparrow Day at Chisopani JHS, where I am a primary school teacher. The programme was a successful one and we saw large numbers of students participating at the event. From a bird hunter to surrendering their catapults was itself an achievement of the event. There were students who had been hunting birds in the wild for more than three years. To hear those students saying that they were wrong in doing so and they will in near future protect those harmless birds tell us the success of our programme. We might have been late in introducing such kinds of programme but it is for sure our intention and motive has hit the right cord. It was only during the awareness interaction between the resource persons and the students I came to know most of the beautiful birds and beautifully singing birds belong to male category.

Little did I have thought that the concrete jungles we human are creating are one of the reasons for the downfall of the House Sparrow locally called “Bhangerra” (Nepali language). That small creature likes wooden houses and live in the cavities of old houses which are now very hard to find. Due to lack of house factors, the house sparrow’s eggs gets destroy and their population is in a decrease. Today’s highly qualified civilization do not prefer to catch hold on nestling materials being dropped at their houses or gardens, is the other reason that people have left appreciating these small birds  Feeding sparrows are limited to lesser people compared to few decades back. There are various other reasons for the downfall of sparrow population but I am sure we all need to come together and save this small creature for the survival of our environment, for the balancing of the nature. Why not support these birds by having a bird nest and bird feeders at your house?

Few days back I came across a strange looking Common Mynah (“rupp-pee” as we call it in Nepali) at the verandah of my home, surprisingly its upper mandible had scrolled towards sky. I found it very strange and close to her was another rupp-pee walking side by side. I could not believe that the other bird was feeding grains to the malformed one. Amazingly I came to learn from source that male Common Mynahs are larger in size compared to the female. I found that normal looking Common Mynah’s bill was shorter than the deformed bird. To my notice, the deformed bird was larger than the other bird when together. So, does that mean a female bird was feeding the male one!!

The deformed bird visited me yesterday and since then I had given him (though still confused with its gender) a name “Machindra” that means mysterious. Several questions of how (!) raised within my small mind and believe me the bird seems so healthy despite its abnormality. I saw no sign of abnormality affecting him. I saw him walking perfectly, scratching his dorsal part as any other bird does and even recorded its high-pitched scream. Being a nature lover Machindra has caught my fancy and everyday in the morning I try to look for him, expecting something different to watch! Bird watching is fun and it is a pleasurable experience, do try it….!!

Megalaima franklinii (Golden-throated Barbet) - Sikkim Bird

Megalaima franklinii (Golden-throated Barbet)

Other name: Great Hornbill, Great Indian Hornbill

Venue: Tumin, East Sikkim

Date: March 8, 2014

Pic: Krishna Dahal

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Piciformes
Family:	Megalaimidae
Genus:	Megalaima
Species:	M. franklinii        Source: Wikipedia

Buceros bicornis (Great Pied Hornbill) - Sikkim Bird

Buceros bicornis (Great Pied Hornbill)

Other name: Great Hornbill, Great Indian Hornbill

Venue: Singtam, East Sikkim

Date: February 4, 2014

Pic: Krishna Dahal

Buceros bicornis (Great Pied Hornbill)

Other name: Great Hornbill, Great Indian Hornbill

Venue: Shantinagar, Singtam, East Sikkim

Date: June 8 2014

Pic: Shital Pradhan

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Coraciiformes
Family:	Bucerotidae
Subfamily:	Bucerotinae
Genus:	Buceros
Species:	B. bicornis

How beautiful was the moment...could not help myself smiling!

A normal common mynah feeding on another common mynah on it mouth was something extraordinary to watch. I saw this happen today at my residence at Shantinagar, Singtam. One of the little birds had a deformed upper mandible bill. It was curved against its evolution. I was gathering off my camera and I missed the moment of the other ‘rup-pee’ feeding the deformed one. How beautiful was the moment...could not help myself smiling. It stayed on the verandah facing me for couple of minutes and it moved away following its partner.

Interestingly, the bill of the deformed common mynah was bit longer and pointed as compared to the other bird. I had never come across such deformity on birds, felt sad but it had survived fighting against all odds. Humans need to take lesson from these small creatures.

Heterophasia capistrata (Rufous Sibia) - Sikkim Bird

Heterophasia capistrata (Rufous Sibia)

Venue: Near Tashi View Point,  Gangtok,  East Sikkim

Date: February 2, 2014

Pic: Santosh Sharma

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Leiothrichidae
Genus:	Heterophasia
Species:	H. capistrata	Source: Wikipedia

Macropygia unchall ( Barred Cuckoo-Dove) - Sikkim Bird

Macropygia unchall (Barred Cuckoo-Dove)

Venue: Duga,  East Sikkim

Date: February 2, 2014

Pic: Santosh Sharma

Macropygia unchall (Barred Cuckoo-Dove)

Venue: Duga,  East Sikkim

Date: February 2, 2014

Pic: Santosh Sharma

	Kingdom:	Animalia
	Phylum:	Chordata
	Class:	Aves
	Order:	Columbiformes
	Family:	Columbidae
	Genus:	Macropygia
	Species:	M. unchall

Zosterops palpebrosus (Indian White Eye / Oriental White-eye) - Sikkim Bird

Zosterops palpebrosus (Oriental White-eye)

Venue: Chisopani, Singtam,  East Sikkim

Date: February 20, 2014

Pic: Shital Pradhan

Zosterops palpebrosus (Oriental White-eye)

Venue: Sittey Forest, Rangpo,  East Sikkim

Date: February 2, 2014

Pic: Santosh Sharma

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Zosteropidae (disputed)
Genus:	Zosterops
Species:	Z. palpebrosus Source:Wikipedia

Tichodroma muraria (Wallcreeper) - Sikkim Bird

Tichodroma muraria (Wallcreeper) 

Venue: Rangpo,  East Sikkim

Date: January 25, 2014

Pic: Santosh Sharma

Class: Aves

Order : Passeriformes

Sub Order: Passeri

Infra order: Passerida

Familia: Tichodromadidae

Genus: Tichodroma

Species: T. muraria

 It is the only member of the genus Tichodroma.

Pericrocotus speciosus (Scarlet Minivet - Male and Female) - Sikkim Bird

Pericrocotus speciosus (Scarlet Minivet - Male and Female)

Venue: Chisopani, Singtam,  East Sikkim

Date: March 12, 2014

Pic: Shital Pradhan

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Campephagidae
Genus:	Pericrocotus
Species:	P. speciosus		Source: Wikipedia

Gonatanthus pumilus (Dwarf Gonatanthus) - Sikkim Flora

Gonatanthus pumilus (Dwarf Gonatanthus)

Place : Near Cipla Factory, Rangpo, East Sikkim

Date: January 7, 2012

Pic: Shital Pradhan

Familia:  Araceae 
Subfamilia: 
Tribus: 
Genus: Gonatanthus
Species: Gonatanthus pumilus

Erigeron karvinskianus (Mexican Daisy) - Sikkim Flora

Erigeron karvinskianus (Mexican Daisy)

Place : Dalapchand, East Sikkim

Date: September 6, 2011

Pic: Shital Pradhan

Scientific classification

Kingdom:       Plantae

Phylum:         

Class:             

Order:            Asterales

Family:           Asteraceae

Genus:            Erigeron

Species:          E. karvinskianus

Binomial name: Erigeron karvinskianus DC.

Other Names:  Mexican fleabane, Latin American fleabane, Santa Barbara daisy or Spanish daisy

Special feature:  This wildflower is native to much of South America and also Mexico.

This plant is also cultivated for its daisy-like blooms, and is often confused with the closely related true daisy Bellis. It is frequently grown in crevices in walls or paving, where it rapidly spreads to provide a carpet of flowers. ( Source: Wikipedia)