Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary

Idyllic spot

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Snipe

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Pintail Ducks

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Northern Pintail

Anas acuta Female

Pintails feeding

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Heron

Stalking its prey

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Heron

Poised to strike

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Gree Bee Eater

Feathers ruffled in the breeze

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Dove

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Comon Coot

Fulica atra

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Painted Stork I

Juvenile Painted storks (Mycteria leucocephala)

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Painted Stork II

Why the woebegone posture?

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Painted Stork III

"Whee! I can fly!" exclaimed the Baby Stork

"Who do you think you are? Johnathan Livingstone Stork? You can't fly as yet!" replied the Ibis

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Painted Stork IV

"Here I am, stuck in the middle with you" said Jerry Rafferty and Joe Egan of Stealers Wheel

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Cormorant

Phalacrocorax fuscicollis

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Rose-ringed Parakeet

A brilliantly smaragdine-coloured Parakeet

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Cormorant

Such a cute and comical expression of utter perplexity!

Baby cormorant basking in the sun and airing out the plumage

"क्या देखतो हो?"

"Glorious Winter Sunshine"

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Grey-headed swamphen

Porphyrio poliocephalus

Grey-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus) is a species of swamphen  occurring from the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent to southern China  and northern Thailand. It used to be considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen, but was elevated to full species status in 2015; today the purple swamphen is considered a superspecies and each of its six races are designated full species

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Indian Black Ibis

Pseudibis papillosa

Camouflaged behind a branch

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Nilgai

Boselaphus tragocamelus

It is not just birds at the Sanctuary. Well-fed antelope romp all over the marshy land.

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - King Fisher

Alcedo atthis

Dawn

Bharatpur Bird Sacntuary - Peafowl

राष्ट्रीय पक्षी (Pavo cristatus)

The regent and consort survey their kingdom

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Cheetal

Spotted Deer (Axis axis)

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - Great Blue Heron (White Phase) or a Great Egret?

Posing - a study in elgance

Stalking its prey

Poised to strike, still as a statue

Heron vs Egret

The white phase of the Great Blue Heron that can easily be confused with the Great Egret, which is also large and white. Cattle and Snowy Egrets are both medium sized white birds. The Little Blue Heron and the Tri-colour Heron are both a smokey blue-gray color.

Great Egrets are a little smaller than the White-phase Great Blue Heron, but the real giveaway is the color of the legs. Great Egrets have black legs while White-phase Great Blue Herons have much lighter legs. Herons also have slightly heavier beaks and “shaggier” feathers on their breast.