Reptiles in Maharashtra



Spectacle Cobra

A most venomous snake in India. Idenfied by spectacle mark on its hood.
Found mainly in dry area. Size approx. 2.25 meters. Diet contains Rats, Birds,
frogs, eggs and occasionaly other snakes.



Rat Snake



Russell's Viper

A venemous snake in Asia. Size approx 2 meters. Rows of dark brown spots along the body.
Diet contains Rats, Birds,frogs, Lizards,etc.

Russell's Viper

A Baby Snake

Bengal Monitor

A lizard famous in Indian history for its use by Maratha warriors in scaling the walls.
Size approx. 2 meters. Diet contains birds, snakes, lizards, eggs, small mammals,frogs, snails,
crabs, spiders,etc.

Bengal Monitor

Bengal Monitor

Indian Garden Lizard

The most widespread lizard, found in Parks & Gardens.Males exceed females in size.
Colours are also bright compared to female.Diet mainly insects.






Indian Garden Lizard



Indian Garden Lizard

Indian Garden Lizard

Indian Garden Lizard

Indian Garden Lizard

Keeled Grass Skink

Common skink found in India. Colours are bronze-brown and yellow.
Diet mainly Cricket,catterpilars,beetels.



House Gecko

Birds in Maharashtra

Black-shouldered Kite

Black-shouldered Kite is a small and graceful, predominantly pale grey and white,
raptor with black shoulders and red eyes. Their primary call is a clear whistle, uttered in flight and while hovering.
It is a specialist predator of rodents, which it hunts singly or in pairs by hovering in mid-air above open land.

Black-shouldered Kite

Black-crowned Night Heron

They have a black crown and back with the remainder of the body white or grey,
red eyes, and short yellow legs. They have pale grey wings and white underparts.



Fruit Bat_1



Fruit Bat_2

Asian Pied Starling

This pied starling is strikingly marked in black and white and has a yellowish bill with a reddish bill base. The bare skin around the eye is reddish. The upper body, throat and breast are black

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Great Hornbill

Great Hornbill is one of the larger members of the hornbill family.
Their impressive size and colour have made them important in many tribal cultures
and rituals.
Food depends on small mammals, reptiles and birds.
The Great Hornbill is a large bird, 95–120 cm (38–47 in) long,
with a 152 cm (60 in) wingspan and a weight of 2.15–4 kg (4.7-8.8 lbs).

Great Hornbill

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Cormorant

They are coastal rather than oceanic birds, and some have colonised inland
waters - indeed, the original ancestor of cormorants seems to have been
a fresh-water bird, judging from the habitat of the most ancient lineage

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Asian Openbill Stork

It is a resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Southeast Asia.Asian Openbill Stork is a broad-winged soaring bird, which relies on moving between thermals of hot air for sustained flight. Like all storks, it flies with its neck outstretched. It is relatively small for a stork at 68 cm length.

Asian Openbill Stork



Asian Openbill Stork



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Lesser Golden Backed Woodpecker

Lesser Golden Backed Woodpecker



Sunbird



A purple rumped sunbird

Purple-rumped Sunbirds are tiny at less than 10 cm long. They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations to their nectar feeding.



Paddyfield Pipit









Paddyfield Pipit



Great Egret

Asian Koel

The Asian Koel is a large, long-tailed, cuckoo measuring 39–46 cm (15–18 in) and weighing 190–327 g.The male of the nominate race is glossy bluish-black, with a pale greenish grey bill, the iris is crimson, and it has grey legs and feet. The female of the nominate race is brownish on the crown and has rufous streaks on the head.

Walk for a Breakfast

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Through the Eye of EMU

EMU

White-breasted Waterhen

They are dark slaty birds with a clean white face, breast and belly.
They mainly eat insects (large numbers of beetles have been recorded) , small fish, aquatic invertebrates and seeds.






White throated Kingfisher

The White-throated Kingfisher also known as the White-breasted Kingfisher.
It can often be found well away from water where it feeds on a wide range of prey that includes small reptiles, amphibians, crabs, small rodents and even birds.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 bright red.

  

Red-wattled Lapwing

The Red-wattled Lapwing has a characteristic loud alarm calls which are like tee-tee-to-it or did-he-do-it....The wings and back are light brown with a purple sheen, but head and chest and front part of neck are black. Prominently white patch runs between these two colours.

Red-wattled Lapwing



Kite







 



Red-vented Bulbul

The Red-vented Bulbul is found all over in Asia.The Red-vented Bulbul is easily identified by its short crest giving the head a squarish appearance. The body is dark brown with a scaly pattern while the head is darker or black. The rump is white while the vent is red. The black tail is tipped in white.

 

Red-vented Bulbul










 

 Red-whiskered Bulbul

The Red-whiskered Bulbul  found mainly in tropical Asia.It feeds on fruits and small insects and they conspicuously perch on trees and their calls are a loud three or four note call.

The Red-whiskered Bulbul is about 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length.

Red-whiskered Bulbul

Oriental Magpie Robin

The Oriental Magpie Robin are distinctive black and white birds with a long tail that is held upright.Distributed in many parts of tropical South and Southeast Asia, they are common birds in urban gardens as well as forests. It is the national bird of Bangladesh.

Oriental Magpie Robin Juvenile

Oriental magpie Robin Male

Head to Head

House Sparrow Female

House Sparrow Male

Emu

Duck

   Common Moorhen

The Common Moorhen is also known as Common waterhen.

The Moorhen is a distinctive species, with dark plumage apart from the white undertail,

yellow legs and a red facial shield.

   Cattle Egret

The Cattle Egret are species of heron found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones.It is a stocky white bird adorned with buff plumes in the breeding season which nests in colonies, usually near bodies of water and often with other wading birds. The nest is a platform of sticks in trees.

Heron

The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds, Some are called "egrets"

or "bitterns" instead of "heron".

The herons are medium to large sized birds with long legs and necks.

Brahminy Kite

The Brahminy Kite also known as the Red-backed Sea-eagle.

They are found mainly on the coast where they feed on dead fish and other prey.

The breeding season in South Asia is from December to April.






 



 Green Bee Eater

The Green Bee-eater are mainly insect eaters and they are found in grassland, thin scrub and forest often quite far from water. It is about 9 inches (16–18 cm) long with about 2 inches made up by the elongated central tail-feathers.

Blue Rock Pigeon








 

Blue Rock Pigeon









 

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Oriental Magpie Robin

The Oriental Magpie Robin are distinctive black and white birds with a long tail that is held upright.Distributed in many parts of tropical South and Southeast Asia, they are common birds in urban gardens as well as forests. It is the national bird of Bangladesh.

 Coppersmith Barbet

The Coppersmith Barbet are found in South Asia and parts of Southeast Asia.

They are mainly fruit eating but will take sometimes insects, especially winged termites.

Coppersmith Barbet








 

   Common Tailorbird

The Common Tailorbird is popular for its nest made of leaves "sewn" together.

Tailorbirds get their name from the way their nest is constructed.

They are distinctive in having a greenish upper body plumage, long upright tail

and the rust coloured forehead and crown.