A brief visit to Kasavanahalli

My birding trips continue to be short until my ankle injury heals completely. This week, I visited Kasavanahalli lake and just captured the bird activity at one end without much walking around. Here are the pics...

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I reached the lake around sunrise time and the first sighting was this silhouette of a Little Egret...

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An Asian Openbill looked great in the golden hour lighting...

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It was constantly probing in the swamp and soon found what it was looking for...

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The emerging sunlight brought a golden twinkle in a Little egret's eye...

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I watched a patient fisherman, the Purple heron, waiting tirelessly for that opportune moment...

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It remained still in a motionless meditative posture until a fish caught its eye...

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A strike with lightning speed rewarded with the most hearty meal...

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Another Purple heron sat with its alert eye and sharp beak at the ready. Patience is indeed a virtue for birding but matching with that of a Purple heron is a big big deal...

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Birding after a 'break'

A minor ankle fracture from a twisting injury kept me away from bird watching trips. It is taking a really long time to heal. I recently visited Saul Kere lake. It was a short visit as there's still some pain around the ankle. I was happy to see some migrant birds still hanging around as the season ends. Here are the pic...

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A female Asian Koel was the first sighting...

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The male gazed at her from a distant tree...

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A White-breasted Waterhen flew and perched on a nearby tree...

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Several Lesser Whistling-Ducks were flying around...

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Some Lesser Whistling-Ducks were found in the far reaches...

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I saw a Garganey couple dabbling around in the water...

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The handsome male Garganey...

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A small flock of Garganeys. Three pairs...

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And a Bronze-winged Jacana foraged in the shallow water...

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A Wood Sandpiper with his meal...

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I watched the Garganeys for some more time...

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A White-cheeked Barbet with his meal...

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Another flock of Lesser Whistling-Ducks gave a fitting flypast to end my short outing...

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Fostering Plain Tigers

 A few months back, I had planted a Bloodflower(milkweed) plant in the hope of breeding Plain Tiger Butterflies. It was wonderful to watch the metamorphosis. Here are the pictures...

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The host plant is called bloodflower. The plant belongs to a group known as Milkweeds.

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Mature female plain tigers lay their eggs on these plants...

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Milkweeds secrete latex which contains chemicals called cardenolides, which are ingested by the larvae as they feed on the plant...

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The cardenolides are toxic to potential predators (but not the larvae), and can be stored till they mature...

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Cardenolides had evolved in plants as a defense against herbivores, but some herbivores, including plain tiger larvae, evolved enzymes to become able to process these cardenolides...

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After few days of heavy eating of leaves, the larvae prepare for the Pupa stage...

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It attaches itself to the wall...

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Some get attached to the ceiling.... 

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The pupal stage of the plain tiger lasts about 9 to 15 days, where the caterpillar hardens...

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As days pass, the chrysalis becomes brown and the butterfly inside becomes visible...

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I kept monitoring them so that I won't miss the adult butterfly stage. After a wait that was akin to watching paint dry, the butterflies started emerging...

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The crumpled wings..

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The wings straighten in about 5 minutes. Then it hangs there for about 3 hours.... 

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After 3-4 hours it gets ready to fly by flapping its wings...

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Male and female plain tigers look extremely similar, but males can easily be differentiated from females with the presence of an additional black-and-white spot on its hindwing.

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Adult plain tigers also ingest and store another type of toxic substance called pyrrolizidine alkaloids...

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These chemicals cause plain tigers to be inedible (usually causing vomiting) to many predators, especially birds. Predators which have suffered the negative effects of eating a plain tiger subsequently learn to avoid eating the same type of butterfly because of its bright, noticeable coloration and pattern...

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This 'strategy' of using warning colours to ward off predators is also known as aposematism...

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Information Source: https://wiki.nus.edu.sg/display/TAX/Danaus+chrysippus+-+Plain+Tiger