Eurasian stone curlew (earlier known as Eurasian thick knee)

[Kaustuv Chatterjee]

In Bharatpur last year late December. Our guide took us to the scrub area on the right when you enter the park, moving as silently as we could could. As luck would have it, we chanced upon the Eurasian stone curlew before it became aware of our presence. However the surprise element was quite short lived and it sped off into the undergrowth, being a shy an elusive bird. We waited patiently for a while hunched behind some bushes and it came into open view after a while. It observed us from far warily as I took this shot.

Shot with the Nikon D90, Nikkor 300 mm + TC 14E, at 420 mm, ISO 400, 1/500s - F/8

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Nice image. Nice eye contact. As I like habitat photograph, immediately it takes me to Bharatpur, I visited in 1996. Thanks for sharing.SaktiWild

[Debasis Bose]

Would say that your effort and luck resonated at the right time to frame this shy elusive stone curlew so beautifully. We should thank Maharaja Suraj Mal for his bright idea of creating the dam to attract more birds. Also an interesting fact is, in the year 1938 Lord Linlithgow shot nearly 4300 birds in one go at Keoladeo national park. It seems Lord Linlithgow, may have hunted more animals and bird life during his stay in India than the wildlife population what India boasts today.

[Mrudul Godbole]

The low angle is nice. Good eye contact and composition. Look forward to more from Bharatpur. Thanks for sharing.

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Nice one kaustav.

Debasis sab interesting info which in itself is good reason to title him Dimwit instead of Lord....:001_smile:

TFS
Roopak