Shikra

The place I’ve grown up in, is thankfully one of the greenest areas of Delhi.

Right behind my place there is a huge forest area, which is teeming with bird life. Quite frequently I get to see several species which include raptors, tailorbirds, sunbirds, hornbills, bulbuls etc etc. Lot of times, all I need to do to do bird photography is just sit on my terrace and click away.

Recently while working, I heard a call which sounded very much like the Shikra, and I ran to get the camera. Sure enough, this guy was sitting on the neem tree outside my house. One character which I’ve noticed about this raptor is that it sits with one claw up frequently. Quite a curious habit… here are some of the pictures…