Flaming red tail

 

A juvenile Dussumier's litter skink I photographed in 2009.

 

"Arana" (Malayalam for skink) was one of the very first reptiles I identified around my house. In most other parts of peninsular India,  a common skink would most probably  be a Brahminy skink (Eutropis carinata), a much larger and less colourful species. But for me as a kid, the vernacular name Arana always referred to a small skink with bright orange-red tail.

Scientifically called Sphenomorphus dussumieri (Dussumier's litter skink), they were common around my house, giving me ample opportunities to observe them. They are alert, but curious little creatures. They would often come to investigate if some one was doing something in the yard, like  watering the plants. My brother once even managed to feed them cooked rice!

The days have been somewhat hot and dry. I have been seeing one of these small skinks living among the flower pots in our tiny garden. Today morning, I decided to try to get some photos of that one. As I was photographing, I noticed that it was sucking the sap out of a broken branch of a small Elephant's ear plant (Colocasia sp.). It kept on sucking for about half a minute before getting out of the hot sun. I've seen them drinking water eagerly from leaves after I water the plants in the evening during summer months, but this is the first time that I saw one drinking the sap from a plant.

Dussumier's litter skink after drinking sap from the plant. I couldn't capture it in the act, as by the time I got the camera, it was done drinking.

Travel Diaries: Munnar, January 2016

Munnar is a place close to my heart, having spent a year there as a 10 year old. That was a long time ago, and things have changed much, both in my life and for the place. I have visited the area every few years, and each time witnessed the ‘development’ of human greed slowly defacing the landscape. Still, the place has a charm and that’s why we decided to meet our friend there and go birding.

 

Kerala laughing thrush at Eravikulam National Park. These birds were near the information center
and showed no fear of people.

 

When we visited the place last year, we stayed at a homestay in ‘2^nd mile’ (places in the hills are often named like this) called “Estate Residency”. We liked this place because it was relatively cheap (by hill station standards), was away from the town, and most importantly offered birding and herping opportunities within their own cardamom plantation as well as the stretch of road going towards Adimali.

Here are some photos from the trip.

Morning view from our just outside our homestay.

Silk Cotton tree in the light of the setting sun. This tree close to Karadippara was in full bloom.

Although it looks like the canopy of a rain forest, these are mostly cardamom plantations. Cardamom being a shade loving plant, requires a dense canopy and rainforest tree species are allowed to grow in these plantations.

In a cardamom plantation. This plantation is owned by the same person who runs the homestay
and this is a fairly good area for birding. We saw more than fifty species in the plantation itself.

A scimitar babbler  in cardamom plantation, trying to hide from us.

Waterfall near Njamakkaadu junction

Shola forests and grasslands of Eravikulam National Park.

Eravikulam National Park, at least within the tourism zone at Rajamala, is characterized by steep
rocky slopes, shola forests, and grasslands. At lower elevations outside the park boundaries, the
land is covered in tea, coffee, and Eucalyptus plantations as well as human settlements.

A Black Eagle soaring above the shola grasslands of Eravikulam National Park.

The star of Eravikulam National Park, a Nilgiri Tahr quenching thirst. This is one of the few
places on earth where this highly endangered mountain goats can be seen at close quarters.

Eravikulam National Park gets thousands of visitors every day during the holiday season.
Still, the park managers seem to have done a good job of reducing the disturbances by tourists.
There were watchers everywhere keeping a close eye on the activities of visitors, in particular
making sure that they walk only on the road.

A Malabar Giant Squirrel nibbling on a fruit.

Nilgiri Blue Flycatcher. This particular individual was one of the most camera happy birds that I have seen.

A baby Elliot's Forest Lizard. We saw a few of these guys in vegetation along the side of
roads passing through cardamom plantations in Munnar.

One more morning of mist before leaving Munnar.