LEFT The lesser flamingo is the
smallest species of flamingo and
also the most numerous. It lays
one egg on a mound of mud.
Chicks are white and become
pink as adults. The crustaceans
they catch by stirring up the mud
with their feet give them
the rich colour.
RIGHT The osprey is, after
the peregrine falcon, the world’s
most widely distributed raptor.
It wheels high in the sky, scouting
for its favourite prey before
swooping to catch the fish
with its spiny-soled feet.
Indian wild asses once ranged from
south-east Iran to western India.
In 1958 to 1960, an epidemic
of equine trypanosomiasis decimated
the population to just 362. Today, about
4,800 wild asses roam parts of Gujarat
and the neighbouring state of Rajasthan.
Illegal salt manufacturers and invasive
Mexican mesquite trees threaten
the species.DHRITIMAN
MUKHERJEE is
a wildlife photographer
and co-author of Magical
Biodiversity of India
(http://dhritimanimages.com).