Caterpillars

I find most caterpillars scary. But I still want to photograph them in order to document what types are seen in my garden. The above photos were taken earlier this month. The plant is the  Sedum sexangulare/Tasteless Stonecrop.

And on the bougainvillea was this hairy black one. Below is a brown one on my tomato stake.

But here are my favourites! The tiny caterpillars of the Common Mormon swallowtail butterfly chomping away at these lemon leaves! I can't wait for them to turn into butterflies. And it's worth planting lemon saplings just so they can come and increase and multiply!!

Red-vented Bulbul

Some time ago I had posted pictures (in my other blog) of bulbuls perched on a clump of sunflower plants. Here's one of the shots again with the barely noticeable birds...this was taken in July in Delhi. Ginny of Let Your Light Shine asked me whether I could post clearer pictures some other time. Well, I was lucky! The other day I spotted the red-vented bulbul on my neighbour's terrace. These aren't the best shots but so much better than the ones I had taken in Delhi on my cell phone.

The red-vented bulbul/Pycnonotus cafer is a member of the passerine birds. It is resident breeder in tropical southern Asia, from Pakistan to south-west China. It has been introduced and has established itself in the wild in many Pacific islands including Fiji, Somoa, Tonga, and Hawaii.It has also established itself in parts of Dubai,the United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand.

The size of the bulbul is about 20-22 cms. The crest and the crimson patch at the root of its tail gives the bird a distinctive appearance. This is a bird of dry scrub, open forest, plains, and cultivated lands. Bulbuls feed on berries, nectar, insects, and occasionally geckos. In the Pacific islands and in New Zealand they are considered pests because they damage crops. They are also known to disperse the seeds of invasive plants such as lantana camara and miconia calvescens.