Endemic Birds of Taiwan

With stars like the Taiwan Blue Magpie and the Swinhoe's Pheasant to rarities like the Taiwan Thrush- meet all the thirty Taiwan endemic bird species in this new illustration! 

Prints, tees and merchandise out on my Redbubble store here, shipped worldwide.

Jessami - an Illustrated Biodiversity Map

Last year in March, commissioned by Roundglass Sustain, I travelled to Jessami, a Naga village in the remote north-eastern corner of Manipur. Inhabited primarily by members of the Chakhesang tribe, Jessami's residents have historically hunted birds and other wildlife as means of sustenance. Now, the village and its residents are actively involved in the conservation of the region's birdlife and wildlife, with Manipur's State Bird the Hume's Pheasant being the cornerstone and the pride of the village.

This illustrated map details Jessami's rich biodiversity- to be used both as a handy tool for locals and guides, as well as collectibles and souvenirs for tourists and wildlife enthusiasts. The map's visual style and illustrated elements pay homage to weavers of the Chakhesang community, whose art is passed only in person intergenerationally, and created seldom with any monetary motive!

A big thanks to Neha Dara and Megha Moorthy of Roundglass Sustain for trusting me with this project, Weyepe Mekrisuh and Asset Weyzah for guiding me during my field visit and for sharing their immense knowledge of local history, topography and culture with me. Thanks also to Mr. Weyzah for opening the doors of his home to me, where Mrs. Weyzah generously taught me her family recipe of Eromba, and where his uncles and aunts gave me invaluable insights into the community's art and fabric.

I urge fellow birdwatchers, wildlife enthusiasts as well as those looking for enriching artistic and ethnographic experiences, to visit Jessami and support the Jessami Village Council's efforts to sustain the tourism models that they have instituted to safeguard the avifauna and the wildlife of the region, including the iconic Hume's Pheasant, an IUCN Vulnerable species. More information about Jessami can be accessed on this Roundglass Sustain article of which this map illustration is a part.

Cartoons for the PACON Project- Birdlife Montenegro

I had the opportunity to team up with Birdlife Montenegro once again over a short but delightful collaboration. Project PACON aims to promote sustainable ecotourism and popularize biodiversity in Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro. I created these cartoon illustrations on three iconic bird species in three ecotourism sites in the three countries respectively- the Rock Partridge at Lovcen (Montenegro), the Green Woodpecker at Tuzla (Bosnia) and the Common Kingfisher at Sopotac (Croatia). The cartoons will be seen on displays and merchandise at the respective sites.

Thanks to Zoran Popovic and the Birdlife Montenegro team for choosing to team up with me again!

Bird Ringing Cartoons for Birdlife Montenegro

I recently had the pleasure of collaborating with Birdlife Montenegro over three delightful cartoons on bird ringing, that were used as creatives on communication collateral and merchandise at the bird ringing camp at Ulcinj Salina, an important wetland and migratory bird pathway on the Adriatic Sea. 

A huge thanks to Ksenija Medenica and the CZIP Montenegro team for the opportunity! (For context in the second cartoon- Montenegrins are considered the laziest among Europe, and they're so proud of the tag that they even have a laziness contest!)

Lakshadweep versus Maldives

Lakshadweep versus Maldives. Cartoon for The Hindu.

Here's hoping that the tourism make-over of Lakshadweep, which is already grappling from mass coral bleaching and crashing fisheries, will have sustainability at its core. 

Bonus marks to each one of you who identifies the bird in the cartoon correctly!

The Snowy Sheathbill

There are only two species of Sheathbills, the other being the Black-faced Sheathbill. That is, until we all become sheathbills eventually!

I first came to know of this unconventional, disgusting and remarkable species while illustrating a habitat panorama of the Antarctic Peninsula for the Save Our Seas Foundation. The illustration is now at the Penguin Research Centre in Antacrtica, and has also been auctioned as prints at cruise ships visiting Antarctica to raise funds for penguin research! Read more about Save Our Seas work in Antarctica here.

Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

A New Restaurant in the Hood

A familiar sight across the forests of peninsular India, Rufous Treepies are opportunistic foragers and very dependable earbuds for Sambar deer!

Comic from my Roundglass Sustain column. 

Extinct Species 2024

Say hello, well, goodbye actually, to five among the twenty one species to be declared extinct this year. While the Little Mariana Fruit Bat, Bridled White Eye, Molokai Creeper and the Flat Pigtoe Mussel were delisted from the US Endangered Species Act because of extinction, the Java Stingaree was declared extinct after a recent IUCN survey. 

Oh, and a very happy new year to us all, from the Flat Pigtoe Mussel!

Comic for DW Environment.

Plum headed Parakeet Make Up

Ever overdone your make-up and felt you resemble a Plum-headed Parakeet? Cartoon from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Defying beauty stereotypes, it is the male Plum-headed Parakeet that likes loud make-up, while females prefer a subtle grey head!

The cartoon also ran as a caption contest on Roundglass's Instagram. Check out the winning entries here: 

American Bird Nomenclature

A controversy is brewing in the world of ornithology and birdwatching, with the American Ornithological Society's proposal to rename birds with problematic eponyms, as many of these names celebrate colonizers and white supremacists. While many young birders support the decision, some old-timers oppose it. The Scott's Oriole and the Audubon's Shearwater have given their verdict. What's yours?

Cartoon for DW Environment.

Owl headsets

Are you the headset kind or the airpod kind?

The Short-eared Owl meets the Long-eared Owl. Cartoon from my column with Roundglass Sustain. 

The Little Ringed Plover

On a cold December morning in 2021 at the Vena Lake in my hometown Nagpur, I observed a cheerful Little Ringed Plover perform a strange dance: repeated wiggling of the foot followed by pecking the mud. It was clear that this was an improvised hunting strategy, but how exactly it was working, I was not sure. A quick search led me to this paper and I discovered that this behaviour is a little more than just an improvised hunting strategy: the bird’s trembling foot could either be driving out hidden worms and insects directly, or altering the thixotropic properties of wet sand, turning it into liquid, and making catching a juicy tidbit easier!

I may not love physics as much as this little genius does, but we certainly agree upon one thing: the tactile pleasures of dining are lost on compulsive users of cutlery!

Comic strip from my Roundglass Sustain column.

Birdwatching in Gaza

What is it like to be a birdwatcher in Gaza? My cousin, Dr. Sukrita Lahiri, a scholar on Palestinian gender studies, sent me this poignant piece by Marta Vidal and Ameera Harouda about birdwatching in Gaza, which prompted this comic, dedicated to the twin birdwatching duo, the Sirdah sisters, who co-authored the Gaza bird checklist.

From my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine. 

Bank Mynas and Embankments

If you're a keen observer of your surroundings (assuming you're not a birdwatcher), you may have noticed driving past embankments anywhere in peninsular India, that the mynas nesting here do not have the usual brown costume and yellow bill and spectacles, but sport a humble grey colour and a striking red bill! These are aptly called Bank Mynas, and they make some of the liveliest birds to look out for, wherever embankments are situated. 

Cartoon from my column with Roundglass Sustain. 

State of Indian Birds Report

An Indian Roller reads out the key findings of the recently published 'State of Indian Birds' report. Comic from my column in The Hindu Sunday Magazine. 

Kishoreda was a Grey bellied Cuckoo

Kishore Kumar was a Grey-bellied Cuckoo! What are your favourite Kishoreda songs? Drop them in the comments. Comic from Roundglass Sustain celebrating monsoon and the bird of the season!

To read a similar strip about Mohammad Rafi and the Magpie Robin, visit Roundglass Sustain here.

Wildlife Map of Denmark

The Wildlife Map of Denmark: now available on my Redbubble store, shipped worldwide! Order here. 

Plasticosis

There's a new kind of sea-sickness and it's human-made! Plasticosis, a scarring of the stomach lining from ingestion of plastics, has first been described from Flesh-footed Shearwaters, a species of seabird considered the most vulnerable to plastic ingestion. Comic for DW Global Ideas. 

Lord Shrike the Impaler

The most legendary Bollywood villains have their own god: Lord Shrike the Impaler! Infamous for skewering its victims to death, that range from insects and lizards to snakes and mice, the bandit-like eye stripe further accentuates the shrike's reputation!

My fascination for this bird extends across all my work now, with the shrike featuring in two of my books, Bird Business and Naturalist Ruddy!

(For my readers from the West, Gabbar Singh (played by Amjad Khan) from the film Sholay, Shakaal (played by Khulbhushan Kharbanda) from the film Shaan, and Mogambo (played by Amrish Puri) from the film Mr. India, are three of the most iconic Hindi film villains of all time).

Cartoon from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Futala Lake in Nagpur

Futala Lake, among my hometown Nagpur's most famous landmarks, was once the wintering ground for migratory waterbirds and waders. Today it is marked by a concrete embankment, a musical fountain, and deforestation along its peripheries. Activists and environmentalists from the city have been campaigning against this transformation. 

Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.