amolmm's Favorites

Could also be Juniperus seravschanica (Pashtun Juniper), perhaps, from the couple of sources I've found online. Some disagreement/uncertainty clearly exists, but since the latter's published range does not include India, entering it as this. Well known as the sacred juniper trees of Ladakh.

Four demanding sadlle-billed stork chicks were proving a handful for the parents to keep up a suitable supply of catfish. I observed the parents taking it in turns to fish and then feed the squawking chicks who were nearly as big as them. In this image, the male (black iris) has returned and regurgitated two catfish - so two winners and two losers amongst the chicks. Hand held. Luangwa River, Zambia.

A movement on the road caught my eye and on approaching was thinking of either something had caught a chameleon or it was injured and thrashing about in death throes. They were absolutely still after this flurry of movement, just eyes moving. One brief flurry again, followed by another long period of almost absolute motionless, another brief flurry and they parted. Never seen one as pitch black as the female, marking around the eyes standing out almost as clearly as under UV light. Both returned to more normal colours rapidly after parting, both removed by hand to the relative safety of near by shrubs. Total time actually witnessed 1 hour and 5 minutes, but I believe from others that they started mating some time before that.
Comments of selling price of a breeding pair shocking at R12 000 or there abouts!

Order Welwitchiales
Family Welwitschiaceae
One of things I most wanted to see in Namibia was Welwitschia!
This ancient and bizarre plant, restricted to a portion of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, is the sole representative of its order. Everything about this plant is strange, but its longevity is especially noteworthy. This one is reasonably large, making it at lest a few hundred years old. Some have been dated to 2000 years. It always has just two leaves that grow from the base before splitting and getting ragged at the end.
Everyone loves Welwitschia- it is even part of the Namibian coat of arms- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welwitschia#/media/File:Coat_of_arm...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stoufferlsu/52646621461/in/dateposted/

This moth, first time for me, was spotted at Karzi-Mangnam, West Sikkim, one of the remotest villages in our state. I'd taken my family to show them how does it feel like reaching there (adventurous roads, first road came in 2004), living there and experiencing their lives.
The trip indeed was fruitful, despite the back-breaking journey, I managed to photograph some extraordinary moths, like this one.