Wildlife at IIIT, Hyderabad

Checklist of trees in IIIT

2009-06-08T23:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a checklist of trees (and a few shrubs) I have been able to identify in IIIT-H. These have been taken all over the campus, including the small garden behind the NBH mess. There are many ornamental plants in the campus, i.e. plants that are not native to India but have been planted for their flowers or their fast-growing properties. But there are also a few native trees- most obviously Neem, the Flame of the Forest, Jamun, Jhingan etc. These trees also attract many birds and insects when flowering/fruiting. I may have missed a few species in this list, but most of these are the most visible and common trees on campus.

Banyan - Ficus benghalensis
Guava - Psidium guajava
Copper Pod - Peltophorum pterocarpum
Teak - Tectonia grandis
Kachnar/Mountain Ebony- Bauhinia variegata
Kachnar - Bauhinia purpurea
Dwarf Bauhinia - Bauhinia acuminata
Shisham - Dalberia sisoo
Takoli - Dalbergia lanceolaria
Indian Elm/Kanju - Holoptelea integrifolia
Palash/ Flame of the forest- Butea monosperma
False Almond - Sterculia foetida
Indian Almond - Terminalia catappa
Sausage Tree - Kigelia pinnata
Jamun - Syzigium cumini
Brazilian Cassia - Cassia grandis
Indian Laburnum - Cassia fistula
Jacaranda - Jacaranda mimosifolia
Gulmohar - Delonix regia
Pongam - Pongamia pinnata
Subabool - Leucaena leucocephala
Neem - Azadirachta indica
Badminton Ball tree - Parkia biglandulosa
Phalsa - Grewia asiatica
African Tulip Tree - Spathodea campanulata
Devil's tree - Alstonia scholaris
Shirish - Albizia lebbek
Maulsari - Mimusops elengi
Pink Trumpet flower - Tabebuia rosea
Yellow Trumpet flower - Tabebuia aurea
Drumstick tree - Moringa oleifera
Apta - Bauhinia racemosa
Jhingan - Llanea coromandelica
Silver Oak - Grevillea robusta
Earpod wattle - Acacia auriculiformis
Peacock flower - Caesalpinia pulcherrima
Rain tree - Albizia saman
Singapore cherry- Muntingia calabura
Pomegranate - Punica granatum
Portia tree - Thespesia populnea
Annatto - Bixa orellana
Sicklebush- Dichrostachys cinerea
Giant Milkweed - Calatropis gigantea
Oleander - Nerium oleander
Sago palm - Cycas revoluta
False Eranthemum - Pseuderanthemum reticulatum
Indian Ginger - Alpinia calcarata
Dhavda - Anogeissus latifolia
Common Night Glory - Rivea hypocrateriformis
Golden Cane Palm - Dypsis lutescens

What's that noise?!

2009-05-24T01:26:00.000-07:00

If you've noticed a really loud, annoying sound in the middle of the afternoon on campus, it's this guy:

Cicada. Photo thanks to S.

It's a cicada, and he's calling out for a mate. Apparently the sound production is related to hot weather, so they can be heard during noon but I have also heard the cicadas calling late in the evening in the campus. The sound is ear-splitting, especially if you go closer. When there are two or three calling at once, it can be quite painful.

There's a very nice section devoted to cicadas on one of the Planet Earth series and it shows a species of periodic cicadas, whose nymphs emerge after 17 years from the ground. Not all species remain underground for so long though, some are annual and others stay for 2-5 years (wiki).

Trashed!

2009-01-18T20:00:00.000-08:00

Behind Motorola building, near parking lot

I have been noticing some new rubbish dumps in campus lately. So this Sunday morning, I thought they deserved a photo session of their own. I don't know who has been throwing this stuff around- it's basically made up of coffee cups, chips packets and biscuit wrappers. Perhaps it's coming from one of the canteens in the Motorola building? This one was taken in the area behind Motorola where the new construction is coming up. How does one find out more about this dumping? Can the Green Club people do more about this? Is the Green Club alive?

More 'dirty' pictures here and here.

New Year

2009-01-07T02:07:00.001-08:00

IIIT has its own snake god near a large termite mound. I don't know the local name, but looks like it's been here for a while. I hope this year it will exert a benign influence on the residents of this campus- both humans and wild animals.

Wandering Glider

2008-09-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

One of the things I like to do these days is watch dragonflies hovering and darting around the grasses near the coffee shop. There are really large swarms of them in campus. I recently got a chance to photograph this one:

This species of dragonfly is called the 'Wandering Glider' or 'Globe Skimmer' (Pantala flavescens). It's one of the most adaptable insects- once the dragonflies lay their eggs in the pools that the monsoon creates, within 72 days, the larvae transform into dragonflies. Then, these collect in huge swarms sometimes with other species of dragonflies. Apparently, the emergence of these coincides with the Onam festival and their local name in Kerala is Onathumbikal.

The dragonfly is also one of the most daring, undertaking long sea voyages and migrating to some of the most inhospitable places to find a suitable place to breed. This ability has allowed it to thrive all over the world. It has been known to fly fearlessly even in heavy rains, giving it the name of 'Typhoon Dragonfly'.

Their transparent wings and slender bodies would've never given a clue about such resilience! I always thought of dragonflies as rather delicate insects, catching some microscopic prey on the wing. Now, I think of them with some new found respect- there aren't too many creatures that small who can navigate tropical storms with ease!

Some more info is available here:
Onathumbikal
Globetrotter Dragonfly

Banyan

2008-09-01T05:52:00.000-07:00

I thought I should blog a bit about the Banyan tree as it's IIIT's 10th anniversary as well as its official symbol. The Banyan (Ficus benghalensis) is well known for its aerial roots and its gigantic spread, especially in some old trees but it's less known for its rather amazing life cycle.

Banyan trees don't have flowers in the conventional sense. The Ficus species bear figs but the flowers are inside the fruit! This phenomenon is due to an amazing interaction between the tree and a special kind of wasp called the fig wasp.

When we eat a fig, we're actually eating the flowers inside the 'container' that is the fig. The flowers are of three kinds- male, female and a third kind which is the gall flower. The fig wasp, which is responsible for pollinating the flowers is born inside the fig. Male and female fig wasps also mate inside the fig, but only the winged female flies out of her cradle after mating (the male has a minor role to play in the drama!).

She flies to a different ficus tree that is bearing figs and enters a new fig to lay her eggs in the special gall-flowers. While doing so, she brushes against the female flowers and pollen is deposited on them. The flowers get pollinated and the figs can now take seed.

It's quite a story... the mighty fig depends on a tiny wasp for its entire reproductive cycle. The wasp is also choosy- each kind of ficus has its own species of wasp and it can only lay its eggs inside its figs.

Our campus has only two banyan trees that I know of- one near the Main building and the other behind A-block. Incidentally, banyan trees are also one of the best places to watch all kinds of birds because they love feasting on its fruits. One of the most beautiful of these is the Golden Oriole. It's a very shy bird with a red bill and a golden yellow plumage. I have always seen it around these Banyan trees on campus. Here is a photo, but not a very good one:

I hope people start noticing trees around campus, there are many interesting things to be seen. I have quite a few photographs that I took around April this year. Perhaps I should start a tree series on this blog as it has been idle for quite a while!

Scorpion

2008-06-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

After the rains many interesting creatures come out into the open. This scorpion was one of them last night. It prefers living underground most of the time and is nocturnal. Although it is feared for its bite, the venom in the scorpion sting is not fatal for human beings. It can cause some discomfort but not death.

The picture below, of a dead scorpion was taken in the morning. Toads, frogs, snakes, squirrels and now scorpions are in my list of roadkills in the campus. It's rather sad but I don't know what can really be done about it. I was also informed that some of the security staff were deliberately killing the scorpions when they found them. I suppose it was done in the interests of safety but these scorpions won't harm unless provoked. It's the same paranoia that results in many snakes getting killed as well. I hope some of these scorpions survive the monsoon!

The elusive partridge

2008-04-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

The call of the Grey Partrige or Grey Francolin as it's now called was one of the first calls I heard when I came to this campus. The birds are one of the commonest in Peninsular India. They have a loud, ringing 'tee--teeu-ka-' repeated about four times. Another call 'is Pee-la-la, Pee-la-la'. The Hindi name is teetar and the birds are also considered a delicacy.

In the wild, they're seen in groups of three or four secretively stepping through the undergrowth. I have not been successful in getting very close to them. Often, when you flush a group of birds they will suddenly fly up from the ground, flapping loudly and scatter deep inside the bushes.
So far, this photograph has been the only chance at capturing a pair. This was taken near the main gate this morning.

Call of the Grey Partridge: at IndiaBirds (Quicktime needed)

Crimson Rose

2008-03-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

I found this beautiful butterfly basking high up in a tree this morning.

Owlets

2008-01-28T08:31:00.000-08:00

Our campus has a number of leafless trees, that are excellent perches for birds like the cute Spotted Owlet.
There is a bare tree near the library which used to be the haunt of a pair of Spotted Owlets on our campus. For the last few months they had disappeared from this place. Then late one evening I was surprised to find them sitting on the goalposts on the football field! This seems to be one of their favourite perches. If you check these carefully at night, you may just see them !

Most people think that dead wood, or bare trees are useless, but in fact they can be really important for birds as perches, roosts for the night or if the wood is of a suitable variety as a potential places for a nesting hole. At the same time, it's also interesting to observe how birds are so resilient--they adapt themselves to artificial perches like streetlights, electricity poles, pylons and goalposts!

Here is a Spotted Dove on a lamp post:

Orchid tree

2007-10-28T09:32:00.000-07:00

Bauhinia variegata

This beautiful tree has been in flowering since September. It is found in several places on campus, and currently the tree on the way to Jersey is the one flowering most profusely. There are other trees of the same kind on the road near the canteen. It is also called Orchid tree because the flowers are said to resemble orchids. A closely related species is the official flower of Hong Kong. The Hindi name for this tree is Kachnar.

If you notice, there is another interesting tree in flowering on campus. This is the Indian Cork Tree (Millingtonia hortensis). It has white, very sweet smelling flowers. This tree is also at the turning for Jersey. Next time you go for a cup of tea, have a look at the flowering trees as well!

Botanical information from:
Flowers of India
Wikipedia

Tussar Silk Moth

2007-09-22T05:22:00.001-07:00

The monsoon is the best time to watch insects, and sometimes you don't even have to leave the hostel room! This moth is a Tussar Silk Moth that was found in the hostel. As the name suggests, the moth's larvae are used to produce a type of silk.

I have found a number of interesting moths in the buildings on campus. Check out this one (Family: Noctuidae) and this fellow (known variously as Carpenter Moth, Goat Moth).

Russell's Kukri

2007-08-14T02:04:00.000-07:00

Variegated/Russell's Kukri

This snake was found dead on the road in campus one evening, probably run over by a passing vehicle. It's a non-venomous snake with the scientific name Oligodon taeniolatus. If anybody knows the Telugu name for this snake, let me know! It's called a Kukri snake because of its teeth, which resemble the Kukri, a curved Nepalese knife. The teeth are specially adapted for breaking open eggs of birds and other reptiles which are its main diet. You can check the Wikipedia article for more information. Incidentally, Dr. Patrick Russell was the author of a book on Indian snakes in 1796.

I have found a number of frogs killed in the same manner by speeding vehicles on campus. It would be nice if something could be done about this. Suggestions anyone?

Checklist of the birds of IIIT

2007-08-05T02:37:00.001-07:00

This is an ongoing project to document the avifauna of the campus. The current checklist stands at 58 species. Click on the bird's name to see its picture. [WM = winter migrant] I have made this checklist after a year of observing the birds on campus. Many observations are seasonal, like the Common Hawk Cuckoo, heard during summer and early rains, the Golden Oriole, observed in summer and the warblers during the winter months. Some water birds that often fly past the campus like the Black headed Ibis and Great Cormorant are also recorded. Most of the rest are resident birds here, seen throughout the year.