Amar Raavi's photostream Pro User

It's time for some birdwatching! Photographed is a Painted Stork at Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary. Ranganathittu is the largest bird sanctuary in Karnataka located on the banks of Kaveri river. A short boat ride definitely helped us to have a closer look at different varieties of birds.

Best season to visit Ranganathittu: January to September

I have been to Srisailam twice in the past but never spotted this spot. When we were passing by the dam, we saw this place filled with vehicles and people. After driving through a rough terrain for 5 min we could reach most amazing spot to photograph Srisailam dam.

Srisailam is a hindu holy town in Andhra Pradesh, home to one of 12 jyotirlingas dedicated to Lord Shiva. The story doesn't stop there, it is home to 3rd largest hydroelectric project in India too. Spanning 1680 ft with a height of 476 ft surrounded by nallamala hills it is one of beautiful dams i have ever seen.

How can i forget the coracle ride. It was real fun.

When we looked at this lonely Chimpanzee at Mysore zoo, we felt really sad being it all alone and caged. But thank god we were wrong, Mysore zoo is home for 3 male and 2 female chimps. However breeding was not successful since last 20 years.

This particular chimp is around 50 years old and still active. One question remains, whether he/she is happy being in a zoo or not.

Photographed is the colorful male Lady Amherst's Pheasant at Mysore Zoo. It is named after Lady Sarah Amherst, husband of William Pitt Amherst (Governor-General of India from 1823 to 1828), who first introduced the species to Britain in the early 1800s from China.

The males of this species are more colorful and are larger than the females, measuring between 50 to 65 inches in length (while the females are only about 26 to 30 inches long). The females are typically a dull brown, and do not have much color variation across the body. The male, on the other hand, is a very colorful and contrasting bird, typically with a red crest atop its head, a black and metallic green throat, a white chest and rear neck, back feathers ranging anywhere from yellow, white, red, blue, or even green (each with small black accents on the tips), bluish black metallic wings, and long tail feathers that extend over 30 inches past the end of its body.

It was quite challenging to photograph this moving thing through the wire mesh. Composition could have been better but had no choice.

Located about 30 km east of Mysore is Somanathapura village where the Hoysala temple dedicated to Chennakeshava is located. Built in 1268 AD the temple is best known for its unique structural design and wall sculptures.

The star-shaped temple has three sanctums with a common congregation hall. Each sanctum has an antechamber leading to the spacious main hall with as many as 16 bays. The temple’s triple shrines have elaborately carved pinnacles.

Somanathapura is located 140 km southwest of Bangalore. More information on Chennakeshava temple can be found here.