Rufousbacked Shrike
The Rufousbacked Shrike is grey headed, with a black band running across its eyes, slightly larger than a bulbul. Its has a brownish-yellow back with black wings. Its strong bill is well suited for feeding on grass hoppers, insects and small lizards.
I assume that the white-headed bird in the last photo is a Hill Myna. Please correct me if I am wrong.
In this set of photographs, the shrike can be seen feeding on a praying mantis.
More photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/home
Pollution
Today is “Anant Chaturdashi”, the day for visarjan (immersion) of the idols of Lord Ganesh, after ten days of prayers and festivity. It is a day when one symbolically discards ego and material possessions; prays for forgiveness of past sins and strives towards a new life free from false ego and love for all. We also look forward to the next year, for the return of Lord Ganesh.
The immersion of idols in water bodies seriously affects the aquatic life in the lakes and ponds and the efforts taken by government in building artificial ponds for immersion is appreciated. The devotees can also contribute in conservation efforts by insisting on idols made of clay rather than Plaster of Paris.
Humans have made tremendous progress in all fields of life, but this has been achieved at a cost. In attaining our goals and progressing towards a better life, we have disturbed the natural ecosystem which existed when there was zero pollution.
What is ‘pollution’? It is defined as an undesirable or unwanted change in the physical or chemical characteristics of the environment, which can adversely affect health and survival of humans and other living creatures.
Activities of the modern world contribute towards increasing air pollution. Air pollution in urban areas is mainly a result of petrol and diesel driven vehicles and is the chief cause for the urban population being exposed to high levels of oxides of carbon (carbon monoxide and dioxide), oxides of nitrogen (nitrogen monoxide and dioxide) and lead (as suspended particulate matter). These are constituents of automobile exhaust and there is no practical way of reducing levels of these pollutants. In India, the emission norms for petrol and diesel vehicles are already quite stringent (Bharat Stage IV); however, the increase in the number of vehicles results in an overall increase in the pollutants no matter what measures are taken.
One of the ways of mitigating the effects is by the use of trees, which are a natural barrier and assist in reducing high levels of pollutants (especially lead) and also are effective in decreasing noise levels.
Plantations along both sides of the roads and highways can contribute in controlling air and noise pollution caused due to vehicular traffic. The forest department terms such plantations “Avenue Plantation”. These were carried out on a very large scale by Karnataka Forest Department in Raichur district in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I recollect such plantations of eucalyptus trees, from my childhood, in the vicinity of Hutti Gold Mines. Trees with large simple leaves, such as banyan, peepul, mango are more effective than trees having compound leaves, for eg., gulmohar. Large scale avenue plantations can contribute in increasing the tree cover, apart from providing an aesthetic and pleasant experience on the road. Road side plants also support a variety of bird species like shrikes, drongos, babblers, orioles, mynas, etc.
The Rufousbacked Shrike is grey headed, with a black band running across its eyes, slightly larger than a bulbul. Its has a brownish-yellow back with black wings. Its strong bill is well suited for feeding on grass hoppers, insects and small lizards.
I assume that the white-headed bird in the last photo is a Hill Myna. Please correct me if I am wrong.
In this set of photographs, the shrike can be seen feeding on a praying mantis.
More photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/home
Pollution
Today is “Anant Chaturdashi”, the day for visarjan (immersion) of the idols of Lord Ganesh, after ten days of prayers and festivity. It is a day when one symbolically discards ego and material possessions; prays for forgiveness of past sins and strives towards a new life free from false ego and love for all. We also look forward to the next year, for the return of Lord Ganesh.
The immersion of idols in water bodies seriously affects the aquatic life in the lakes and ponds and the efforts taken by government in building artificial ponds for immersion is appreciated. The devotees can also contribute in conservation efforts by insisting on idols made of clay rather than Plaster of Paris.
Humans have made tremendous progress in all fields of life, but this has been achieved at a cost. In attaining our goals and progressing towards a better life, we have disturbed the natural ecosystem which existed when there was zero pollution.
What is ‘pollution’? It is defined as an undesirable or unwanted change in the physical or chemical characteristics of the environment, which can adversely affect health and survival of humans and other living creatures.
Activities of the modern world contribute towards increasing air pollution. Air pollution in urban areas is mainly a result of petrol and diesel driven vehicles and is the chief cause for the urban population being exposed to high levels of oxides of carbon (carbon monoxide and dioxide), oxides of nitrogen (nitrogen monoxide and dioxide) and lead (as suspended particulate matter). These are constituents of automobile exhaust and there is no practical way of reducing levels of these pollutants. In India, the emission norms for petrol and diesel vehicles are already quite stringent (Bharat Stage IV); however, the increase in the number of vehicles results in an overall increase in the pollutants no matter what measures are taken.
One of the ways of mitigating the effects is by the use of trees, which are a natural barrier and assist in reducing high levels of pollutants (especially lead) and also are effective in decreasing noise levels.
Plantations along both sides of the roads and highways can contribute in controlling air and noise pollution caused due to vehicular traffic. The forest department terms such plantations “Avenue Plantation”. These were carried out on a very large scale by Karnataka Forest Department in Raichur district in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I recollect such plantations of eucalyptus trees, from my childhood, in the vicinity of Hutti Gold Mines. Trees with large simple leaves, such as banyan, peepul, mango are more effective than trees having compound leaves, for eg., gulmohar. Large scale avenue plantations can contribute in increasing the tree cover, apart from providing an aesthetic and pleasant experience on the road. Road side plants also support a variety of bird species like shrikes, drongos, babblers, orioles, mynas, etc.
Very nice information about pollution and how it should be managed. Thank you and keep writing more on a different topic in your next blog.
ReplyDelete