Wild Living

The herd crosses the plots most mornings, heads down in the grass, ears turning at every sound. Stand still and they will let you watch.The herd crosses the plots most mornings. Stand still and they will let you watch.

Tall and straight, with leaves as broad as a plate. In the dry months it lets them fall and the ground turns to paper underfoot.Tall and straight, with leaves as broad as a plate.

The wild dog of these forests, rust red and never alone. A pack keeps in touch as it hunts with soft, high whistles.The wild dog of these forests, rust red and never alone.

A small bird of the forest floor in green, blue and buff, with a flash of red under the tail. Its clear two-note whistle carries at dawn and dusk.A small bird of the forest floor in green, blue and buff, whistling at dawn and dusk.

A small, unassuming tree with one of the oldest scents in India. It grows slowly and takes its time, which suits the place.A small tree with one of the oldest scents in India.

Shaggy, short-sighted and fond of termites and fruit. It keeps to the scrub and to the evening, and prefers to be left alone.Shaggy, short-sighted and fond of termites and fruit. It prefers to be left alone.

A big owl with ear tufts and yellow eyes that hunts fish and frogs along the streams after dark. By day it sits tight in the shade of a tree.A big owl with yellow eyes that hunts along the streams after dark.

A dark, close-grained wood prized for furniture for centuries. In the forest it simply stands, broad and patient.A dark, close-grained wood, prized for centuries.

Quiet for something so large. They feed at the forest edge and move on, and while they are here, the land is theirs.Quiet for something so large. While they are here, the land is theirs.

A forest eagle that waits on a high perch and drops on its prey. It is named for its plumage, which runs from pale to almost black.A forest eagle that waits on a high perch and drops on its prey.

A tall tree with bark cracked like crocodile skin. It holds water through the dry season, when the rest of the forest goes thirsty.Bark cracked like crocodile skin. It holds water through the dry season.

Maroon and cream and nearly a metre from nose to tail. You hear it first, a loud rattling call from high in the canopy.Maroon and cream, nearly a metre long. You hear it first.

You hear them before you see them, calling from the trees at first light. The males carry the colour; the mornings carry the sound.You hear them before you see them, calling at first light.

Hard enough that it once made the axles of bullock carts. Before the leaves fall they turn copper, and the hills change colour with them.Hard enough to make cart axles. Its leaves turn copper before they fall.

It does not fly so much as glide, from one tree to the next, long after dark. A shape against the sky, then gone.It glides from tree to tree, long after dark.

Black, with a bare red head and red legs. Critically endangered across India, and still seen over these forests.Critically endangered across India, and still seen over these forests.

A tree that bleeds a deep red gum when its bark is cut, long used for medicine and dye.It bleeds a deep red gum, long used for medicine and dye.

A heavy curved beak and a call like a short laugh. It feeds on figs high in the tall trees and seldom comes down.A heavy curved beak and a call like a short laugh.

Spotted gold and almost never seen in the open. It rests in the trees by day, and the first you know of one is often a print in the red earth.Spotted gold and almost never seen in the open.

A leopard born dark, its rosettes still there when the light catches them. The forests of Kabini next door are among the few places in India where one walks.A leopard born dark, its rosettes showing when the light catches them.

The forest's largest cat, its stripes made for long grass and shade. Bandipur is one of India's tiger reserves, and a mother walking with her cub means a forest in good health.The forest's largest cat. A mother with her cub means a forest in good health.