A passerine is any bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species.

Sometimes known as perching birds or songbirds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by the arrangement of their toes (three pointing forward and one back), which facilitates perching.

Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers.

They are not necessarily closely related to one another but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous.

The most fascinating and little known aspect of this apparently familiar bird is its mating habit.

Some of the hawk family are monogamous while others are not.

While the male and female court each other and build a nest before they actually mate, the mating itself is a marvel.

The male and female soar high flying in circles together and the male dive towards the female.

They repeat this soar and dive multiple times until the male latches onto the female at which point the male and female free-fall towards the ground.

The copulation ritual must be one of the most exciting among the animal kingdom.

Kolkata, the City of Joy has innumerable experiences and a novel way to immerse in this charmingly chaotic city is the luxury river cruise onboard the Bengal Ganga or the Ganges Voyagers.

It is easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer expanse of the experiential spectra available, which is not just a platitude but the absolute reality.

Kolkata is a hidden gem, hiding in plain sight, lost in the annals of history and a world whose priorities underwent a paradigm shift.

But every once in a while, it is soothing to slow down and experience something unique and timeless to get a fresh perspective.

We cannot think of anything more apt than exploring India through a river cruise on the Ganges, India’s lifeline.

India being blessed with rich fauna and flora, has preserved several national parks and animal reserves across its latitudes and longitudes.

Out of them, Kanha National Reserve, in Madhya Pradesh, is perhaps the largest in the country, spread over an area of 940 sq km, it is so huge that it covers two adjacent districts of Madhya Pradesh. 

An unmistakable bird of wetlands, swamps and shallow lakes, sometimes found along alkaline and brackish water bodies.

They are the second largest among the pelican family with wingspans of 7.5 feet to 11.8 feet.

Males can weigh as much as 10 kg and females at 7 kg are slightly smaller.

The male has a downward bend in the neck and the female has a shorter, straighter beak.

Seeking inclusive growth, wellbeing and self-actualization are the cruces of all endeavour at Exotic Heritage Group.

We have stayed on this path for more than fifteen years and evolved as we go along, learning and discovering more about the interconnectedness of things.https://www.exoticheritagegroup.com/blog/inclusive-wellbeing.html 

The Variable Wheatear found on the Indian sub-continent is a member of the Old World flycatchers, a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds mostly restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia).

These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing.

Bharatpur is home to the wonderful Unesco-listed Keoladeo National Park, a wetland and one of the best bird sanctuaries in the country.

Although Bharatpur is known for it park, it also has a few historic remnants and a good museum that are worth visiting.

Bharatpur hosts the boisterous and colourful Brij Festival just prior to Holi celebrations.

It has a very easy approach as it lies between the golden triangle (Delhi, Agra and Jaipur).

The world has not been through anything like COVID-19, the coronavirus outbreak, labelled as a global pandemic by WHO, in a long while.

With each passing moment, the confirmed cases and mortality keeps rising.

There is not a single human endeavour that has not been affected.

Years of progress has been undone, wealth erased overnight, travel and tourism are at an inflexion point.

Inboxes are filled with cancellations and withdrawals.

The paranoia of yesterday has become the norm of today with even Prince Charles folding hands in greeting.

As I was sitting on the top deck, the cool wind gently brushed against my face, reminding me what a great decision I had made by booking a cruise trip with RV Bengal Ganga.

I am a frequent traveler and was looking forward to this Cruise in India, however, this particular cruise exceeded all my expectations.

Since this was a new endeavour, at first, I was a little skeptical about the experiences that I would set out on.

Everything changed as soon as I entered the RV Bengal Ganga and I was never more certain about my decision.