Van Hasselt’s Sunbird ( Leptocoma brasiliana)

Van Hasselt’s Sunbird- Male (Rejoice Gassah)

Van Hasselt’s sunbird (Leptocoma brasiliana), is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is found in Northeast India, Bangladesh and Southeast Asia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.

It used to be considered a subspecies of the purple-throated sunbird.

In India it is was only then report by Dr. Vijay Anand in 2015 as first report of the Van Hasselt’s Sunbird in India. It was then in India due to the undivided India as the Sylhet District of now Bangladesh.

Van Hasselt’s Sunbird- Female

In India found in the Southern most part of Assam in Karimganj District. This birds usually feeds on nectars of flowers also smaller insects. Particullarly feeds on insects when feeding the young ones. A very beautiful bird, attractive medium-sized sunbird of lowland forests, from coastal scrub forests to inland evergreen forests. Male is black with an iridescent pink-red throat, a red belly, and a glistening blue-green crown. Female is extensively yellowish with a pale vent and a thin dark line through the eye. Purple-throated Sunbird is essentially identical, but ranges do not overlap. Female Plain-throated Sunbird can be similar, but is straighter-billed, with a darker head, and a faint pale ring around the eye.

Songs and displays during matting season- Two Males

Songs of this bird is pleasant to hear chirp chirp. and a very agressive when during matting season.

Pop’s Pit Viper

Pop’s Pit Viper

Trimeresurus popeiorum may grow to a total length of 770 mm (30 in), which includes a tail length 170 mm (6.7 in).

Dorsal scales in 21 (rarely 23) longitudinal rows at midbody; 9-11 upper labials, first upper labials separated from nasals by a distinct suture; a single supraocular. Ventrals 155-169; subcaudals 52-76, in males the base of the tail enlarged to the level of subcaudals 20-25; hemipenes long and slender, smooth, without spines. (copied from wikipedia)

Above green, below pale green to whitish, the two separated by a bright bicolored orange or brown (below) and white (above) (males) or white (females) ventrolateral stripe, which occupies the whole of the outermost scale row and a portion of the second row.

So many misconceptions about snakes.
Some wrong believes below. 
1. Some snakes have two heads
2. Some have head on the tail.
3.Snakes drink milk of cows.
4.snakes can kill on spiting footprints 
And many more, sorry all these are wrong. 
Most snakes are friendly its human that always stay cruel to start chasing and killing them. 
There are 4 most dangerous snakes in India. Spectakled Cobra, Krait, Russell’s Pit Viper and Saw Scale Viper. 
Almost 80% of those people killed on snake bites are either by handling them, stepped on them, Touch them while sleeping or trying to kill etc. 

What if all snakes are really how we fear them? They would crawl everyday and bite everyone and nobody’s gonna be safe.

Particoloured Flying Squirrel

Around 10:30 p.m near Badsaitila Reserve Forest, Dosdewa Khasi Village, Assam, I heard an animal moving on a tree. I was later able to identify it from the photo I took, to be the Particoloured Flying Squirrel (Hylopetes alboniger).

This is a species that is found in most of the South East Asian countries. It forages at night and uses tree hollows for nesting, as well as for roosting during the day. Sometimes, it has been seen being active during the day as well. It is found in the subtropical or tropical dry forests and is not easy to see in the dense forest canopy. It is extremely active, and glides very fast between trees. Its diet includes fruits, flowers and leaves.

It is threatened by habitat loss because of road expansion, dams, jhum cultivation and expansion of agricultural lands. Here, where I photographed it, people hunt it not for consumption, but because it feeds on the stem of the betel-leaf climber (paan), which is a source of income for the locals.

Particolored Flying Squirrel belongs to the genus Hylopetes and is distributed in northeast India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR (only in three locations), Vietnam and Cambodia (in some parts) (Duckworth et al., 2008). This species is listed under the Least Concern category by IUCN due to its relatively wide distribution in India and SE Asia and presumed large population. 

Below is the Photograph of a Particolored Flying Squirrel

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