A Shikra is a raptor that is a widespread resident of both the Indian forests and cities. There are a couple of them living in my neighborhood in Bangalore who I had photographed and talked about in the previous post on Shikra. We saw the one featured in this post at the Kabini backwaters.

We were on a evening safari on yet another trip to the Nagarhole national park. We had just entered the forest when we spotted a Shikra perched on a tree close to the safari tracks. The bird gave us exactly five different poses in under two minutes before flying away. We wanted to point out how the Shikra, like most raptors, can turn its head almost a full circle to get a comprehensive 360 degrees view of its habitat.

Shikra

Shikra

Shikra

Shikra