Wildlife N-epal.com

Archive for September, 2009

The pansy or pansy violets are a large group of hybrid plants cultivated as garden flowers.  The name “pansy” also appears as part of the common name for other Viola species that are wildflowers in Europe. Some unrelated species, such as the Pansy Monkeyflower, also have “pansy” in their name. Pansy breeding has produced a wide range of flower colors including yellow, gold, orange, purple, violet, red, white, and even black (extremely dark purple) many with large showy face markings. The pansy flower has two top petals overlapping slightly, two side petals, beards where the three lower petals join the center of the flower, and a single bottom petal with a slight indentation. Stem rot, also known as pansy sickness, is a soil-borne fungus and a possible hazard with unsterilized animal manure. The plant may collapse without warning in the middle of the season. The foliage will flag and lose color. Flowers will fade and shrivel prematurely. Flowers of Nepal…Pansy

The Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus) is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. This species was formerly referred to as the Black-shouldered Kite, but this name is now only used for the Australian species. This bird is unmistakable. It has a white head with a black “mask”, and white underparts except for black tips to its narrow falcon-like wings.Upperparts are blue-grey except for black shoulder patches. It takes live prey such as small mammals, birds and insects. The slow hunting flight is like a harrier, but it will hover like a Kestrel. The tail is short and square, quite unlike the more familiar Milvus kites. This bird was seen at the Koshi Tappu, Sunsari, Nepal. Birds of Nepal…Black-winged Kite