Ihtisham Kabir

The parrot family of birds is a prolific group which includes over 390 species. The family includes parakeets, lorikeets, lovebirds, cockatoos, cockatiels, macaws, amazons, galahs and many others. Some of the most beautiful birds of the world are parrots.

It was late afternoon and the winter sun bathed the forest in its golden light. The stillness of the surroundings was perturbed when,

We often equate Sundarban's wildlife with the Bengal Tiger. Indeed, it is a magnificent creature and justifiably captures our imagination. But you have to be extremely lucky so see it during a tourist trip to Sundarban.

As human civilization has grown ever more mechanized, an instinct deep within us has created a yearning for the wild and the untamed.

For birders, a trip to Hokkaido during winter revolves around the Red-crowned Crane. However, there are several other spectacular birds that one can see in Hokkaido in winter.

The monkey was high up on the jackfruit tree. It was all black except for circles of white around its eyes and mouth. It held something close to its breast, covering it with both arms.

Hokkaido is the northernmost of Japan's four large islands. It has many specialties: fresh dairy products, chocolate, seafood, an icy cold winter, stunning natural beauty and a variety of wildlife. For birders, Red-crowned Cranes playing in Hokkaido's snow is among the world's great avian spectacles.

Fifty thousand people travel every winter to Hokkaido, the northernmost Japanese island. Landing in the small airport at Kushiro, they head to the north-eastern part of the island and brave subzero temperatures and lashing cold winds – all to see a bird. But it is not just any bird. The Red-crowned Crane, white and black with a red spot on its head, is exquisitely beautiful, and its gracious movements on the snow captivate our imagination.

In 2017 I went to Madagascar to look for birds and wildlife. The fourth largest island in the world is home to a large collection of plants and wildlife seen nowhere else. It has several distinct types of terrain: mountainous forests, rainforests, dry (spiny) forests and deserts. This is one of the reasons for the variety of life there.

The first twenty years of my photographic life were spent with black and white film. Finding your subject, you set one or two camera functions, composed the photograph, pressed the shutter and moved on to the next photograph.

For the final time this season, my friend Niaz and I are on a boat on the Padma in Rajshahi. We are watching birds in the chars.

I am visiting Sundarban and, as always, its plants amaze and confound me. How do they survive in this harsh unfriendly environment dominated by saline water and inundated by tides twice daily? How can I learn to identify these plants which are different from those of mainland Bangladesh?

Sometimes when we want something very badly and try hard to get it, it eludes us.

The Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh, Vol. 26, Birds describes the Black Stork thus: “It is a large, glossy black waterbird

Baikka Beel is a large, shallow lake at the southern end of the wetland Hail Haor. It is located midway between Srimongol and Molvi Bazar.

By now many have seen it: the photograph and video of the giant humpback whale as it leaps out of the ocean and flies a short distance before landing on the water, its entire body clearing the water's surface for a second or two.

Winter brings good tidings for birdwatchers in Bangladesh. The pleasant weather gives us an incentive to explore the woods, fields and waterways. It is easier to find birds because the avian population swells due to the arrival of migrant birds.

Cairo, the capital of Egypt, has 20 million people spread over 600 square miles. Founded over a thousand years ago during the Fatimid dynasty, it is historically rich and strategically important. But for me Cairo is also the home of the grand storyteller Naguib Mahfouz who deftly weaved tales of this intricate city in his Cairo Trilogy.

Australia, the only country which is also a continent, is very special for bird enthusiasts. There are 969 bird species found there, but what's special is that 353 are endemic species, that is, they are found nowhere else but in Australia. In comparison, nearly 700 species of birds are seen in Bangladesh, but none are endemic.

Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary is 133 kilometres north-east of Dhaka in Chunarughat Upazila of Habiganj district. Driving from Dhaka can take four to five hours. The last few kilometres are rough going, negotiated preferably during the dry winter months.