A ‘hummingbird’ in Lalbagh!

Dhiraj Gaurh was astounded by a very large creature, which, he felt, might be a Hummingbird. Here are the excellent shots he got, of the creature drinking nectar from Aster flowers:

He posted the link to the photos in the egroup of the Bird Watchers’ Field Club (contrary to its name, this is a group of enthusiasts of all forms of wildlife and nature.) Several people (Rachna Shetty, Gautam Krishnan, Vijay Krishna, Ravi Vaidyanathan, Anubhav Vanamamalai, Nandhu Sridhar)  promptly responded to him,  identifying this, not as a Hummingbird (we do not have them in India), but as the Hummingbird Hawk Moth

Its hovering behaviour, accompanied by an audible humming noise, makes it look remarkably like a hummingbird while feeding on flowers.

So…the next time you see something which might be a bird…it might not, actually, be one!

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About Deepa Mohan 152 Articles
Deepa Mohan is a freelance writer and avid naturalist.

3 Comments

  1. Thanks for the information. I saw exact same creature in my terrace garden and took it for a humming bird

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