Endemics hold a special fascination for birders. They are
the obvious target birds for a birder visiting a new part of
the globe. But at deeper level, they fascinate us since they
have an aura of mystery and exoticness, each endemic
representing a unique trajectory through time and space of the
biogeographic processes that have shaped Earth’s biodiversity.
The Indian Subcontinent has more than its share of endemics
since its biodiversity is characterized by both confluence and
isolation – confluence of three great avifaunas (Oriental,
Palearctic and African) and isolation due to mightly mountain
ranges, deserts and oceans. Vivek explores this avifauna with
a particular focus on the endemics of the Western Ghats
(isolated forested hills of South West India) and Northern
plains, using photographs from his recent trips. Join Vivek in
exploring the birds of the Land of the Tiger and the Taj.
Vivek Tiwari
A founder member of
delhibird. Vivek loves to share his passion for the birds of
India, which is where he started birding during college about
20 years go. Since then he’s lived and birded in North America
– 5 years on the east coast during graduate school at
Princeton, NJ and the last 15 years as a Santa Clara County,CA
resident. A self-described “birder first”, Vivek took up bird
photography as a way of enhancing the birding experience but
finds himself increasingly drawn to bird photography as
a rewarding and consuming pursuit in its own right. Vivek has
also birded extensively in Central and South America and draws
upon this experience in comparing and contrasting the Old and
New World avifaunas in his talks. Vivek works at Intel Corp.
where is the Director of the Corporate Platform Office. Vivek
is also the Coordinator for the South Asian Natural History
Network (nathistory-india@princeton.edu).
This is the first of the talks, we have another in October
titled - Rare Birds of India |
