Peeping into the fame of Great Hornbill!

In my childhood, I saw only sparrow, crow or mynah. Then whenever I visited a zoo, I wondered much on seeing much larger birds, naturally. One among those larger birds is our Great Hornbill (Great Indian Hornbill, 'Periya iruvayen' in Tamil, Buceros bicornis). It has a massive curved beak like elephants have their trunks.

Aromatic herbs - Holy Basil & Lime Basil

There are two different varieties of plants in my backyard that grow by themselves and have aromatic leaves in common. Both of them have medicinal properties and are very popular in India. What are they? Holy Basil and American Lime Basil. Yes, they have also some different and distinct properties.

Hide & seek by this wandering star - the Venus!

In my childhood I wondered and was also attracted towards many things. One such thing is today's topic. Before sun rise, I found often a brighter and bigger star shining on the clear dark sky. It enchanted me much. On some other days I found it missing. I wondered again where it had gone. On inquiring elders, I was informed about its name - Morning Star ('Vidi velli' in Tamil). But I could not get its whereabouts.

Worm that walks - the Millipede!

As school students we used to exclaim at 'worms that walked' with their legs that moved in a wavy pattern! We called them 'Train worms' as they resemble a train (Railvandi poochi' in Tamil).


We also poked them with a stick to see them how they coil round themselves and remain dormant! It is the Millipede (Yellow-spotted millipede, 'Maravattai' or ' Railvandi poochi' in Tamil, Harpaphe haydeniana).

Trees with different responses!

In my childhood, I have been shown the plant, ' Touch-me-not' as a wonder, whenever our family visited Courtallam (the hilly and holly tourist centre, The Spa of Southern India). Now I am able to see that the tropical trees too exhibit such response to environmental stimuli! See here how this Mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) responds to the touch by rain drops: