India Reference Libraries
The Small Buttonquail (Turnix sylvatica), also known as the Andalusian Hemipode is a buttonquail and one of a small family of birds which resemble, but are unrelated to, true quails. The species is resident from Southern Spain and Africa through India and tropical Asia to Indonesia. It avoids thick forest and hilly country. It lives preferably in cornfields and stretches of grassy plain as well...
The Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata), is a pangolin that is found in many parts of India. Like other pangolins, it has large, overlapping scales on the body which act like armor. It can also curl itself into a ball as self defense against predators such as the Tiger. It is an insectivore and feeds on ants and termites, digging them out of their mounds using its long claws that are as long...
The Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), also known as the Great One-horned Rhinoceros, is a large mammal found in Nepal and in Assam, India. The rhino once inhabited areas from Pakistan to Burma and may have even roamed in China. But because of human influence their range has shrunk and now they only exist in small populations in northeastern India and Nepal. These rhinos live in tall...
The Chinkara (Gazella gazella bennetti), also known as the Indian Gazelle, is a species of gazelle found in South Asia. It lives in grasslands and desert areas in India, Pakistan, and parts of Iran. The population of Chinkara is declining due to being hunted for game. Indian film star Salman Khan was sentenced to a 5 year imprisonment for hunting and killing several chinkaras and blackbucks....
The Onager (Equus hemionus), is a large mammal belonging to the horse family. It is native to the deserts of Syria, Iran, Pakistan, India, Israel, and Tibet. It is sometimes referred to as the half ass or Asian Wild Ass. There are six subspecies recognized, of which one is extinct and two endangered. Their range has contracted greatly under pressures of hunting and habitat loss. Onagers are...
The Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius), is an ungulate native to the Nilgiri Hills and the southwestern portion of the Western Ghats range in India. It is known locally as the Nilgiri Ibex or simply Ibex. The Nilgiri Tahr is more closely related to sheep than it is to other Tahrs. Its habitat is open mountain grassland within the mountain rain forests eco-region above 6500 feet generally....
The Grizzled Giant Squirrel, Ratufa macroura, is a large species of squirrel found in Sri Lanka and in the forests of southern India. The species is found in patches of river forest along the Kaveri River in south India and also in hill forests towards the southern tip of peninsular India and in parts of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka race is R. macroura dandolena from the Singhalese name of...
The Indian Giant Squirrel, Ratufa indica, is a large forest squirrel found in South Asia. It is sometimes called the Malabar Squirrel in India. It is distributed in tropical forest along the Western Ghats, central and north eastern India and Nepal. Adult squirrels grow to about 3.3 feet long and weigh around 4.4 pounds. Its coat can be off-white, red, or almost black, though some colour...
The Madras Treeshrew, Anathana ellioti, also known as the Indian Treeshrew, is found in the hill forests of central and southern India. This species is named after Sir Walter Elliot of the Indian Civil Services in Madras. This treeshrew is 6.3 to 7.3 inches long with a tail 6.5 to 7.75 inches long. It is easily separated from the squirrels in the field by the shape and color of the tail and...
The Barasingha, Cervus duvaucelii, is a species of deer native to India and Nepal. It is also found in the United States in the state of Texas on hunting ranches where it was introduced a hundred years ago. In the Terai the deer lives on marshland and is rarely seen outside it. In Central India they live in grasslands in the proximity of forests. Today the species has disappeared entirely from...
