“Life isn't just about darkness or light, rather it's about finding light within the darkness.”
― Landon Parham
It gets its name due to the yellow coloration of its legs which sets it apart from other pigeons which have legs that are shades of red.
It is essentially a frugivore and feeds on fruits of ficus trees but is also know to feed on grains off the stalk hardly ever descending to the ground.
It is the state bird of Maharashtra and although it is fairly common it is very hard to spot due to its perfect camouflage. It's colour is a mix of yellow and olive green and appears like sunlight passing through leaves. Its head and shoulder patch is bluish grey and easily passes off as the sky appearing between the leaves. Even it's legs are yellow and look like the stem of leaves.
The best time to spot these birds is the morning when these birds come to the outer branches of trees to bask in the sun and feed.
Yellow footed green pigeon
"Hariyal" in Marathi
Sony A77ii
Tamron 150-600
1/640s, f/6.3, ISO400, 600mm
Dholakwadi, Mulshi, Pune (India)
Jan 2018