This darter uses its spear-like beak to catch stunned-looking fish as it hunts in a river. The expert fisher was snapped in the Keoladeo Ghana National Park in India by Mrinal Sen. The 49 year old financial consultant said, “Darters usually target small fish but they won’t miss a chance when a big catfish comes along.” “Darters are very fast when they hunt so it was very difficult to get these shots. My patience eventually paid off when I got these shots of the catching and tossing of a catfish.” “Winter season is a great time to watch and photograph these birds in action here.” Please byline: Mrinal Sen/Solent News © Mrinal Sen/Solent News & Photo Agency UK +44 (0) 2380 458800 *** Local Caption *** When and where were these shots taken? The papers often ask for specific dates and locations and we would need to be able to provide this information upon request. Ans: The images were taken in the winter month of November in Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India What species of bird and fish are these? Are they common here? Ans: Bird species - Oriental Darter, Fish species - catfish. Darters are winter migratory birds in Keoladeo Ghana National Park. Is this a normal prey type for darters? The fish looks a bit big! Ans: Darter's primary food is fish. They primarily target small fish but they won't miss a chance of hunting big fish like catfish. The fish looks big because it was an adult catfish. Can you give us an insight into the moments leading up to this as well as directly after? Ans: I used to target and spent time shooting my target species without roaming all around the forest. In this case my target species was Darter and I concentrated on Darters only. There were many chances of Darter coming out with fish from beneath the waterbody but it was very difficult to shoot as Darters are very fast in action. But patience paid off and I was able to shoot some decent shots of Darters catching and tossing big catfish. How were you able to capture these images? Ans: Shooting birds in action is quite a difficult job and needs technical expertise and patience of course. I used a Nikon camera with a Tamron zoom lense to shoot these beautiful images. Is there any more information you would like us to include? Ans: Winter season starting October to February is good to watch and shoot these birds in action in the Keoladeo Ghana National Park. Finally, has anything changed biographical since the last set of yours we sent out? Ans: There is no change except implementing a few rules to safeguard the National park.