"Lightning tree"

 

A rare sight spotted on the open field in the taman, according to AI:

...  this branching, vein-like pattern in the grass is almost certainly caused by a recent lightning strike.

The True Cause: A Lightning Strike

When cloud-to-ground lightning hits an open lawn, the massive electrical discharge radiates outward through the upper layer of thatch, grass roots, and soil moisture.

• The Branching Pattern: The current takes the path of least resistance, branching out like a root system (known as a Lichtenberg figure or dendritic pattern).
• Instant Heat Damage: The extreme heat instantly vaporizes moisture inside the grass blades and roots, searing the turf along the electricity's exact path and leaving these narrow, bleached, or dead channels.

This specific branching, tree-like electrical discharge design is called a Lichtenberg figure.

• Lichtenberg Figures: Named after the German physicist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, who first discovered and studied these branching patterns while conducting experiments with high-voltage static electricity.
• Alternative Names: When these patterns occur naturally via lightning strikes, they are also frequently referred to as "lightning trees" or "lightning flowers".

Why the Pattern Forms

The branching shape occurs because electricity follows the path of least resistance. As the high-voltage current from the strike races through the moist grass blades and upper thatch layer, it repeatedly forks outward into smaller and smaller paths, leaving behind this distinct fractalline footprint. 

Black-winged Flycatcher-Shrike

It all started in what could be considered the more sodden part of tree barks for the pair of  Black-winged Flycatcher-shrikes, perhaps because the barks were soft and easier to rip off after a night's rain.

Moving on even higher.

The female came lower but was rather unproductive.

And then trying her luck on another tree she surprisingly left it untouched, perhaps the hardier bark fibre was too overwhelming.

Meanwhile the male was hard at work.

Despite a fair grip in his beak, the male went on to harvest more.

And he did lose some as he continued his foray with a beakful, before fleeing joined by the female.

Pink-necked Green Pigeon

Looking very much like the patriarch of a family, this Pink-necked Green Pigeon sat unmoved by my movements metres below him, or was it due to the current hazy atmosphere.

Close by nestled a younger male, cosy in its own company.

Oriental Magpie-Robin

 Did it fight with another?  Pretty sure.

Did it lose?  Quite likely.

Was it ostracised?  Perhaps.

Was it resigned to enjoy its own company?  Looked like it.

All alone, it skipped, hopped, jetted all over the field;  keeping up with it was sure challenging.

Pretty good looking nevertheless, despite its odd, worn-out looks.

Zebra Dove

 Upon sighting a pair of Zebra Doves, I recall and am taking the liberty to repost a lovely observation by Amar HSS of 9 Aug in the Wild Bird Club Facebook re the following:

Sexing in the Zebra Dove (Geopelia striata)

Kirwan et al. (2026) state that “sexes are similar in all plumages”. However, Gibbs et al. (2001) say that the adult female is “very similar to the male but the pinkish centre of the breast is narrower, barring extending further onto the breast”.

My personal observations, over many decades, favour the opinion of Gibbs et al. (2001). Whenever I have seen a courting or mating pair together, the features that Gibbs et al. (2001) state are sufficiently present to differentiate the sexes. Whether this is a breeding plumage change is uncertain.

Here is a composite image of a pair I saw courting this morning, so I was sure of the male and female. The male is on the left in the image. Note that in the female (right) the barring extends further onto the centre of the breast, whereas in the male (left) the pinkish centre of the breast is broader, extends further down and is richer in colour.

I believe we can differentiate sexes, at least when courting / mating.

References

1. Kirwan GM, Baptista LF, Trail PW, Horblit HM, Pyle P, Hansasuta C & Boesman PFD. (2026). Zebra Dove Geopelia striata, version 1.1. In Birds of the World (M. G. Smith, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.

2. Gibbs D, Barnes E, & Cox J. (2001). Pigeons and doves: A guide to the pigeons and doves of the world. Pica Press.

Without the benefit of a mating ritual, the closest comparison in my images would be to say the male is on the left notwithstanding the lighting.