As the crow fllies

During our 2nd day at the resort, we were walking along a slushy path towards the coir village, to watch a few women and maybe the learn the trick of making coir threads from coconut fiber. A few steps ahead, my friend M was walking, her camera ready to capture anything interesting. i was trailing behind her when suddenly she drew to a halt and motioned me towards her with a finger on her lips. 

M: Aarti, look there it is again. the common crow... They seem to be romancing ... :)

Me: oh yes, how pretty... 

Ani who was walking ahead with her son exclaimed.. 'hello, we see the common crow all over back home, what is wrong with you both"[giggles]

Me: Ahem, Ani, this is not a crow... this is a butterfly di.. 

A: Oops.. my bad, was wondering why you girls are gushing over the boring crow... :)

The beautiful butterfly called 'Common Indian crow" we saw quite a bit through our stay at the Coir Village Resort in Kerala.

The Common Crow is a glossy black butterfly with brown underside and little white marks along the outer margins of the wing. The wingspan is about 8-9 cm and the body also has prominent white spots that you cant miss.

Wiki: It is found everywhere in India, right up into the mountains till 8000 feet. Occasionally it swarms in the low, wet jungles of South India due to the abundance of its food plants which are spread over three orders of plants.
 

We saw quite a few of these beauties over the next few days in  Kerala, apart from few other varieties...