Common Iora

This is another common bird that is always present almost every where, even in the city.

Unlike the Tailor Bird, this is a fairly easy bird to photograph due to it's rather slow movement.

Another good 'target' bird for photography.

 














 

Buff-Rumped Woodpecker 'Fishing' for Ants

It was late afternoon and it was terribly hot. I took a shelter under a tree by the side of the track and to my surprise, there was a pair of Buff-Rumped Woodpecker right above me. I carefully position the camera to get a clear view of the birds but it's always a challenge to get  clear shots through the branches. I fired a few shots and when I looked at the display I noticed that the female bird was actually feeding on ants that got stuck on her feathers.

This was how she 'fished' for the ants : She sat quietly on the branch with the most ants for a while and let the ants climb onto her body and bit her.

And then, she would just pick the ants that were stuck on her feathers one after another....

A very clever trick, indeed....

But the male didn't seem to be interested with the ants 'snack' at all....

Male Red-Throated Barbet making his territorial call

With World Cup Football shown every night on TV, most males, I believe, spend less time on the internet. Anyway, I'd like to share the images of this male Red-Throated Barbet making his territorial call from a low perch which I captured during my Kenyir trip recently.

Being a canopy bird, it's quite rare to be able to capture these birds up close with my current setup. I guess, luck was on my side when I found this bird calling from such a low perch.

The lights under our forest canopy was very low, I had to add some flash in order to maintain a reasonable speed to avoid motion blur. I slowly moved in as close as  I could and he seemed to give me a wide grin as I began shooting........

And then he started singing. What amazed me most was that the very loud 'tok, tok, tok' sound we heard from these birds, was actually coming only from the throat , the beak was shut tight while singing.

Here is the sequence of the singing action. Initially, air was drawn in and the throat starts to bulge - up

The singing continues until the bulge of the throat depletes and the sequence was repeated.

Thank you Mr RT Barbet for allowing me to capture these images.....

The 'ever-present' Dark-Necked Tailor Bird

Where ever there are shrubs and bushes, even in the city, you'll surely come across these wonderful little birds. They are very common here in Malaysia. Common as they are, but I find them very interesting. Their quick movement and constant 'tail cocking', make them a good 'practice' bird.
I was stalking a Blue-eared Barbet high up in the canopy when this Dark-Necked Tailor Bird showed up just a few meters in front of my lens.

Their small size and quick movements make it quite a challenge to get a good capture.

The Bee-Eaters of Sg. Trengganu

I spotted a flock of these beautiful 'Blue-throated Bee-Eater' while driving along the left bank of Trengganu river near Kg. Temer, Kuala Brang recently. Using the car as a hide I moved as close as I could to a tree where a few birds were resting on a dead branch. It was quite a struggle to shoot through the car window without a proper support. Anyway these were my best effort that I would like to share.....

Even though they are known as 'BEE-EATER' they certainly enjoyed other insects as well... 

This one actually caught a butterfly earlier and trashed it on the branch a couple of times before attempting to swallow it.

My Backyard Birds

There are not many opportunities for me to do bird photography when I'm back home in Kelana Jaya, Selangor. Anyway, I went for a walk around the Kelana Jaya Lake and to my surprise, there were quite a few species of birds present and I managed to get a few shots that I'd like to share here.

This male Olive-backed Sunbird totally ignored my presence allowing me to get very close to him.

 




White-throated King Fisher is always present near the pond

Javan Mynah foraging for food

Black-naped Oriole with it's distinctive loud call

And also this very friendly Little Bronze Cuckoo

Closeup Photos

Just sharing some of my closeup shots from my collection