Loten's Sunbird

Getting a shot of this sunbird, also known as a Long-billed sunbird, was not easy.



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The sunbird was a regular visitor to our garden in July when I was last at home. It would make an appearance almost every evenings and move amongst the bushes feeding.  I made several attempts to capture a decent shot of the bird but due to the fact that it hardly settled and the light conditions I was unsuccessful.

After two frustrating weeks the bird finally obliged. It settled on an exposed branch and I was able to capture a number of decent images. The light  wasn't the best, as it was late evening, but i did manage to use a shutter speed of 1/200 seconds.

This bird is simillar to the Purple Sunbird but is distinguished by the longer beak. The Loten's Sunburd can only be found in south India and Sri Lanka. The bird is found throughout Sri Lanka but is most common in the wet zone.