Common Iora (female) - Thalangama, Sri Lanka
While I was in Colombo in July I visited the Thalangama wetlands almost every morning to photograph the bird life. On one of my visits I came across a few Common Ioras. I hadn't photographed them before and took the opportunity to shoot a few frames. The photograph above is one of my favourites because of the warm early morning light on the bird.
More photographs inside.
Common Iora (male) - Yala, Sri Lanka
The males proved to be a bit more elusive and I wasn't able to get many shots of them. Males are unmistakable as their upper parts are a blue-black in colour where as the females are a dull yellow. The Common Iora is found throughout the lowlands and the mid hills of Sri Lanka. It is a very vocal bird but can be difficult to see due to it's plumage.
Common Iora (female) - Yala, Sri Lanka
The male Common Iora is said to perform an "acrobatic courtship display" during the breeding season. It is said to puff up it's feathers and dart into the air and spiral back to the same perch. Once it lands, it spreads its tail and droops its wings. I am yet to see this performance.
Common Iora (female) - Yala, Sri Lanka
All the photographs on this post were taken with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. I did push up the ISO to allow me to use a faster shutter.
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