Pied Kingfisher - Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) - Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

I hadn't photographed a Pied Kingfisher until my last trip to Arugam Bay in July. I came across a pair of them hunting along a small waterway on the side of the road. They were making short flights out over the water and hovering for a while and returning to their perch on a telephone wire. Fortunately for me, they hovered for long enough for me to take a few photographs.

More inside.

 Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) - Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

Pied Kingfishers range from sub-Saharan Africa across to west Asia. The species found in Sri Lanka is considered to be a sub-species named leucomelanura. They are about 17cm in length and are white with a black mask. The males have a narrow second breast band while females have a broken breast band. The photographs above are of a male. It hunts by hovering over water to locate prey and then diving bill first to capture fish. 

Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) - Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

These photographs were taken with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. The conditions were not ideal as the clouds were a very bright background for these flight shots. I also had to push the ISO up to be able to shoot photographs of the birds in flight. I'm hoping to get some better shots in the future but they are not too bad for a first effort.

Pied Parasol - Thalangama, Sri Lanka

Pied Parasol (Neurothemis tullia tullia) - Thalangama, Sri Lanka

I have photographed the Pied Parasol on a number of my early morning trips to Thalangama. They are fairly common in the area and can often be found perched close to the water. Although the male and female are completely different in terms of appearance, this species is unmistakable.

More photographs inside.

Pied Parasol (Neurothemis tullia tullia) - Thalangama, Sri Lanka

The adult male's wings (1st photograph) have a broad black band followed by a white band. It's body colour varies with age with juveniles initially having a light brown body. The females have dark brown tips with brown spots in the middle of their golden wings.  Their abdomens are light brown and yellow.

Pied Parasol (Neurothemis tullia tullia) - Thalangama, Sri Lanka

This species is generally found around tanks, ponds, marshes, slow flowing streams and paddy fields. They can be found from the lowlands to the mid hills throughout the year. It can be found throughout South and south-East Asia.

Pied Parasol (Neurothemis tullia tullia) - Thalangama, Sri Lanka

These photographs were taken with the Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. I would like to start photographing dragonflies with a macro lens at some stage. This is probably a good species to start with as it let me get quite close to it without taking flight.