Brown Headed Barbet

A Brown Headed Barbet, also called the Large Green Barbet, photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

The Brown Headed Barbet, also known as the Large Green Barbet, is a common resident throughout the island and frequently visits our garden in Colombo. It is a resident breeder in India and Sri Lanka. It is often found in heavily built up areas where there is heavy tree cover.  Read on for more images and info.

A Brown Headed Barbet, also called Large Green Barbet, photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

The Barbet gets its name from the bristles which fringe their heavy beaks. The family of Asian Barbets comprises of 26 species and range from Indonesia to India and north to Tibet. They are usually plump looking birds with large heads and beaks and short tails and necks. None of the Asian Barbets are considered to be threatened. However, some of the species are known to be intolerant of deforestation and require old growth forests to thrive.

A Brown Headed Barbet, also called the Large Green Barbet, photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

The Brown Headed barbet feeds mainly on fruit but is also known to prey on insects. It is known to visit bird trays if fruit is provided. A wide range of insects are known to be taken. These include ants, cicadas, dragonflies, crickets and beetles. Fruits are eaten whole and indigestible material such as seeds are regurgitated later. Because of this behaviour, Barbets are thought to be important in terms of seed dispersion in tropical forests.

A Brown Headed Barbet, also called Large Green Barbet, photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Barbets build their nests by excavating a nesting burrow, usually high up on an exposed branch or tree trunk, out of reach of most predators. Normally a clutch comprises of 2 - 4 eggs which are incubated for 13 - 15 days.

A Brown Headed Barbet, also called the Large Green Barbet, photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

The Brown Headed Barbet is around 27cm in length and is considered to be one of the larger species in the family Megalaima. It is easily distinguished form other barbets by its size, the exposed yellow skin around the eye and the streaked brown head.

A Brown Headed Barbet, also called Large Green Barbet, photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

I photographed these birds in DDecember and January in Colombo as well as Anuradhapura. I used the Canon 7D with the 100-400mm lens.

Other images / info on Barbets

• Brown Headed Barbet
• Yellow Fronted Barbet
• Crimson Fronted Barbet

White-throated Kingfisher

A White-throated Kingfisher photographed in Colombo

Amongst all the Kingfishers found in Sri Lanka, the White-throated Kingfisher is probably the most common. It frequents home gardens in urban areas and is often seen perched on telephone lines on the side of the road. More info and images after the jump.

A White-throated Kingfisher photographed in Anuradhapura

The White-throated Kingfisher is also known as the White-breasted Kingfisher or Smyrna Kingfisher. It is a widely distributed Tree Kingfisher which can be found from Bulgaria, east through South Asia up to the Philippines. It is a resident throughout this range but some populations are known to make short migrations. It is a large Kingfisher, measuring up to 28cm in length. It can be found in a variety of habitats, ranging from open country with trees, up to 7500 feet in the Himalayas. The White-throated Kingfisher is not considered to be threatened and its range is expanding.

A White-throated Kingfisher photographed in Colombo

It is often seen perched on wires or other exposed perches within its territory. It usually hunts reptiles, insects, rodents, snakes and fish. Predations of small birds have also been reported. The young are fed mostly on invertebrates.   

This species of Kingfisher begins breeding at the onset of monsoons. During the mating displays, males perch on high posts and call in the early hours of the morning. The wings are flicked open for a short period of time to expose the white wing mirrors. They also raise their bills high to expose their white throats and front. The nest is a tunnel in an earth bank and is usually around the 50cm mark in length. The nest building starts with both birds flying into the earth bank until they make an indentation which they can perch on. They then continue digging with their bills. A clutch consists of 4-7 white, round eggs which take 20 days to hatch. The chicks fledge in 19 days.

A White-throated Kingfisher photographed in Colombo

The images taken in Colombo were captured in our garden using a Canon 7D camera with a 100-400mm lens. I also sighted this bird in Trincomalee and Kandy during my last trip to Sri Lanka.

  

Common Kingfisher

The Common Kingfisher is found throughout Sri Lanka, although it is scarce at the highest elevations. It is not as common as the White-throated kingfisher but can be found at most village tanks (man made lake). More images and info inside. Click the images on this post to view larger versions.

It is easy to identify this species of Kingfisher due to its small size and overall blue plumage but may be confused with the extremely rare Blue-eared Kingfisher. The Chestnut coloured ear coverts differentiate the common Kingfisher from the Blue-eared Kingfisher. However, it must be noted that the Common Kingfisher can hide its ear coverts when it adopts a hunched pose. The female of the species is identical to the male except the female has an orange-red lower mandible.

The Common Kingfisher is widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia and North Africa. It is a common breeding species across most of its Eurasian range but is a winter visitor to North Africa. It inhabits clear, slow flowing streams and rivers with well vegitated banks. It frequents scrubs and bushes with overhanging branches from which it hunts.

The Common Kingfisher nests in a burrow, excavated by both birds, in a vertical riverbank.  The straight sometimes inclining burrow is usually 60-90 cm long and ends in an enlarged chamber. The nest cavity is unlined but soon collects a litter of fish remains. The Common Kingfisher typically lays five to seven eggs which are incubated by both sexes. Usually one or two eggs from a clutch fail to hatch as the parent can't cover them.

It hunts from a perch around one or two meters above the water with its bill pointing down as it looks for prey. Once prey is detected, it dives to seize the fish below the surface. The wings are open under water and the open eye is protected by a third eyelid. The bird then rises, beak first, and flies back to its perch. The Kingfisher then adjusts the fish in its beak so that it is held near the tail and then proceeds to beat it several times on the perch until the fish is dead. The fish is then swallowed head first.

Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Kingfisher

I visited the Thalangama tank on a regular basis during December and January with the aim of capturing a couple of decent images of this bird. I was fortunate enough to identify a perch which was frequented by a Common Kingfisher within the first couple of visits and managed to get a number of shots using the car as a hide. However, I wasn't too happy with these images as they needed to be cropped. I had to get closer to it. On my next visit, I waited until the bird had its back turned to me and got out of the car and moved closer on foot pausing whenever the bird looked in my direction. I managed to get within fifteen feet of the bird and captured the shots above. They have not been cropped. I was using the 100-400mm lens on the 7D.