Bathing Purple Rumped Sunbirds

A Bathing Purple rumped Sunbird photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

It was early evening and our garden, at home in Colombo, had just been watered. I walked out of the house and found this drenched female Purple rumped Sunbird sitting on a large leaf. I was curious as to how it had got soaked and was trying to figure it out when it started rubbing itself on the wet leaf. More images and info inside.

A Bathing Purple rumped Sunbird photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

While I watched, the bird proceeded to wash its self by using its wings to flick water off the leaf. The whole "shower" took around 5 minutes and  the bird was not at all bothered by my presence. It was soon joined by a second Purple rumped Sunbird which did the exact same thing.

A Bathing Purple rumped Sunbird photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

I have a number of shots of the birds flicking water around but they were not very sharp. The birds movements were very quick and there wasn't sufficient light to use a faster shutter speed. If I remember correctly, the shutter speed for these shots were around 1/320 to 1/400. which in itself was quite fast.

A Bathing Purple rumped Sunbird photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

These images were captured with the 7D and the 100-400mm lens. I think the focal length was 400mm and the aperture was set to f5.6.

A Bathing Purple rumped Sunbird photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

More images of the Purple rumped Sunbird can be found here.

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 bellied Drongo

A White bellied Drongo photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

A number of White-bellied Drongos started calling our garden home a couple of years ago. I first noticed them along the drive way one evening as they were feeding on insects which were attracted to one  of the lamps. They were perched on a tree and were diving after the insects which flew close to the light. After this sighting I kept an eye out for them and found them in the back garden during the early evening. In the next few days I was able to identify their routine and their perches. Photographing the birds was also made easier by the fact that they allowed me to come within 6-10 feet of them.  I was fortunate enough to be able to shoot from the same height as their perches because they frequented the trees near our balconies.

More images and info after the jump.

A White bellied Drongo photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

The White bellied Drongo is a common bird from the lowlands to the mid hills of Sri Lanka. Interestingly, this is the only species of Drongo to have white underparts. According to the "Photographic guide to Birds of Sri Lanka" there are two races which are endemic to Sri Lanka. The wet zone form, White vented (pictured here), has less white confined to the vent area. The dry zone  form, White bellied, which has more white on its underparts. These birds are very good mimics and can imitate a number of birds and animals. 

A White bellied Drongo photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

The White bellied Drongo is found only in South Asia, mainly in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. These birds are insectivorous and mainly black in colour. The young birds are all black and can be often mistaken with the Black Drongo. The fork on the tail is not as deep as that of the Black Drongo.  the size of these birds vary clinally with northern birds being larger.   

A White bellied Drongo photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Birds may be seen individually or in groups of up to 3. They perch upright and capture insects in the air with acrobatic sallies. The breeding season is from February to July. The nest is shaped like a cup and is similar to that of the Black Drongo. However, the nest of the White bellied Drongo is made up of more twigs and is well lined with grass. A clutch consists of two to four eggs which are pale salmon in colour and has reddish blotches on the broad end. 

A White bellied Drongo photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

  

The White bellied Drongo builds its nest around 20 - 30 feet off the ground. They are aggressive birds and will take on potential threats which are larger than themselves. They have been observed imitating the alarm calls of squirrels  and the meowing of cats when mobbing. This species is also know to join mixed species feeding flocks. Although this bird is insectivorous, it is opportunistic and will prey on small birds.

A White bellied Drongo photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

A White bellied Drong photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

All these images were captured with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens.

Black-rumped Flameback - Part 2

A Black-rumped Flameback photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Out of all the birds found in Sri Lanka, the Black-rumped Flameback is one of the most striking in terms of colour.  It's bright red back makes it relatively easy to identify. However it can be mistaken with the Greater Flameback. More info on this species can be found in one of my previous posts at http://devwijewardane.blogspot.com/2009/11/black-rumped-flameback.html

We are fortunate to have a pair of these birds visit our garden on a very frequent basis. These images were all captured at home.

More images inside.

A Black-rumped Flameback photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

A Black-rumped Flameback photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

A Black-rumped Flameback photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

A pair of Black-rumped Flamebacks photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

• Black-rumped Flameback part 1
• Black-rumped Flameback part 2

The Greater Coucal

A Greater Coucal (Common Coucal) photographed in Colombo

The Greater Coucal, also known as the Common Coucal or the Crow Pheasant is a wide spread resident of southern Asia ranging from India to Southern China and Indonesia. Surprisingly, they are weak fliers and are usually seen clambering through vegetation. These birds are common in Sri Lanka and are distributed in varying habitats which range from gardens to degraded forests. More images and info inside.

A Greater Coucal (Common Coucal) photographed in Colombo

This bird is large in size and has been recorded at around 48cm in length. Juveniles are similar to the adult birds but have spots on the crown and whitish bars on the underside of the tail. The young, when hatched, have black skin and white hairy feathers which form a fringe over the eye and beak. Sexes are similar in appearance. 

The Greater Coucal feeds on insects, caterpillars, birds eggs, snails, nestlings and small vertebrates. They are most active during the warmer hours of the morning and late in the afternoon.

A Greater Coucal (Common Coucal) photographed in Colombo

The breeding season is after the monsoon in southern India but can vary in other parts of the range. The Greater Coucal is monogamous and their courtship displays include chases on the ground and the male bringing food gifts for the female. Nests are built mostly by the male in 3 - 8 days. A Typical clutch consists of 3-5 chalky white eggs. 

In British India the Greater Coucal was often mistaken for a Pheasant and shot. It was found to be "evil flavoured" and earned it the name "Griff's Pheasant".

These images were captured in our garden in Colombo. I was using the Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens at the time. 

Christmas in Colombo

We had a blast over Christmas as we spent a month over December and January in Colombo with family and friends. It was also a hell of a lot busier than Sydney was the year before! I captured around 70GB of images (most of them were shots of birds) while I was away and have lots of material for more animal and bird posts. However with this post I thought I'd share something a bit different for a change. More Christmas images after the jump.

There aren't too many shots of the food......... probably because I was eating! Here's a shot of some Brandy Butter which I managed to capture.

 

and the Christmas Pudding being lit.

Stork-Billed Kingfisher

Click here for techs.

Despite this kingfisher's distinctive call and the fact that it is not rare, I had not seen it in the wild for a number of years.

Therefore, I was quite surprised when I heard that it had started frequenting our garden in the heart of Colombo. As my luck would have it, I was in Sydney at the time and was not scheduled to head back to Colombo until December.

When I did finally get back to Colombo, the bird did not disappoint. It took only a couple of days before the kingfisher made an appearance. I heard it calling one afternoon and found it perched on a branch less than 10 feet from my bedroom window. The brid gave me plenty of time to get my gear and shoot twenty shots before it flew off.

This is the largest of Sri Lanka's Kingfishers. An adult is between 38-40cm.