White-browed Bulbul

The white browed Bulbul is a shy member of the Bulbul family of passerine birds. It is a resident breeder in Sri Lanka and the coasts of peninsular India. More info after the jump.

The white-browed Bulbul is about 20cm in length with a long tail. The upper part of the bird is an olive gray while the under parts are whitish. This species of Bulbul is identified by the white supercilium, the white crescent below the eye and the dark eye stripe. It also has a yellow vent, which is not always seen. The sexes are similar in plumage. It feeds on fruits, nectar and insects. It builds a cup shaped nest in a tree and typically lays two eggs per clutch.

The bird is usually detected by its characteristic call, a "loud rattle of sweetish notes", which is a familiar sound in the dry zone forests of Sri Lanka.

This photograph was taken at the Thalangama tank. I was out looking for Kingfishers when I came around a bend in the road and found it perched on a branch about 6 feet off the ground. It was very close to where I was standing and surprisingly it did not fly off or hide. I took these images at a focal length of 400mm. The light wasn't the best so I had to crank up the ISO to 1600. I was using the 400D at the time and wasn't too happy about increasing the ISO that much. At least I got a half decent image though!

Superb Fairy-wren

The Superb Fairy-wren is the most widespread of the ten species of fairy-wren found in Australia. Their range extends along the south eastern coast of Australia from Brisbane to Adelaide. It was once an abundant species and was once common in urban areas. More images and info inside.

The Superb Fairy-wren males defend a territory of between 0.5 and 2 ha. They live in family groups with the young of the previous years remaining in their parents' territory and contributing to the care of the younger siblings. During the non-breeding period the males moult into brown plumage similar to the females except for the tail which remains blue. The males also have a black beak while females and juveniles have chestnut coloured beaks.

Fairy-wrens have been described as the "least faithful birds in the world" because DNA fingerprinting has revealed that more than three quarter of the young within a "family" group are sired by males form outside the group. Females prefer "high quality" males and therefore, 4% of the males in an area sire 50% of the offspring. The attribute of the male Superb Fairy-wrens most related to their attractiveness to females is the duration they hold their bright blue breeding plumage. Older males are more attractive than younger males. Some "top quality" males moult directly from breeding plumage to breeding plumage.

I spent a fair amount of time trying to photograph these birds. They move around a lot in the undergrowth and therefore it is pretty hard to actually lock focus on them. To get a crisp image of them a relatively fast shutter speed has to be used. I could have increased the ISO but I wanted to produce images which had minimal noise. I guess using a hide would have been an option but I never had a hide or a substitute for one available.

 

The last two images show the actual colour of the Superb Fairy-wrens breast. It is a very dark blue but is often mistaken for being black.

 

I will update this post with images of a female Superb fairy-wren when I actually capture one!

Green Skimmer

The Green Skimmer is a widespread dragonfly in Sri Lanka. It is frequently found hovering near ponds, water ways, paddy fields and streams. More info inside.

This image was taken at Arankelle near Kurunegala. We were travelling up to Dambulla at the time and had planned to stop at Arankelle for breakfast as we wanted to have a look at the ruins of the ancient monastery. As I approached one of the ponds in the complex I noticed that it was teeming with dragonflies. The majority of them were either Green Skimmers or Scarlet Baskers. I sat on the steps leading down into the pond and waited a couple of minutes until this Green Skimmer settled on one of the reeds in the water. Fortunately I had the 100-400mm lens on the camera and was able to capture the image above without having to move any closer. The light was fairly good and I was able to shoot at 1/1000th of a second.

I also noticed a pair of dragonflies in the wheel position in flight but was unable to capture an image of them. I managed to lock focus on them but they moved before I could release the shutter.

I'm still not very good at identifying dragonflies and had actually thought that this Green Skimmer was a Sri Lankan Forktail. Thankfully Amila was able to correct me. 

Black-rumped Flameback

 A Black-rumped Flameback photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

More images of this woodpecker can be found at http://devwijewardane.blogspot.com/2010/05/black-rumped-flameback-part-2.html

Out of all the birds found in Sri Lanka, the Black-rumped Flameback is one of my favorites. It is also one of the most familiar birds found on the island. More details inside.

Click here to see techs.

The Black-rumped flameback (also known as the red backed woodpecker) is an unobtrusive bird which frequents residential areas. However, its call, which rises and then falls in pitch and accelerates, may give away its presence. The red back and the black and white head and neck are distinctive and can only be confused with the Greater Flameback. The Greater Flameback has an Ivory coloured beak and does not have the two white stripes around the eye. The Black-rumped Flameback has a black throat while the Greater Flameback's throat is white. The Black-rumped Flameback, like all other woodpeckers, has a stiff tail which it uses to support itself against tree trunks. It also has zygodactil feet with two toes pointed forward and two pointed backward. It is a large species measuring in at 26-29cm in length and uses its long tongue to feed on insects.

A pair of Black-rumped Flamebacks frequents our garden in the heart of Colombo. We've had regular visits from these birds for years. The image above was taken from a bed room window at home. I was able to spend around 40 minutes photographing these birds as they hopped along the branches foraging for food just 20 meters away from where I was.

Glassy Tiger

The Glassy Tiger is a common butterfly found at an altitude of up to 5000 feet, over most of the island. More info on the butterfly and the image inside.

Click here for techs.

With a wingspan of 65-80mm it is the slowest of the Danaids. It spends much of its time between 5 and 10 feet and rarely flies up into the canopy. It is the most shade loving of all the Danaids and is frequently seen nectaring on flowers in the undergrowth. It has a chemical defense that protects it against predators. When handled, it plays dead and emits a foul smelling substance. The sexes are similar.

The male has scent patches on the hind wing. The pouch shaped patch on vein 1 is larger than the pouch on vein 2. Both are more swollen and visible on the underside than on the upper side. The markings on the Glassy Tiger are uniformly grey. It is also the smallest butterfly in the group.

The Glassy Tiger is similar to the Blue Tiger, Dark Blue Tiger, Female Dark Wanderer and the Common Mime.

The fact that it is slow in flight probably helped me when it came to capturing the image above. I followed it as it settled on a number of different flowers until I finally got the shot I was after. I used the 100-400mm lens for this and therefore I didn't have to get too close to it. I came across this butterfly in the middle of the afternoon which is probably the worst time to photograph Butterflies. The best time to photograph them is early morning before they "warm up" in the sun and become more active. Make sure that your shadow does not fall on the subject when you approach it as that tends to disturb them.

I've got more shots of this butterfly at http://devwijewardane.blogspot.com/2010/04/glassy-tiger.html