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

Travel Guides

Two travel guides for Europe

We are in the middle of planning a trip to Europe for September and have spent a fair bit of time, over the last month or so, looking for accommodation, travel options and deciding what we want to see and do. With everything finally booked up, I can't wait to leave. We still have two months of work to get through before we finally get four weeks off. Time has been passing fairly quickly so hopefully it won't seem like ages before we leave.

I've been thinking of taking this shot of a couple of travel guides for a while and actually got around to taking it last night. Read on for lighting information.

Before reading the lighting information, try reverse engineering it by looking at the image above. Pay particular attention to shadows as that will help you identify where the strobe was positioned.

I placed a white foam core board on the right hand side of the subject and fired a Canon 430EX (also camera right) at 1/16 into it. A second foam core board was positioned camera left and angled to reflect the bounced light back onto the travel guides. I used a 1/2 CTO gel to warm up the light a little.

The flash was triggered by the inbuilt wireless trigger on the 7D. I used a Canon 24-105mm lens to take this shot.

Gray Langur

A Gray Langur photographed in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

The Gray Langur, or the Hanuman Langur, is the most widespread Langur in South Asia.  The name "Hanuman" is derived from the Hindu monkey god from the epic Ramayana. This species is widely distributed in Sri Lanka and can even be found in Colombo. A troupe of these monkeys frequents our garden throughout the year. Although the name "Hanuman Langur" is widely used in India to refer to the group as a singe species, seven species of the Gray Langur have been identified. Of these, the Tufted Langur Semnopithecus priam can be found in Sri Lanka. More images and info inside.

A Gray Langur photographed in Anuradhapura Sri Lanka

The diet of the Gray Langur consists of leaves, fruits and flowers. The diet is also seasonal with large leaves being eaten in the winter months and fruit. Insects, tree bark and gum are used to supplement the diet. 

Although these monkeys sleep in trees, they spend a considerable amount of time on the ground. They are most active during the day and can often be seen walking on all fours. They live in medium to large groups which usually have a dominant male. Adolescent males who have been expelled from the group form their own bachelor packs. These packs are known to attack the packs that expelled them, with the aim of challenging the alpha males leadership. If they are able to kill the alpha male, a power struggle will ensue and all the infants fathered by the alpha male will be killed.

In India, a relationship seems to have developed between the Chital and troops of the Northern Plains Gray Langurs (another subspecies). The Chital seem to benefit from the Langur's keen eyesight  and the ability to have a look out in the tree tops. The look out raises an alarm when a predator is observed in the vicinity. The Langurs benefit form the chitals superior sense of smell to warn them of predators when they are feeding on the ground.    

Zoom Zoom Zoom

The wheel of a Mazda

I thought I'd take a break from the usual bird and butterfly shots and add a bit of variety to the blog, so here's a shot of the wheel of a Mazda. I had a few minutes to kill and the camera was with me. This resulted in the shot above. I liked how the Mazda logo was positioned and I felt all the leading lines made a strong composition.  I wanted the image to be a black and white one and exposed the image accordingly. Read on for more lighting information.

I actually didn't use any strobes to light the wheel. The shot was taken around 10.00 in the morning with the light coming from camera right. The wheel was slightly turned and this allowed the light to only hit the face of the wheel and keep the insides and grooves in shadow.

Do drop a comment if you have any suggestions on how this shot could be improved.

Crimson Fronted Barbet

A Crimson Fronted Barbet (also known as the Ceylon Small Barbet) photographed in Kandy, Sri Lanka

This small, endemic barbet, also known as the Ceylon Small Barbet, is common throughout the lowlands and mid hills of Sri Lanka. It is probably the only endemic seen in major cities. Some of the photographs in this post were actually taken in the middle of Colombo. Read on for more info and images of this species.

A Crimson Fronted Barbet (also known as the Ceylon Small Barbet) photographed in Kandy, Sri Lanka

Although this bird is fairly common, it is often overlooked because of its size and its colour. Its green  body makes it virtually impossible to spot in the canopy. It can only be mistaken with the Coppersmiths Barbet which doesn't have uniform green underparts or blue on its lower face. This bird generally lives in pairs but single birds are often seen. When I was photographing this bird in Kandy, I noticed that they were actually in a group of about 10 - 12 birds. This may have been because they were feeding on a fruiting tree.

A Crimson Fronted Barbet (also known as the Ceylon Small Barbet) photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

I was quite surprised to see this species at our place in Kandy as I had never seen them before. I was out looking for the Yellow Fronted Barbet when I noticed a number of them feeding on one of the fruit trees in the garden. In order to find them, I had to look out for the red forehead or wait for them to move. Unfortunately I was below them most of the time and therefore couldn't get too many decent shots.  As usual, I used the 100-400mm lens and the canon 7D to capture these images.

A Crimson Fronted Barbet (also known as the Ceylon Small Barbet) photographed in Kandy, Sri Lanka

Other images / info on Barbets

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

Chocolate Soldier

A Chocolate Soldier photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

The Chocolate Soldier is a common butterfly found in Asia. It is also known as the Chocolate Pansy. These butterflies are territorial and they spend a lot of time close to the ground. I found a number of them in Anuradhapura and they were all, rather surprisingly, within three feet of the ground. More info and images after the jump.

A Chocolate Soldier photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

The wingspan of the Chocolate Soldier is around 5 - 6cm. The depth of the brown colour on the upper-sides of both the male and the female vary. The females can be identified by the white markings on the oblique line on the underside of the hind wing.

A Chocolate Soldier photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

This butterfly lays its eggs on the ground or on dry twigs in close proximity to host plants. Once the larvae have hatched, they find their way to the host plants. It is unusual that the butterfly does not lay eggs on the host plants themselves. The larvae are a dark, dull brown in colour. 

A Chocolate Soldier photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Surprisingly these butterflies didn't mind my presence as they let me get very close to photograph them. I used the 100-400mm lens on the 7D. I feel I would have been able to get closer to it but was constrained because of the minimum focusing distance on the lens.

Clock - Specular Highlight

Clock - Specular highlight control

I was experimenting with the camera last night and decided to work on controlling specular highlights on images. The specular highlight is simply the reflection of the light source on the subject being lit. Creating  a specular highlight itself is a pretty straight forward process. The complexity lies in controlling the specular highlight in way which adds to an image. The "Specular Highlight" area in the image above is the glass area of the clock above 9, 8 and 7.  Read on to find out how I lit the image and created the specular highlight.

Since the specular highlight is the reflection of the light source, a small light source will produce a smaller specular highlight. However, this specular highlight will be a lot brighter because all that light comes from a small "point" light source. The down side of this is the fact that the specular highlight area on the image will be blown out on the histogram. An example of a point light source would be a strobed zoomed at 105mm.

A soft box on the other hand will produce a much better highlight as it is a larger light source. The specular highlight will be well contained in terms of tonal range as the light source is much bigger than a point source.

How I lit the shot above

I placed a Canon 430 EX II next to the clock and lowered the power to 1/32 and zoomed out to 24mm. I pointed the flash at the ceiling above the clock so that the reflection would be visible on the clock face. The wall behind the clock was white and I placed a white foam core board on camera right for fill light.

If I took this shot again I would probably increase the power of the flash to 1/16 to create a slightly stronger specular highlight. I'd still want the numbers below the highlight to be visible though.

Shutter Speed - 1/60
Aperture - f4.0
ISO - 100
Focal Length - 96mm
Lens - EF 24-105mm f4.0 L IS USM

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.