Red Browed Finch

Red-browed Finch - Neochmia temporalis

The Red-browed Finch was one of several species we spotted around the Barrington tops area. Although it wasn't a lifer for me, it was the first time I managed to photograph them. Photographing them isn't easy as they are constantly moving while they forage on the floor. They were feeding in the undergrowth and the combination of the canopy and the undergrowth guaranteed that the quality of light wasn't the best.

More photographs after the jump.

Red-browed Finch - Neochmia temporalis

There are four "races" of Red-browed Finch and they are spread along the east coast of Australia. They are found in undergrowth forests, grassy clearings, coastal scrubs, heath, mangrove habitats. Females are similar in appearance to mails. This Red-browed Finch is also known as Red-browed Firetails.

Red-browed Finch - Neochmia temporalis

I used the 100-400mm Canon lens and the 7D to photograph these birds. I pushed up the ISO to about 400 from memory for these shots. In hindsight I should have pushed it up a bit more!

Red-browed Finch - Neochmia temporalis

Australian King Parrot

Male Australian King Parrot - Alisterus scapularis

The male Australian King Parrot is the only parrot with a completely red heard. During mating season their habitat is limited to heavier coastal and mountain forests on the south east coast of Australia. Once they have nested, king parrots will frequent farms, parks and even gardens in the area.

More photographs inside.

 Female Australian King Parrot - Alisterus scapularis

Although these Parrots frequent parks and gardens, including ours, I hadn't got around to photographing them. While we were at the Barrington tops I noticed a number of them around and took the opportunity to capture these images. It wasn't too easy to get close to them but fortunately I had the 100-400mm lens with me.

Male Australian King Parrot - Alisterus scapularis

The male and the female are easily identifiable as the female has a green head and the male's head is completely red in colour. The eye of the adult birds is yellow while juveniles have brown eyes. The birds are generally found in pairs or small flocks. I noticed that the birds which frequent camp sites are a lot easier to approach as they are used to people feeding them. 

Male Australian King Parrot - Alisterus scapularis

All these photographs were captured with the Canon 7D and the 100-400mm combination. I loved the bokeh on the first image and, as a result, decided to use it as the lead image for this post. 

Male Australian King Parrot - Alisterus scapularis

Satin Bower Bird

Female Satin Bowerbird - Ptilonorhynchus violaceus

The Satin Bowerbird is the best know of Australia's Bowebirds and can be found along the coast of New South Wales and Southern Queensland. I had seen the male in the Royal National Park on a number of occasions (record shot inside) but hadn't been able to see the female until recently. Due to its size and calls, it is relatively easy to identify as it draws attention to itself. I was able to tick off the female Bowerbird on our trip to the Barrington tops. A number of females Bowerbirds frequented the area near where we stayed and provided me with a number of opportunities to photograph them.

More images after the jump.

Male Satin Bowerbird - Ptilonorhynchus violaceus

The photograph of the male above was a record shot taken in the Royal National Park, south of Sydney. A better shot of a male Satin Bowerbird is on my shot list! Both male and female juvenile Satin Bowerbirds look like the female to being with. The male starts changing around the third year with the overall blue-black plumage not appearing until the seventh year. 

Female Satin Bowerbird - Ptilonorhynchus violaceus

The Bowerbirds have bright lilac coloured eyes which make them unmistakable.   They are usually seen in rainforests and wet eucalyptus forests but move out to more open woodlands throughout the autumn and winter months. 

Female Satin Bowerbird - Ptilonorhynchus violaceus

The photographs of the female Satin Bowerbird were captured with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. A Canon 400D was used for the photograph of the male.

Crimson Rosella

Crimson Rosella - Platycercus elegans

The Crimson Rosella, although relatively common, has not been the easiest bird for me to photograph. I had seen them on a number of occasions along the east coast of Australia but hadn't been able to get a clear shot. I found a few of them around where we stayed in the Barrington Tops and was finally able to get some unobstructed photographs of these birds.

More images after the jump.

Crimson Rosella - Platycercus elegans

I found them frequenting a small creek that ran behind the house where we were staying. They would arrive there at roughly the same time each morning which made things a bit easier for me. I was able to photograph them while they were feeding and also while they were cleaning themselves in the stream.

Crimson Rosella - Platycercus elegans

The light wasn't the best as there the creek was in a valley and there was a fairly dense canopy overhead. The birds moved around a lot and I had to use a fast shutter speed to capture these images. In order to get around the problem with the light, I had to bump up the ISO. I generally try to keep the ISO at 100 but the 7D performs pretty well in this regard.

Crimson Rosella - Platycercus elegans

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

 Crimson Rosella - Platycercus elegans

Wagtail

Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) - New South Wales, Australia 

I thought I'd go back to my bird / wildlife photographs for a change and give you guys a break from Europe.

The wagtail is a common resident found throughout Australia. It is very restless and its name is derived from the fact that it constantly waves its tail from side to side. It is the best known of the Australian Fantails. I have photographed these birds in Sydney, in the hunter region and at Myall lakes on the Central Coast of New South Wales.

Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) - New South Wales, Australia

The nesting Wagtail in the photograph above was feeding a brood of two or three chicks. The nest was built on a branch above a lake and was not easy to spot. The adult birds, who are aggressive when protecting a nest, gave away their location as they were flying in at regular intervals to feed the young. I did my best to not disturb them while taking the photographs above. They didn't seem too bothered by my presence as they just continued flying in at regular intervals with food.

Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) - New South Wales, Australia

The other photographs on this post were captured on  friends farm in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Farms are ideal habitats for these birds as they prefer open grassland. I watched a couple of these birds for a while as they fed on small insects. They used sudden flicks of their wings to flush out hidden insects.

Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) - New South Wales, Australia

The Wagtail is found throughout mainland Australia but its habitat does not extend to Tasmania. It is also found on the Solomon Islands and New Guinea. The nest of the Willie Wagtail is lined with some sort of soft material, usually soft grass, fur or hair. Interestingly, if soft material is not readily available, it is often taken directly from an animal.

Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) - New South Wales, Australia

The second image was captured with a Canon 400d and a 70-300mm lens. The other images were captured with a Canon 7D and a 100-400 mm lens.

Rose Ringed Parakeet

A Rose ringed Parakeet photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Of all the parakeets found in Sri Lanka, the Rose ringed Parakeet is by far the most common in the lowlands. A flock of about ten birds visit our garden twice a day to feed on the fruit trees and whatever is left out on the bird tray. More images and info after the jump.

A Rose ringed Parakeet photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Interestingly, this bird is one of the few birds that are not protected. They are actually considered to be an agricultural pest (more info on this here). They have been able to establish feral populations in a number of European cities as well as South Africa and India. Most of these populations have been established by introduced birds as well as escaped pets. Unfortunately these birds are still popular as pets in Sri Lanka.

A Rose ringed Parakeet photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

All the images in this post were captured with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. I didn't have to zoom in to 400mm to capture these images as the birds let me get quite close to them.

A Rose ringed Parakeet photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

More info and images of this bird at

• http://devwijewardane.blogspot.com/2009/10/rose-ringed-parakeet.html

Asian Openbill

An Asian Openbill photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

According to "Birds of Sri Lanka" the Asian Openbill is the commonest widespread stork throughout the lowlands. It can often be seen in marshes, tanks (man made lakes) and paddy fields. The image above was captured on the banks of the Tissa wewa in Anuradhapura.  More info after the jump.

The gap in the birds mandibles, which give rise to its name, are not obvious to the naked eye unless the bird is side on (as in the image above). Although the bird is almost always found in small flocks, I only saw this single Openbill when I photographed it. The adult Openbill in breeding plumage (black and pure white) bears quite a resemblance to the White Stork, but its black tail and brownish-black bill can be used to identify it. Interestingly the White Stork and the Asian Openbill have identical underwing patterns. Non breeding adults and juveniles are grey in colour.

The Asian Openbill is a soaring bird which relies on moving between thermals of hot air for sustained flight. Like most Storks, it flies with its neck outstretched. it is said to feed on frogs, large insects and molluscs.  Its range extends through South and Southeast Asia.

I managed to capture a number of images of the bird in flight but unfortunately they were taken at midday and the sky was over exposed. There's always next time I guess.

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

Oriental Magpie Robin

An Oriental Magpie Robin photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

The Oriental Magpie Robin is a common garden bird found in Sri Lanka. It is also one of the most musical birds found on the island. The Oriental Magpie Robin is distributed throughout a number of areas in tropical South and Southeast Asia. The images in this post were all captured in our garden in Colombo, where this species is a regular visitor.  Read on for more images and info.

An Oriental Magpie Robin photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Oriental Magpie Robins breed from March to July in India and January to June in Southeast Asia. They nest in tree hollows or niches in walls and buildings. Most of the nest building is done by the female and usually starts a week or so before the eggs are laid. 

An Oriental Magpie Robin photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka

These birds mainly feed on insects and other invertebrates. Globally, this species is considered one of "little concern". However, in some areas, this bird is on the decline. These birds were common in Hong Kong and Singapore in the 1920's but numbers declined in the 1970's. It is presumed that this was caused because of the competition of the introduced Common Mynahs. 

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

Cattle Egret

A Cattle Egret photographed in Battaramulla, Sri Lanka

The Cattle Egret, is widespreadspecies belonging to the Heron family.  It is found throughout most of the tropics, sub tropics and warmer temperate regions of the world. This is the smallest of the Egrets found in Sri Lanka and is common in the lowlands and the mid hills of Sri Lanka. I saw these birds throughout the dry zone when travelling to Anuradhapura and Trincomalee. These birds can also be seen in and around Colombo.

The Cattle Egret can be differentiated from other Egrets by its size, its stocky build and its rounded head. It also has black legs and feet. It also has a shorter and broader-based yellow beak when compared to other Egrets. During the breeding season its bill may become darker and its mantle turns a golden-buff. 

A Cattle Egret photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

The Cattle Egret breeds in colonies in trees which are often, but not always close to large lakes with reed beds or other large wetland areas. They are often seen around the tanks and paddy fields in Sri Lanka. The Cattle Egret is generally considered to be a successful species with an expanding range. Its range was originally limited to Asia, Africa and Europe but it has now colonised much much of the rest of the world. 

A Cattle Egret photographed in Battaramulla, Sri Lanka

It feeds in shallow water or drier habitats, mainly feeding on frogs, fish, crickets and, in some cases moths and spiders. It hunts by spearing its prey with its sharp long beak. It stays still and allows its prey to come within striking distance. It is often thought that these birds feed on parasites of buffaloes as they are often found in close proximity of each other. In actual fact the Great Egrets feed on grasshoppers and other insects which are disturbed when buffaloes move around. They are also known to follow farm machinery for the same reason but are forced to move more frequently.

A Cattle Egret photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

These images were captured in Anuradhapura and Battaramulla. I used a Canon 7D and a 100-400mm lens for all them. 

* I had made a mistake earlier and identified this bird as a Great Egret. Thanks to Amila Salgado for pointing it out.

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

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

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.