Images of purple rumped sunbird feeding on nectar.

Male PR sunbird


Female PR sunbird

Two images showing purple rumped sunbird in its habitat. I actually enjoy making these type of images of birds/mammals in their world with some empty space in the frame more than full frame/closeup portrait shots.

Flowerpecker among Flowers
Typical habitat of flowerpecker. Since this one was about to preen itself it stayed still and posed for sometime.

Flowerpecker in Shade
Potrait shot of this small and restless bird.

Carpenter Bee
A common carpenter bee. Did not know they have such glossy wings.

Ashy Prinia
For lack of any specific place to do photography over weekend without getting stuck in traffic took the safe approach of visiting Hebbal. Here is a Ashy prinia in morning light. Common bird in beautiful settings in morning light.

Asian Koel ( Male )
This is the male asian koel. If not for the bright red eyes it is easy to discount them as common crow :). They do have some interesting connections with crows though. One thing is koel's don't build their own nest they use crows nest. Secondly the juvenile koel's call is not melodious but harsh like crow. Only when they grow into an adult their calls become melodious.

Preening time
Sunbird preening itself meticulously. Preening is the only time during which even the most hyperactive bird sits in the same place for sometime. The problem is they keep moving there head so much it is difficult to make images of them with the eye in focus.

Ashy prinia - Closeup
Same guy I posted some time back. He allowed me for a closer shot. In bird photography world this is called a BOS image. BOS = "Bird on Stick". Bird photographers are always on lookout for birds sitting in isolated branches with clean backgrounds. Images made in these settings are called BOS images.

Purple Rumped Sunbird Female
After some heavy grooming/preening this one decided to take off.

This squirrel was busy nibbling on the branch. For a moment he stopped and looked at me before continuing to nibble on.

Plain Flowerpecker
This is one of the smallest birds standing at only 8cms. I was lucky that I was able to make this closeup shot at Hebbal last week. Their feathers are translucent which makes them glow and stand out individually when light falls on it. This is my best image of this bird till date. Do click on the image to see details and the bigger version.

Lotens Sunbird - Female
Sunbirds have adapted beaks which are elongated to open up flowers and their tongue is tubular so that it acts like straw for sucking nectar. Since I made this image at f/8 the background is not diffused. Actually if you look close the out of focus yellow patch is another sunbird :)

Ashy Prinia - Home renovation
Went to hebbal after a long time. Life has been hectic and have not gone out for quite sometime. Saw this ashy prinia collecting nesting material. With spring setting in birds go through hormonal changes and experience something called as "nesting urge". They seriously start collecting nesting material during spring. It does not necessarily mean they are going to build new nests. They use up this material to decorate their existing home :)

Hope

Pied Kingfisher waiting to make the next move.

Trip to Hebbal
Myself and Jaimon decided to make a trip to Hebbal over the weekend. The surprising thing about Hebbal is the diversity of birds you get to see. Each visit for me has resulted in sighting some different species. This time we were lucky to see all the 3 king fishers ( White throated, Small Blue and Pied kingfisher ).
Beautiful Flower


White Throated Kingfisher


Small Blue Kingfisher


Little Cormorant drying its wings
As far as the cormorant is concerned this is a very familiar sight. They are excellent divers and their main food is fish. But looks like they do not like to stay wet. Immly after the dive they dry their wings.

Common Kingfisher
One more from the archives. Taken last year. Liked this mainly because of the water drop from the fish.

I had posted this sometime back. This is a common kingfisher which I had seen last year in Hebbal. If we go by rules of composition this is supposed to be incorrectly framed picture. No space around the bird and bird not offcentered properly. But this image is only about viewing the bigger version and appreciating the beauty of this small kingfisher. BTW the size of this kingfisher is only around ~15cm. It is just that I got lucky and this guy allowed me to approach him close.

White throated kingfisher taking a break from fishing ...