44 : Indian (Common) Peafowl

Indian (Common) Peafowl - Pavo cristatus

Here's a bird we all feel we know - although I am not sure whether I actually knew it by any other name than Peacock. These are part of the Pheasant, Partridges, Grouse and Buttonquail family - Phasianidae - an extensive old World bird family with 155 species. The chickens emerged from this group as described in my post #18 on the Sri Lanka Junglefowl. That probably accounts for why we shoot this order of birds as the they are quite tasty. I note that out of 155 species 32 are listed as endangered - being good for the pot can't help can it.

These old world pheasants tend to have brightly coloured males and in the Peafowl the male has taken it to extremes. I am not actually sure  I got the money shot of a Peackock displaying with its tail (or train ?) fanned out. As I say we feel we know them because every country house in Europe has them perched on the stone walls calling out across a slightly colder landscape. This bird has a range across South Asia and this photo was taken in the Yala national park in Sri Lanka.

Indian (Common) Peafowl
Pavo cristatus
15-18 April 2011

36 : Grey-headed Fish Eagle

Grey-headed Fish Eagle - Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus

This is not a bird that I am familiar with at all. I saw them 3 or 4 times in the Yala in Sri Lanka but did not see them anywhere else in Sri Lanka. They are listed as "rare" in Sri Lanka.

I was looking at the birdlife international website just now which lists this eagle as "near threatened". There are somewhere between 1000 and 10,000 wild birds left and their population is thought to be in decline. The main issue is habitat loss. They are widespread but only locally situated in pockets across South and South East Asia. They hunt for fish on rivers, lagoons, lakes and so on. They also need big trees in which to nest near to the water that they depend on for a livlehood. They are regulary persecuted by fisherman in particular who see them as a threat to fish stocks. I think overfishing by man is probably the biggest threat to fish stocks ! I doubt they take more than one or two fish a day. Its not as if they are flying off with children.

Birdlife say that there are currently no programmes running to assist these eagles other than to track their numbers and try and find the causes of the population decline.

Grey-headed Fish Eagle - Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus
Yala National Park, Sri lanka
13-15 April 2011

4 : Malabar Pied Hornbill

Malabar Pied Hornbill - Anthracoceros coronatus

This post was orginally made as number 4 at the beginning of May - for some reason it has moved up the list when I edited out a typo.

Back to the exotic again today. There are 54 species of Hornbill and I have only seen one of them. Like Bee-eaters they are spread across Africa and Southern Asia. This bird (and several others) was photographed again recently in Yala National Park in Sri Lanka while we were on a mini-safari during a family holiday.

These really are big birds and they need a big nesting hole. The threat across Asia to Hornbills is logging. Without the big old trees to nest in certain species are at risk. I read this morning that after the female lays her eggs they are walled in with mud and then the male brings food and feeds the female through a slit in the plug. Presumably this little fort protects the eggs, female and young from snakes and mongooses and other such predators and scavengers.

Around Yala these birds would gather in large roosts in certain trees - twenty or thirty at a time. I needed to remind myself that this was not the aviary in Regents Park Zoo but the real thing. I am not sure what purpose the nob or casque on the top of the bill has. It looks heavy but I presume it is fairly light like all bills.

- Anthracoceros coronatus
Yala National Park, Sri lanka - 15-18 April 2011

31 : Asian Open-bill Stork

Asian Open-bill Stork - Anastomus osciatans

Another stork today - the Asian open bill is a lot smaller than some of the featured storks so far. It is named after its curious bill which seems to have a adaptation like a nutcracker. The photo shows the advantage of the gap between the mandibles. This bird is about to crack a water snail as if it was a wlanut at Christmas.

These birds have a large range across India, Sri Lanka and South-East Asia. They are tree nesting waterbirds and I expect Yala is a favourite spot.

I have not dared to count how many pictures of birds I have left but I have a plan afoot for a long weekend trip to Ethiopia which is about a 4 hour flight away from Dubai. The Bale mountains are a day's drive from Addis Adaba. If I sort out my camera equipment I reckon I could scoop up a couple of month's worth of birds in two or three days. Its not a place I ever thought about until I bought a book by Dominic Cousins called 100 Best Birdwatching sites to try and prompt some thoughts about quick getaways to get some ammunition for this site. Drawing concentric rings around Dubai you can get to some interesting places for a couple of hundred pounds and I have never been birding in Africa.

It will be quite a trip - thats for sure. For now I leave you the Yala.

A large Egret roost. I am sure that this is prime breeding territory for Open-bills as well.

Asian Open-bill Stork
Anastomus oscitans
15-17 April 2011

30 : Southern Coucal

Greater Coucal - Centropus (sinensis) parotti

Coucals are members of the Cuckoo family - there are 122 species of Cuculiformes. Less than half of all cuckoo species are "brood parasites" - laying their eggs in another bird's nest for a free ride. The Coucals of which there are 28 species are not brood parasites. In other words they get a bad wrap and have the decency to raise their own families.

I saw this species all over Sri Lanka whereever there were plenty of trees. They a big bird, almost pheasant sized and crash through the leaves of trees when they are off the ground. I think they forage on the ground for a living. They certainly do not look at home perching.

As ever when its Yala I leave you with some action from the world outside of birds. Here a mongoose - Ricki Ticki Tavi.

Southern Coucal - Centropus (sinensis) parotti
Yala, Sri Lanka
14 April 2011

29 : Lesser Adjutant

Lesser Adjutant - Leptotilos javanicus

More Sri Lankan magic today. This photo was taken on our first mornings game drive at the Yala national park. The Lesser Adjutant (in the foreground) has just grabbed a fairly large snake from a rushy pond. The next couple of minutes were grim viewing. If you click on the picture it should enlarge and you can see a loop of the snake in the plant matter that the bird had snapped up at the same time.

These are birds of Southern Asia from the Indian sub-continent right across to China and South-East Asia. They are one of the largest storks standing a good 120 cm tall with a wingspan of 210 cm. That's close to 7 feet fully outstretched. As well as snakes they eat frogs, all manner of reptiles, small birds, insects and carrion. Like a vulture they have a bare neck and head that allows them to reach into rotting carcases.

I promised some other Yala shots while I am spending quiet a bit of time in the park. Below Mugger crocodile. They would sunbathe on the track at the beginning of the day.

Probably off the menu for a Lesser Adjutant.

Leptotilus javanicus
Yala National Park, Sri Lanka
14 June 2011

22 : Painted Stork

Painted Stork - Myteria leucocepheria

Another Indian/Asian bird and again photographed at Yala. Painted really is an apt name. The flight feathers remind of something from a chinese silk screen.

These seemed to be fairly abundant birds in Sri Lanka inhabiting any flooded area including paddy fields, tanks and ponds. They feed by walking with their bill immersed and so I assume they snap up small fish and frogs etc. It was certainly more of a feed by touch method than a wait and stab egret/heron type strategy.

They are fairly tall - a metre or so and impressive in flight soaring with outstretched necks.

Here a bird added to the site after a trip to Bangalore a year after this original post.

I promised pictures of other Yala wildlife as we seem to be spending a lot of time this month in the Yala. Below a Sambhur Deer stag - the biggest deer we saw in the park. Very shy and secretive so this was a lucky shot on our way out after 48 fabulous hours. Before this individual we had only seen one or two animals and they bolted as soon as we appeared. These were big animals - think red deer if your from Europe and you have got the size

I now am being encouraged to invest in a new camera on the grounds that I am going to run out of quality photographs at some point and the blow ups I am doing from quite a humble panasonic are often a touch clunky ! The plan is to get a Canon 450 D with a 400m f 5/6 lens. That was the recomendation from quite a good site on bird photography and a fast lense is the way to go. I have to say some of the pictures I have seen on the net put my efforts to shame. I am sure I won't look back and we are fast approaching a point when the cupboard of images will have run out (a couple more months perhaps). In the Summer in Dubai a lot of the families clear out (including mine) so I will have plenty of time to wander lonely as a cloud (dust cloud that is) playing with my new toy. So thats the plan. I may manage a quick weekend somewhere that the wife and kids might not fancy for a family break (Iraq ?!? - seriously would love to see the Marshes but would not want to end up in a boiler suit on CNN - pehaps leave that to sort itself out for a few years. The marshaes have been reflooded though in part and *thousands* of marbled teal have return. You only have to give nature half a chance.)

I will need a hide clamp and a tripod and a bit more patience probably. I think maybe Ethiopia might be good or up into Asia for a bit of vast steppe action. When you fly from Dubai to London there are some mighty big mountains out of the plane window. Its time to get the maps out and time to get kitted up - the Task in on !

Painted Stork - Mycteria Leucocephia
Yala, Sri Lanka, 15-18 April 2011

9 : Indian Nightjar

Indian Nightjar - Caprimulgus indicus

The bulk of shots you get of nightjars are usually on the ground like this during the daytime. They are of course nocturnal and spend the evenings and nights hawking for moths.

This bird was camped out on the safari track in Yala and I have to admit that this shot was taken by my wife who was on the right (left) side of the safari truck. It is wonder that it didn't get run over or disturbed. It was only when we got home a couple of weeks later that we noticed the fluffy object to the right of the bird - I am sure there is a chick resting on the ground. They must rely utterly on the camouflage and remaining prefectly still. We saw dozens of mongooses and monitor lizards while in the park, there also jackals and foxes and wildcats.

Well the camouflage works because we couldn't see the chick in real life looking directly down on this bird from the safari truck - perhaps a distance of 8 feet or so. I have always wondered about ground nesting as a strategy - it seems so precarious. I presume these birds can start another brood quite easily if the young get predated and that they have a long season to get lucky. They are a large bird so I assume they have a few seasons to get it right.

Pot luck getting this shot - the truck was turning the corner and the spotter on the passenger side saw this bird tucked on the side of the track. Nobody saw the chick and presumably the genetic clockwork just tells it to stay absolutely still - even when the parent is off hawking insects.

At the end of an afternoon's game drive the headlights would be turned on on for the last twenty minutes or so getting home as it got too dark to see the way - one night we had a nightjar chasing the moths that were dancing down the headlight beams - to all the world like a giant moth itself. Moths themselves have compeletly independantly evolved the same cryptic camouflage for staying still on the branch of a tree all day. The solution that works - as an accidental adaptation - just gets passed on if successful. With moths apparently in London it has taken only thirty years or so in some species for the colouration to change back to lighter tones now that the soot has been cleaned off the buildings and trees. The lighter toned moths are better camouflaged and the darker ones stand out and are eaten. Its mind boggling. I recomend any of Dawkins books - Blind Watchmaker, Selfish Gene etc. Once you get it in your head that adaptation is "unknowing" and accidental then it becomes even more amazing.

Indian Nightjar (and chick) - Caprimulgus indicus
April 17 2011 - Yala National Park, Sri Lanka

1 : Chestnut Headed Bee-eater

Chestnut Headed Bee-eater - Merops leschenaulti

I might as well start with a bang and not a wimper. To me this is bird porn. I took this picture a couple of weeks ago in the Yala National Park in South-East Sri Lanka. You can click on the picture for a slightly blown up view.

There are 25 species of Bee-eater in the world distributed across Southern Europe, Southern Asia, Africa and Australia - quite frankly I am convinced that if you have seen one you have not seen them all ! Most - 18 out of 25 species are found in Africa. I've never birded in Africa and consequently I think I've only seen 4 or 5 species so far in my life (I am currently consolidating my world list from various holiday lists, ticked guides and notebooks etc.) I certainly only have a picture of two species I think (I'll save that for a rainy day). Africa here we come ! If I stick with this project this will be the beauty of it. I will let you know from my rocking chair when I am heading off to Africa and then I'll be able to tell you if it was worth the journey - worth pouring over the books. If you are a commited bird man you will know the answer. Collecting without keeping;hunting without killing.

Bee-eaters perform. They hawk for insects and chatter all the time, looping and whirling around their colleagues. I have seen perhaps 20 in a tree together in Southern Spain. They seem very social birds. You will rapidly realise that I am no ornithologist - just a bloke who likes birds.I will try not to read in human emotions - but these are birds that seem to really enjoy going about their daily routine.

This individual stayed perfectly still on a branch about 8 feet from the side of our safari truck while we were on an early morning game drive. A perfect jewel. The lemon yellow, the chestnut on the back, the greens from a childrens felt tip set. For me amongst all the leopards and elephants this was another perfect moment.

Later at our riverside "glamp" I watched a pair on an overhanging branch. In turns they would dive down to catch something only to pop up right next to their mate. I stopped following the flying bird with my bins and started watching the empty space on the branch - after a while I stopped worrying about whether the second bird was about to pop up. This was a clearly a pair. In some species I learn from Collins, a mated pair will stay together for life. Now I don't know if thats true of Chestnut Headed Bee-Eaters - its a different strategy I guess from species to species but within a season they are monogomous. It shows. If this pair had been together for a season or two then how special. If they were both starting out for their first season or just one season and were bonding, then again - how very special.

After a chatter and a look around together off the other bird would swoop. Turn by turn. This went on for at least half an hour and with a Lion beer, a notebook full of new birds and my feet up it doesn't get much better.

I did not get a photo of the pair. I will need a big fat Canon lens and some spare cash. I got a good photo of the individual in the morning sun a few feet from the truck. My wife says that I was lucky with the quality of the branch for this photograph. Quite frankly I think they would look good on a breezeblock in the middle of a rubbish dump.

The family Meropidae - "a favourite with birdwatchers" says Collins Birds of the World. Well its a good place to start. Í've thought about some sort of points system - a bit like Parker points for fine wine. I think birds are a bit like a good wine - the moment, the atmosphere, the behaviour, the light - it all comes together so it has to be a very very subjective.

I am a bloke who likes birds, not a poet and certainly not an ornathologist. A scoring system will not elevate the task to anything more or less worthy. Every bird has its place and value whether I like them personally or not. There is birding Nirvana and I'll explain it when I post about it. Rest assured sitting with a beer next to a Sri Lankan river writing up your notes and being entertained by a pair of Chestnut Headed Bee-eaters is about as good as it has got so far.

15-18 April 2011, Yala National Park Sri Lanka
Chestnut Headed Bee-Eater - Merops leschenaulti
+ a very good start to what will have to be a lifetimes' work
Bon Voyage and happy hunting