Common Tailorbird

Blame it on the weather gods that led to incessant rains and the subsequent internet outages, I was not able to upload the pics of the Common Tailor bird. What I could not trace though was the famous 'sewn up' nest that gives this songbird its famous nest.

AN OLD PIC CLICKED AT HEBANHATTI IN BELGAUM

At just 13 cms, the Common Tailorbird can easily give one a miss. It has a buffy white vent. while singing, it displays a black patch at the side of the throat that often leads to it being mistaken for the Dark Necked Tailorbird.

ONE OF THE EARLIER CLICKS OF THIS BIRD

Tailorbirds are small warblers with fairly long thin graduated tails, greenish underparts, rufous crowns and wings and long thinned slightly decurved bills

THE TRICKY BIRD TRIYNG TO HIDE FROM THE INQUISITIVE SHUTTERBUG

I have had a fairly long struggle in trying to photograph thie bird. As captioned in the first picture, I spottted this bird for the first time in Belgaum, Karnataka. However, with just a Tamron 70-300mm lens and limited 'stalking' skills, I did not get any successs in obtaining a worthy photograph.

ONE OF THE BETTER CLICKS OF THIS BIRD

In pursuit of a worthy picture, I have become habituated to the lovely call of this small songbird.

MY SUBJECT MUNCHING ON AN EARLY CATCH

I would sign off now. Coming up next would be the Great Barbet.

Black Bulbul

The Black Bulbul, also called the Himalayan Black Bulbul or the Asian Black Bulbul, is a very elegant bird seen in the Northern part of India. The fully slaty/black feathers are in stark contrast to the sharp orange bill. 

THE HIMALAYAN BLACK BULBUL

Bulbuls are medium sized birds with short rounded wings. this one is upto 23 cms in length. like all Bulbuls, even this one has a distinctive crest. Interestingly, some of these birds have been known to have a white coloured head too, although, I have not been lucky enough to click one yet.

ANOTHER VIEW AND A CLEARER PICTURE

Belonging to the Passerine family, this bird is commonly seen above commonly seen at altitudes upto 3000 m and has a peculiar cat like nasal call combined with gregarious chattering.

TRUST ME, THE MANNER IN WHICH IT PLUCKS BERRIES  IS SHEER  ELEGANCE 

In an area that is chiefly dominated by the Himalayan Bulbul and the Red Vented Bulbul, I see these birds turning up in the sunny days that follow the periods of inclement weather. I must also add that this bird shows better resistance to the vagaries of cold weather than the two previously mentioned counterparts.

A MORE RECENT CLICK WITH  BETTER ZOOM 

In my moments of boredom, when the cloudy conditions do not allow better photography, this elegant bird gives me a the opportunity to observe its behavior and peculiarities. I shall be updating the same as I gain better insight. 

ANOTHER RECENT CLICK

I would end here, following up with another blog in continuation with the series on Birds seen in Jammu region of India. Since I have already covered the Black Throated Tit in a  previous blog In Pursuit Of The Bandit, hence, coming up next would be the Common Tailorbird.

Ashy Prinia

This post marks my return to blogging after a long break. I bought a new Nikon 200-500 mm f 5.6 ED VRII Lens to supercharge my bird photography. the entire month of februray was spent in clicking birds of Basai near Gurgaon and Sultanpur Bird Park on the Gurgaon-Jhajjar road. Of course, I'll share tose pictures on a seperate blog with the appropriate label. 

Today I would like to share with you the pictures of  Ashy Prinia.
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ASHY PRINIA ON AN APPLE BLOSSOM BRANCH

The Ashy Prinia is a fairly common bird in my surrounding.  It is commonly found near grass scrubs, crops and sparse jungles. They are primarily insectivorous. They have short rounded wings and long graduated tails often cocked and/ or loosely waved around.

THE DARK BROWN SPOTS AT THE TAIL END ARE DISTINCTIVE

The difficulty in photographing it is primarily due to its small size and rapid movements. All of 13 cms. the bird can be exceedingly difficult no notice in the first place, let alone photographing it.

NOTE THE ABSENCE OF THE SUPERCILLIUM IN THIS BIRD

  Several species are confusingly similar. Age-, season- and latitude- plumage variations add to the confusion. It is only the range, habitat and voice that can provide useful clues leading to their identification.

THE SAME BIRD PHOTOGRAPHED IN FOUR DIFFERENT POSES- ALL IN A MINUTE!

 I would sum up here, coming up next would be The Black Bulbul also known as the Himalayan Bulbul.