The White-breasted Waterhen ( Amaurornis phoenicurus ) 32 cm

The White-breasted Waterhen have a somewhat similar body structure to the domestic hen. It is widely found in wetlands, roadsides and even in monsoon drains within some housing estates in the city. 

Here are some photos for sharing.

Thanks for dropping by. Cheers!

The stylish flight of the Black-shouldered Kites (Elanus caerruleus ) 31 - 35 cm

When I first saw the the Black-shouldered Kite what impressed me most was the Kite's trade-mark 'hover' in the sky. It will 'hover' wings flapping causally whilst scanning the vast horizon around it in search for a prey. The 'hover' could be as long as 1 - 2 minutes. It is a beautiful sight to behold! Most definitely one of the delights of the great outdoors.

In my last posting on this blog I featured 2 Kites in the process of building a nest. In this post are 2 different Kites feeding on a small unidentified bird and a large lizard which one of them caught in the paddy fields. A unique characteristic (I observed) was the sharing of the live meal. The first Kite would share the meal by passing part of it to the second Kite. This happened in both instances ie the bird and the lizard meal. Great caring in the wild!!! 

The Kites' habitat are usually in open country (paddy fields), semi desert and caltivated areas up to 1500 meteres.

Here are some photos for sharing.

Thanks for viewing! Cheers!

The Black-capped Kingfisher ( Halcyon pileata ), 29 - 31.5 cm

I have been on the trail of this kingfisher for over a year now. Occasional sightings but it was either too far away or just too quick for the camera. :-( So it was an on-going search for this elusive bird.

My chance came quite by accident. Just like the saying ' when you look for something it's not there, but when you least expect it, it is there'. And the appearance of the Black-capped Kingfisher literally was the case. Whilst shooting other lowland birds - my eyes set upon a rather familiar looking bird! I couldn't believe my eyes and luck! Two Black-capped Kingfishers, yes not one but two, were perched approximately 25 meters away from where I stood, on the gravel road! They did not make their customary calls which was why they did not catch my attention.

My camera instinctively zoomed in on the first bird and then the second! It could not have been a more appropriate 'bonus' to an already successful 'harvest' for the day's birding. :-)

Here are some photos for sharing.

 

Have a nice day! Cheers!

A Raptor in the morning - The Himalayan Buzzard (Buteo burmanicus)

In an earlier posting I made mention of being lucky to encounter with another Raptor in the evening. My  encounter with this one was on the same day but in the morning. It was at 7.57 am to be exact. After taking a few 'shots' at the Raptor I took a quick look at my watch and recorded the time. It was perched on top of a tall tree on the right hand side of a ravine by the side of the road. Thanks to the morning sun there was good lighting where the bird perched.

After about 4 or 5 minutes it decided to change it's perch and flew downhill and perched on one of the long branches of another tall tree. I left my car by the roadside and followed it downhill on foot for about 60 odd meters. Selecting the best vantage point available I took a number of shots. It perched there for about 3 minutes or so before taking flight again, this time into the forest and disappeared into the trees.

What a good start to a birding day it was! And getting a Raptor to kick-start it was indeed a bonus! My motivation was immdiately buoyed and had a good feeling that the rest day of the day would be good was later proven right. More posting of the day's other 'captures' later.

Here are a few photos of this Raptor.

 

Cheers!

P.S. Would be most grateful for assistance to ID this Raptor. TQVM.