Wild Bird Wednesday 726 - Brown-Headed Barbet

The Barbets are a very widely spread group of birds, with a very complex taxonomy.  Nowadays Barbets in the "New World" and those in the "Old World" are considered different - but they are all considered to be reasonably closely related to woodpeckers.

This barbet is a Brown-Headed Barbet (Psilopogon zeylanicus) which is native to the Indian Subcontinent.  This species can be found in southern Nepal, most of India and Sri Lanka.  This was probably the species of Barbet we encountered most often on my Indian adventure.

The bird on the tree trunk was feeding very confidently within a temple complex in the city of Bharatpur which is not that far (in Indian terms!) from Agra and the Taj Mahal.

The adult bird has a streaked brown head, neck and breast, an orange eye patch and a heavy, thick set orange beak. The rest of the plumage is green. It is 27 cm long with a large head, short neck and short tail. 

The bird on the tree trunk seems to using its tail as a kind of prop, which seems to be a regular behaviour for tree dwelling birds.

In most of these picture you can see bristly, hair-like feathers surrounding a barbet's beak: these are called rictal bristles. 

Apparently, the name 'Barbet' comes from the Latin word barba which means meaning beard. This is a reference to the fringe of specialised feathers around their heavy bills.  I suppose that makes sense.

As ever, to join in with WBW click on the link below.   Cheers  SM

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At The Prom

I've been spending a lot of time at Wilsons Prom national park over the last couple of months.  It's a wonderful place.  All granite rocks and white sand, amazing skies and ever-changing seas.

I love the place.  Maybe these pictures will help you to understand why.

I tend to visit The Prom most in the winter - because (as you can see) you often seem to have the place almost to yourself.

Cheers. SM 

Wild Bird Wednesday 725 - Superb Lyrebird

While walking in the Cathedral Ranges last week I was lucky enough to see - but mainly hear - at least 8 Superb Lyrebirds (Menura novaehollandiae).

The Superb Lyrebird is one of the world's largest songbirds and is very well known for their ability to mimic the calls of a wide range of other bird species.  These calls form part of their courtship routines that also involve the use of their long tails in elaborate courtship displays. In fact, in some places Lyrebirds will also integrate sounds of human origin into their displays. 

I was in 'hiker' rather than photographer mode on these walks, but I was able to record the song of a displaying male bird.  The following two videos are more for listening too than watching, and remember what you can hear here is being produced by a single male bird. The bird making all the sounds is just past the end of the log in the first video.  I could only just see it in the field, and I'm not sure he is really visible in the videos.  

These pictures were not taken on the walk, but show what a Superb Lyrebird looks like - sort of like cross between a chicken and pheasant!

As ever, to join in with WBW click the link below.  Cheers SM

PS: I'm not 100% sure these videos will work!

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A walk in the woods.

The Cathedral Ranges are a State Park about 100 kilometres north-east of Melbourne. They are rocky, steep and rather wonderful.  One of the highlight walk there is a journey along the rocky spine of the ranges, which does involve some tricky route finding, balancing on wobbly rocks and generally feeling like you are having an adventure.

I was more in walker than photographer mode when I was there, but some of these pictures do give a feeling for the area.  

The second half of the days I was there rather damp (to say the least) and the rocky paths become more than little slippery.  As such, I decided a walk along the Little River may be my best option.

I had not walked in these ranges for many years, but I think I'll be visiting again soon.

Hope all is well.  SM

Wild Bird Wednesday 724 - Verditer Flycatcher

The Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus) looks like a bird that has been created by AI - but it truly is real!

This individual - it was the only one I saw in India - was resting (?) on the grass on what was essentially a domestic lawn of a small house near the Koshi River not that far from the boarder with Nepal.  This was the river on which I was luck enough to see Ibisbill.

The Verditer Flycatcher is found from the Himalayas through Southeast Asia to Sumatra in Indonesia.  Apparently its name is due to its specific colour - although it's not a term I have encountered beforehand.

Shortly after taking the last picture here I moved slightly and the bird flew off.  It was a very brief, but remarkable sight.

As ever, to join in with WBW click on the link below.  cheers SM.

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Mammals on Monday - Wombat

The Wombat (Vombatus ursinus), also known as the Common Wombat, or Bare-Nosed Wombat, is a chunky hole-dwelling, herbiverous marsupial. They have small ears and eyes, and a large bald nose, and can move surprisingly fast. 

This individual was browsing on grass on Squeaky Beach at Wilsons Promontory National Park.  As you can probably work out from the close up images, this individual was not in the least phased by my presence, and carried on eating even when I was taking photographs.

I think the pictures where the wombat seems to be trying to hide behind a small patch of grass as misleading!

On the mainland of Australia wombats are about 1m long and weigh around 27 kg. I think this makes them the largest hole dwelling herbivores in the world.

Wombats are an absolutely wonderful animal, and I love just finding them when I am out for a walk.

These pictures can from one of my recent trip to The Prom where I am getting my legs ready for a winter walk in Central Australia. I this convinces people that I have been doing more in the last couple of months than just process images from India!

Hope all is well.  SM