India! Purple Heron
Purple Heron: Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, March 2023 — The Purple Heron has a wide range across Europe, Africa, and Asia. There might be up to 4 subspecies. The same subspecies is found in India as the one in sub-saharan Africa, but it is different than the one found in Europe…so I have seen at least two. This one was fairly close to the road at Keoladeo, but screened by foreground vines. I had to do some post-processing to dig the bird out of the shadows. Still, a satisfying shot. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 500 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
India! Another Coopersmith Barbet visit
Coopersmith Barbet: Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, March 2023 — After our first Coopersmith, we, of course, saw several more in Keoladeo National Park….and most of the time you could hear them calling, even if you did not see them. This one was doing its tree top thing…but was still within reach of my Sony. In my opinion the Coopersmith is one of the more attractive barbets, and that is saying quite a bit. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/1000th and 1/800th. Plus 1.3EV.
India! Rufous Treepie
Rufous Treepie: Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, March 2023 — There are quite a few Treepies in India, but only one is widespread and common…the Rufous Treepie. Treepies are members of the same family as crows, but are considerably more colorful, and arguably more musical. Their long bicolored tails give them the look, at a glance, of having a bob at the end of the tail. We saw them wherever we went in Rajasthan. Sony Rx10iv at 560mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 100, 125, and 400 @ f4 @ 1/800th and 1/500th. Plus 1.3EV.
Spotted Owlet
Spotted Owlet: Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, March 2023 — As I mentioned when I posted my first Spotted Owlet image from Saltanpur, we saw a lot of Spotted Owlets on our trip! For an Owl, a surprising number. Their diurnal habits make them more likely, but that just have to be a lot of them in Rajasthan. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 3200 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
India! Starlings
Asian Pied and Brahminy Starlings: Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India, March 2023 — There are at least 6 Mynas and Starlings you can see in Rajasthan. This Asian Pied Starling appears to have a deformed lower mandible. Brahminy Starlings were more common in Keoladeo. Both are sometimes called Mynas. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. Pied: ISO 200 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus .7EV. Brahminy: ISO 160 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Costa Rica! Lesser Violetear Hummingbird
Lesser Violetear Hummingbird, Batsu Gardens, San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — The Lesser Violetear is certainly the most aggressive of the hummers of the Talamanca mountains of Costa Rica and Panama (and in other high and lowlands where they live…it is one of the most widely distributed hummers of Central America). It attempts to dominate any food source, and especially feeders. Males apparently spend much more time guarding than they do feeding. (And no, I always feel compelled to point out, there is no Greater Violetear, or even just plain Violetear to compliment (or to justify) the the Lesser part of its name!) This is the male’s aggressive pose…sometimes the ears are flared even more than this. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 1000 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
India! Rhesus Macaque
Rhesus Macaque: Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, March 2023 — Probably the most common, and certainly the most often seen, of India’s primates, the Rhesus Macaque likes to live around humans. You find them at temples, at railway and bus stations, city parks, along busy village streets, mixing with the dogs, cattle, and motorbikes…anywhere they might get a handout. They are not, at least to my eye, very cute…and they can be quite aggressive. You do not want to be bitten by one. Large family groups, or troops of mixed matrilineal families are common. This is a male, though perhaps not a mature one, sitting on the boundary wall of Keoladeo National Park. The Rhesus has the largest range of any primate except humans…across India, China, and all of southeast Asia. For better or worse, it has been used extensively in medical research, especially in the development of vaccines and viral treatments. (Maybe “better” for us, maybe not so great for the Rhesus.) Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 640 and 1000 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus 1 EV (left over from adjacent bird shots).
India! Coppersmith Barbet
Coppersmith Barbet: Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, March 2023 — The Coopersmith Barbet was certainly one of the Indian Birds on my list to see and photograph. This small, colorful, Barbet is relatively common, but worth looking at whenever you see one. This one was in low vegetation because it had a nest hole in a nearby snag. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 500 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus 1.7EV.
India! Indian Grey Hornbill
Indian Grey Hornbill: Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, india, March 2023 — While India is home to 10 species of Hornbills, most of them much more colorful, the only common and widespread one is the Grey…and certainly the only one in Rajasthan is the Grey. We saw them quite often on our travels…generally high in a tree. They certainly live up to their name…they are Indian, they are hornbills (though some other hornbills have more elaborate horns), and they are grey…grey, grey, grey…with just a hint of brown in the wings in certain light. On a grey morning in Keoladeo, they are certainly very grey. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 160 and 500 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Close up and right profile plus 1.7EV.
Costa Rica! Talamanca Hummingbird
Talamanca Hummingbird: Batsu Gardens, San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — The Talamanca Hummingbird used to be the Magnificant Hummingbird with a range from South-East Arizona to Panama…but they split it a few years ago now, into the Rivoli’s and Talamanca…with the birds of Costa Rica and Panama being the Talamancas. It is one of the larger hummingbirds and certainly can dominate the higher elevations of the mountains. It is also one of the most colorful…and in my experience, one of the most likely to flash it gorget and cap. There are always good numbers of them around Batsu Gardens, on the mountainside above Savegre Mountain Resort. Always a treat to see and to photograph. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 800 @ f4 @ 1/500th.