Champions of the Flyway!

Friday, March 2, 2012

Asian Paradise & Blue-throated Flycatchers, Kerala



Back to the trip.... the photographic conditions were never easy (and often impossible) when in the jungle itself, but sometimes attempts just had to made - especially when confronted with such subjects as Asian Paradise Flycatchers. This male was sallying out over the water, hovering briefly and then dropping like a stone into the water; at first I assumed it was catching prey from the surface, but then realised it was actually bathing (albeit very clumsily).
 
 
 
 

and the females are hardly the dullest of birds.....


Blue-throated Flycatchers, meanwhile, are equally stunning (and endemic to the region), but much less likely to break cover; this male was uncharacteristically gung-ho, and even allowed a few somewhat crappy shots, bless him.