03 January, 2011

Portrait of a Chestnut-bellied Malkoha

2nd January 2011, Kemensah , Selangor

 

It has been more than a year since I last saw  this bird. She was on the ground, concentrating intently on catching a prey that she didn’t notice my presence hardly 12 ft away. Quickly snapped the first two pictures before losing sight of her in the undergrowth. Chestnut-bellied Malkohas are less commonly seen in Kemensah than the other species of malkoha namely the Green-billed, Chestnut-breasted, Raffle’s and the Black-bellied.

It was a golden opportunity to improve on my previous photos of this bird that I decided to wait and see if she would reappear. Yes she definitely did! on a branch right above my head.

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The  orange eye patch is a distinct feature of this species. The chestnut coloured undertail covert  is clearly visible.

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Amazing to see the multitude of colours just around the head

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This is where she’s usually more comfortable, in between the leaves.

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6 comments:

  1. Such a cool bird thanks for sharing! It looks like it could be related to the cuckoo. Happy New Years!

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  2. What an amazing looking bird and what amazing photos! Happy New Year, Madi.

    cheers,
    wilma

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  3. Great catch, Happy New Birding Year.

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  4. Beautiful head & shoulder shot of new year bird.

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  5. Brilliant shots Madi - That first one in particular.

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  6. Very nice shots of this shy bird! I've only had a glimpse of one once in Malaysia. I especially like the last one!

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