Pin-Striped Tit-Babbler: Beauty in the Bush

22nd February 2014, Kemensah , Selangor

Species: Pin-Striped Tit-Babbler Local Name: Burung Rimba Berjalur Scientific Name: Macronous gularis Equipment: Nikon 1 V2 + Nikkor AFS-VR 400mm f/2.8G

Non-Intrusive Photography: Nesting Pin Striped Tit Babblers

20th January 2011,  Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan

For the first time I feel that I have the necessary gear to engage in  more non-flash  photography. The situation   demanded exactly this kind of technique when I stumbled upon a pair of Pin Striped Tit Babblers happily ferrying dry leaves every 1 minute, to build their  nest. It was about 4ft off the ground, slotted in between several dried palm fronds. Lighting along the trail was poor. Upping the ISO to 1250 I managed to obtain some fairly decent shutter speeds of around  1/40-1/80s. I was hardly 20 ft away from the nest but somehow they didn’t show any sign that they had noticed my presence. The D7000 has a QUIET MODE setting on the dial that allows you to reduce the ‘clicking’ sound of the shutter, I think this helped tremendously. I was happy with the outcome, and the birds…………….they simply carried on with what they were doing, uninterrupted.

Babbler Babbler

29th May 2010, Kemensah, Selangor.

I’ve been hearing her calls over the last few weeks  but so far she had been very reluctant to show herself.  Managed this one shot, not  a particularly good one  of this Rufous-Fronted Babbler  ( Stachyridopsis poliogaster )playing hide & seek between the bamboo leaves. This is my lifer. A Pin-Striped Tit-Babbler  on a different bamboo tree.  Better shot since I wasn’t pointing against the light.

Hot Hot Hot: Pin-Striped Tit-Babbler

13th February 2010, Kemensah, Selangor

I know I’ve posted photos of the Pin-Striped Tit-Babbler recently  but why not! They are just gorgeous  birds. In the extremely hot weather that we’ve been having the last couple of weeks the birds were also feeling the heat. This bird   opened  her beak to stay cool.

Oh No, Not the Firing Squad!

2nd January 2010,  Kemensah, Selangor These are record shots of the Pin-Striped Tit-Babbler. From  the five cameras that were pointed towards her direction, these were the only  shots obtained of this bird that morning!  I don’t  think she’s ever seen so many people waiting for her to pop out from the bushes.

Catch me if you can: Pin-Striped Tit Babbler

25th December 2009,  Kemensah, Selangor A pair of Pin –Striped Tit Babblers were foraging in the bushes. I’ve come across this species  a few  times before and they  were always tricky subjects to shoot. I think these photos are of two different birds judging by the extent of the stripes on the throats.

She has  a cricket in her grasp.     It was a  game of hide and seek. I knew she wasn’t going to make it easy for me but in the end the results were quite OK.

Pin-Striped Tit-Babbler (Macronus gularis connectens)- gotcha!

3rd October 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

At last I have a clear shot of the face which was partially hidden during the previous  encounter .

Pin-Striped Tit-Babbler

8 August 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

Lifer: These are not very good photos of a Pin-Striped Tit-Babbler (Macronus gularis connectens) but at least now I know they are there in Kemensah.