Black-Headed Bulbul

28th January 2017,  Ampang, Selangor 

Local Name:  Merbah Siam

Scientific Name: Pycnonotus atriceps

Equipment: Nikon 1 V3 + Nikkor AFS-VR 400mm f/2.8 ED-VR

Black Headed Bulbuls

21 January 2012, Kemensah, Selangor

Local Name: Merbah Siam Scientific Name: Pycnonotus atriceps An adult and a juvenile Black Headed Bulbul  were resting in the shade. Notice the difference in the colours, the adult bird has more vibrant yellow  and blacker head compared to the young bird.

Black-Headed Bulbuls

24th July 2010, Kemensah, Selangor.

Two Black-Headed Bulbuls, the one on the left is a juvenile with the duller yellow and grey head.

Mountain Bulbul

May 2009, Fraser’s Hill, Pahang A Mountain Bulbul ( Hypsipetes mcclellandii ) local name: Bebarau Bukit taken at the Hill station.

Testing 1 ,2 ,3, Testing!

29 August 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

I haven’t been doing any birding over this Puasa month but the itch to press the shutter release button is constantly there. So I have been doing some testing with the Nikon D90/ Nikkor 80-400mm VR f4.5-5.6, in the backyard to see their limits and explore new opportunities they offer. I set myself a new objective being ‘to shoot  primarily with the available natural light’ so yesterday  Ilyas and I went to Kemensah , the spot where we shot the Rufous Collared Kingfisher to do an hour of  actual field tests. Things couldn’t have been much better;  gloomy and overcast sky,  and it started to drizzle when we were preparing the equipment, just the right condition to test for a probable worst case scenario! I shot these in Aperture priority and overode the  given shutter speed to about 1/160s by pushing down the EV to about -2, f7.1, ISO800. Noise was a  problem. This lens has an attitude that it will not deliver a sharp image below 1/125s and  at f5.6.

The camera was setup such that it was able to capture the shots without the aid of a flashgun   but I actually  used a flash, set to almost the minimum with diffuser dome fitted to give some sparkle to the eyes. I checked that there were no difference in the level of exposure even with the flash.    Spectacled  Bulbul and a mouthful of berries The birds were certainly cooperating today- a good thing since we didn’t have much time and energy. I find that the results were more than satisfactory. The colour/ tones of the birds were more natural and the details of the eyes ( no silver/red eye)  turned out better.   A backlit Black-Headed Bulbul at about 40ft. Conclusion: I will definitely be trying  more of this.The outcome would have been better in good weather. Things you have to do to squeeze every single ounce  of performance from  this lens which I don’t think those with longer and faster lenses need to bother. Maybe one of these days I will wake up to find a Nikkor 500mm f4 on my door step!

Adult Black–Headed Bulbul

8 August 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

I’ve never had the opportunity to shoot this bird so close like this one. This adult Black–Headed Bulbul (Pycnonotus atriceps) local name:  Merbah Kepala Hitam, Burung Siam landed on a branch 8ft from the top of my head. Unlike most that I’ve seen, she seemed very curious, probably wondering what I was doing and wasn’t easily spooked. Earlier post of the juvenile bird.

Black-Headed Bulbul of Kemensah

21 June 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

Escaping the heat. The striking yellow colour of a fully grown adult. Photo taken on a seperate occasion.	This Black-Headed Bulbul (Pycnonotus atriceps: local name merbah kepala hitam / burung siam) had just caught a flying insect in mid air. She's not a fully grown adult judging by the colours of the head (dull greenish) and body (dull yellow).