#birdograoh

[birdograph]

Variable or Yellowbellied Sunbird

The variable sunbird (or yellow-bellied sunbird), Cinnyris venustus (formerly Nectarinia venusta), is an African sunbird. It has a wide range extending from Zimbabwe and Mozambique to Senegal. 

Often confused with the Collared Sunbird, the adult male has a glossy bluish green head, throat and nape with maroon breast band and a yellowish belly. 

They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations to their nectar feeding. The call is a clear tew-tew-tew-tew-tew.

I saw this little bird early one morning atop a giant cactus tree near Nakuru in Kenya.

[birdograph]

Hartlaub’s Turaco

I was drawn towards this bird by its bright red wings which is only visible when it flies as it moved swiftly but clumsily from one treetop to another in a wooded place near Nakuru in Kenya.

Hartlaub’s Turaco (Tauraco hartlaubi) named after the German ornithologist Gustav Hartlaub is notable for its dark bill and deep blue upper parts with only a narrow white line below its eyes which is encircled in a red outer border.

The vivid plumage of Hartlaub’s Turaco, is a product of two unique copper pigments, unknown in any other bird family, or indeed in any other animal group, says the Oxford Encyclopedia of Birds.

[birdograph]

The Oriental Magpie-Robin

The Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis) is a fine songster with a long tail that is held upright. A popular cagebird for their singing abilities, they continue to be in the pet trade in parts of Southeast Asia. The Magpie Robin is the National Bird of Bangladesh, where it is common and known as the Doyel / Doel (Bengali: দোয়েল) widely seen as a symbol appearing on currency notes. A popular city square in Dhaka is named after this bird - Doyel Chatwar. I saw this Doel couple in Joka, Kolkata, India.