Grey-breasted Prinia

I photographed this Grey-breasted Prinia, Prinia hodgsonii using Canon EOS 7D with Canon EF 300mm f/4.0 L IS USM lens. This skulking passerine warbler is typically found in open woodland, scrub jungle, and other open areas with some grass. This prinia is a resident breeder in the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka and southeast Asia.

These 11-to-13-centimetre (4 to 5 in) long warblers have short rounded wings, a longish tail, strong legs and a short black bill. In breeding plumage, adults are grey-brown above, with no supercilium, a black eye stripe and orange eyering. They have a rufous wing panel. Grey-breasted Prinia’s underparts are white with a grey breast band. The sexes are identical.

Grey-breasted Prinia

Non-breeding birds have browner upperpart plumage and a white supercilium, but lack the breast band. Young birds are like non-breeding adults but more rufous above. There are a number of subspecies. The distinctive greyer endemic race in Sri Lanka, Prinia hodgsonii leggei, retains summer-type plumage all year round.

Grey-breasted Prinia

Like most warblers, Grey-breasted Prinia is insectivorous. The song is a repetitive chiwee-chiwee-chiwee-chip-chip-chip.

Long Horned Beetle Nymph

Chimping refers to the act of shooting a photo, then immediately hitting the preview button on your camera to see the how it came out on the camera’s LCD screen. Much like a curious chimpanzee will hold and examine any new object. The term was coined by USA Today shooter Robert Deutsch in a story for the website SportsShooter.com. As defined by the Urban Dictionary: ‘What one does after taking a picture with a digital camera and looking at the result.’ Derived from the words they speak when chimping: “Ooo-oo-oo!”

Wikipedia adds, “the sounds and actions some make while reviewing images and those of an excited primate (Oooh! Oooh! Aaah!), or when a photographer is completely absorbed in the act of analyzing, admiring or proudly displaying a shot to others.” A wasteful ritual? Just a bad habit? Perhaps, but luckily shared it’s shared by many of our photo brethren be they professional or amateur.

You may be wondering why all this introduction about chimping and what that got to do with this photograph of young longhorned beetle. Please read further.

It was early morning of Wednesday. Coffee had not yet reached my bloodstream to wake me up, but I was greeted by the news that ootheca laid by some unknown praying mantis on the widow glass has hatched. I rushed with my trusty Canon 5D Mark II & Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM along with Rayflash on my Canon Speedlite 580EX II to get the glimpse of these newly hatched mantids.

The ootheca was laid high up on the window glass pane and I was able reach there only with a help of large wooden stool. All around the ootheca the newly hatched mantids were gathering. Previous day it had rained and the ground was unstable. I tried taking photographs so as not to disturb mantids away from the ripped egg sac. The glass of the window pane was not helpful as it was reflecting my flash light emitted from Rayflash. I took few unsatisfactory shots and was thinking of setting up a nice lightbox around the ootheca so that I could capture mantids on all their glory.

Just Hatched Mantids

Just then I noticed a very young long horned beetle on the window frame. I was able to get a beautiful closeup from the elevated vantage point I was in. Wooden background helped to highlight this little beetle. I was curious to see how well I did in focusing, and as a usual practice I started chimping at the preview. I was so engrossed in appreciating the shot at the back of my camera, that I did not realize that the stool underneath me sank in the soft mud and was tilting. Next thing I knew that I was out of balance and was rushing towards ground. I was able to save my camera and the rig from harms way but got few bruises along the hand and shin. My dream of capturing young praying mantids in light box went down with pain and agony.

So even though chimping is good to improve your photography skills it is bad for your health. Have a safe chimping.

Besra

On that busy Tuesday afternoon I took a break from my patients to have a quick sip of coffee. As I was entering home, I saw a Shikra(Accipiter badius) like bird on the huge Silk Cotton (Bombax ceiba) tree with some thing in its claw. I rushed and got my Canon EOS 7D & Canon EF 300mm f/4.0 L IS USM lens. The bird was too high up on the tree and I did not have a good view because of dense irregular branches. What I saw was not Shikra but a Besra, Accipiter virgatus. It is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae with a meal of large lizard which I could not identify as its head was devoured by the bird. I was not happy with the results of 7D which was coming out all mushy and soft. The light was too contrasty and totally unfavorable.

Besra with 7D

So I went back and grabbed Canon EOS 5D mark II with Canon EF 1.4x II Extender added 300mm lens and tripod. The bird was curious about me and it stopped eating and started watching. I also became spectacle for all my patients who were least interested in my hobby. Despite all that commotion the bird was quiet and composed.

I also saw a resident Red Whiskered Bulbul family which laid eggs in my backyard started coming near the half eaten lizard so that it can get a piece for its chicks. This was unusual as Bulbuls are one of the delicacies on their menu of a Besra. After a few minutes Besra took off with Large lizard carcass to go some peaceful place. I was lucky to get few good shots.

Besra with 5D Mark II

The Besra is a widespread resident breeder in dense forests throughout south Asia from Pakistan and India to south China and Indonesia. It nests in trees, building a new nest each year. It lays 2 to 5 eggs.

This bird is a medium-sized raptor (29 to 36 cm) with short broad wings and a long tail, both adaptations to fast manoeuvring. The normal flight of this species is a characteristic “flap–flap–glide”, and the barred underwings are a distinction from the Shikra, A. badius.

This species is like a darker version of the widespread Shikra, but all plumages have a dark vertical throat stripe. The adult male Besra has dark blue-grey upperparts, and is white, barred reddish below. The larger female is browner above than the male. The juvenile is dark brown above and white, barred with brown below. It has a barred tail.

In winter, the Besra will emerge into more open woodland including savannah and cultivation. Its hunting technique is similar to other small hawks such as the Sparrowhawk and the Sharp-shinned Hawk, relying on surprise as it flies from a hidden perch or flicks over a bush to catch its prey unaware.

The prey is lizards, dragonflies, and small birds and mammals.