02 April 2010

Bird of Prey - Gold-whiskered Barbet

Tough Luck!.
3rd time unlucky with nestling at my backyard.
This was the last pictures taken on the morning of 28thMarch. The mother was trying to cover her baby, but you can see the baby head protruding there. By evening the two chicks were gone.

Common Iora hiding her Chick

I suspect this was the real culprit. It perched on electric wire just above the" jambu" tree on the evening of 27th March. This barbet must have seen the chicks/ nest and waiting for the right moment to strike. I have not seen the actual attack, but from the past history (feasting on Tree Sparrow) - this is the prime suspect.

Gold-whiskered Barbet looking at Iora nest


Jambu Tree with Iora Nest


Gold-whiskered Barbet on wire

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13 comments:

Phil Slade said...

Hi Tabib, Great photo of the barbet. Are they known to take nestlings? With a bill like that I suppose they can eat pretty much what they like?

Hasyimi Adam said...

Unsuccessful again. Sad! Beautiful barbet though.

Sylvia K said...

Great shot as always, Tabib! Sad for the mother bird, but as Phil says, with a bill like the barbet I guess they can pretty much choose what they want! Hope you have a great weekend!

Sylvia

Ghost said...

Beautiful bird of prey.
That nature way of population control. :-)

~Cheryl said...

You have beautiful birds to watch. Even the big hungry guy is very pretty. Have a nice weekend!

Colin Campbell said...

Lovely shots.

holdingmoments said...

That's a mean looking bird Tabib. A beauty though; but what a beak!

Tash said...

FANTASTIC photographs. I can just see you taking these with a big ol' lens. Worth every penny.
The emerging baby bird photos are so wonderful too.

Loshini said...

The barbet looks pretty capable of it, but he surely is a magnificent creature!

The poor nestlings..

overtiredmum said...

what a variety of birds you have - I've never heard of a barbet before, pretty colours but a funny looking bird.

That nest is so clever - like a spider web. Thanks for the education!

Chris said...

hi Tabib,
Really that's no luck mate... But I guess this is life after all... I still hope you will see one successful one! Beautiful pictures you got!

Anonymous said...

This photography is stunning. I really like your work.

Amila Salgado said...

No wonder that barbet has such a hige beak. The reason why it turned to an avian prey must surely be because the barbet too must be having hungry nestlings to feed. In March, I saw our endemic Chestnut-backed Owlet feeding on an endemic Yellow-fronted Barbet. I did not have my camera with me sadly. And when I arrived at the scene with my camera the Owlet had gone. Typical. But I guess that's the price you pay when you are more of a bird watcher than a bird photographer.