Birds panting to cool down

Glosy Starling

Yellow-vented Bulbul

Brown Shrike

(From AI Overview)

 Birds pant, or more specifically engage in "gular fluttering," to cool down by rapidly breathing and vibrating moist throat membranes, which facilitates evaporation and heat dissipation. 

Here's a more detailed explanation

Lack of Sweat Glands:

Unlike mammals, birds lack sweat glands, so they rely on other methods to regulate their body temperature, like panting. 

vaporative Cooling:

As air rushes in and out of the bird's respiratory system, moisture in the lungs, throat, and mouth evaporates, absorbing heat and cooling the bird. 

Other Cooling Methods:

Birds also seek shade, bathe in water, and lift their feathers to allow air to circulate and help cool their bodies. 

White-throated Kingfisher harassing Brown Shrike

Happy shrike

The brown shrike (Lanius cristatus) is a migrating bird. I can easily see this during autumn ( October and November). It will hunt for food, insects etc., and will return to the same perch, usually the top dominant branch.

Suddenly, the big white-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis perpulchra) appeared  with a loud noise from below, startling the shrike.

staring at something below

White-throated Kingfisher move upward with kit-kit-kit sound

displacing the Brown shrike

took over the top bamboo branch

flew away to other place

just to harassed

 

Wak-wak mengigal

Mengigal (me- + igal; pasif: ku/kau/diigal, terigal)

menegakkan dan membentangkan bulu ekor seakan-akan untuk memperagakan diri (seperti merak, kalkun): merak mengigal. (from Wikikamus)

white-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus  phoenicurus)

I have seen this solitary adult water-hen foraging and preening in a dry open area near the roadside.

Usually, it finds food in a monsoon drain and a river bank.

WB

 

Stork billed Kingfisher harassed White-throated kingfisher Birds

Stork-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis malaccensiswas) harassing and chasing a White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis perpulchra).

Stork-billed Kingfisher chasing White-throated Kingfisher

The  "Big Boss" (37cm) sits high up on the Ironwood tree (Casuarina equisetifolia)

the "little" one (28cm) is contended on the tree stump

 

Stork billed kingfisher feeding behavior - catches a fish

I spotted this large kingfisher perched on a tall ironwood (Casuarina equisetifolia), at  the same pond as last month.

 The stork-billed kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis malaccensis)

Waiting and watching on the dead wood

diving

swoop down on a fish

flying over water after unsuccessful catch

got a fish and climbing on the dead tree

Ikan Pupu, climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) 

flew away from photographer

 

White-throated kingfisher Feeding behavior

White-throated kingfisher Feeding behavior

That white-red is KWSP (Employees' Provident Fund) building

Last week's Aidil-Fitri holiday gave me a chance to do some bird photography.

There is a small lotus pond near my house (10 minutes walk), beside the KWSP Building on Jalan Persiaran Damai 4.

In an hour, I saw four different bird species. There are two Kingfishers, two water hens, and a Chinese pond heron.

From the car window, I captured this kingfisher in action.

I have seen this species feeding on grasshoppers, frogs, and lizards, but this is my first seeing fish as its diet.

White-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis  perpulchra). The one flapping its wing probably is a male.

A pair of White-throated Kingfishers perched openly on two death trees.

diving

Fly over the Lotus plants, (Nelumbo nucifera)

Fly parallel over the water, looking for fish.

The white-throated kingfisher did not dive directly into the water but had a preference for catching fish from the water's surface.

strike

Fail, let's try again. Out of three attempts that I saw, only one was successful. (33%)

Landing a rotten wood not far from my car - look at the eye - nictitating membrane.

Take off to dry the feathers

Successfully caught a small fish, probably guppy.