Everyone loves the Hornbill

Everyone you talk to loves to be able to come across the taman's iconic bird, the Oriental Pied Hornbill.  However this star bird is pretty unpredictable, and appearing when you least expect to see it.  So it must be my lucky streak to chance upon it, four times consecutively!
First, it flew in most suddenly one noon, an unusual time to encounter it, and not the best time to click at it.

The very next evening, after a heavy shower, it was spotted looking cool and relaxed.

And then again the next day, appearing suddenly, to feast on the Macarthur palm fruits.

One would think that it had another bird waiting somewhere, as it flew off with a fruit.  And it's not the first time I had seen it do so.

The best was yet to come when I sighted it the next morning sunning and preening after a wet night.  And it's really entertaining to watch this bird, twisting this way and that way.

Looking rather punky, although soundless despite its wide open bill.

My all-time favourite sight when it spread out, and reach in and reach out, to preen.

Lucky barbet encounter

When I came across this Coppersmith Barbet, I thought it was one of my luckiest encounters because it had not been easy to come up close with this smallest of barbets as it tended to keep to upper canopy.
One hears this bird more than see it, and going by its plumage, it's not difficult to understand why, its dark greenish feathers blend perfectly in with any foliage. Coppersmith Barbets can be considered long time residents of the taman but to come up close with any is still considered a very lucky encounter.
However, on this occasion it did keep me entertained for more than seconds as it continued to forage despite being aware of my presence and mine clicking away.

First eye contact, but fortunately did not cause it to flee.

Second eye contact, and in fact it had flown lower down, and it still continued to forage.  A triumph!

Coppersmith Barbets normally eat fruits although they do go for insects and larvae too.  
It looked like this one could be sourcing for larvae.  However I was unable to determine its food target as it did not come up eventually with any food in mouth even as it flew away.

I was not to know then this was just the first encounter, another fortuitous one was to follow a couple of days later (more of this in a forthcoming posting).

Annoying but adorable squirrel

I have mentioned countless times that I would like to declare war on the Plantain Squirrels!  They have raided birds' nests (including one in my balcony which saw the loss of two bulbul's eggs, sucked dry!), appearing suddenly to frighten off birds that were perching for one's shots.
Yet when I came across them and their antics, my heart did melt a little.

This one was so engrossed in gnawing that it ignored me, barely a couple of feet away.  The squirrel will characteristically gnaw off the external layer and scurry off eventually with the inner seed.

Like meeting old friends, the Woodpeckers

Many used to seeing frequently the Common Flameback Woodpeckers have been asking where are these winged ones?  It's true that these birds have not been commonly seen as before.  So when I encountered this pair one morning, I couldn't have enough of them.
On this occasion the male was more visible than the female although both flew in together.

This image managed to capture the Woodpecker at its best.

The female seemed to keep to a smaller foraging area. 

It's always a bonus and a thrill to be able to capture both together.