Would you bird in BK?

 Someone passed by and asked what's birding like in Bukit Kiara?

And I showed the person these images, and I guessed I've just finished off a budding Birder!

One man's intrigue is another's dark tale!

Common magpie robin

The ubiquitous Oriental Magpie (Copsychus saularis) is now a common sight even at the higher level at the bukit, and this one was calling merrily out loud but with none around to respond.

Going only slightly further down, multiple calls and that of this juvenile suggested that there's indeed a healthy population here.

 

Flexing bee-eater style

 When I saw the Blue-throated Bee-eater fluff, I knew I could be in for a long haul, and it turned out to be a good 15-min one.

And stretch and flex it did as I tried to take it all in, to a rhythmic left and right, and on and on, that guiltily I wished it would stop or I simply had to continue taking one too many similar shots!

And this too, in between....

... any flexing must include preening too, a surprising minimal done throughout.

Seeing red in the grey-capped

 The continuous shrieks pierced the wet afternoon and straining scans to the source revealed one hopping about up high, and to my surprise one that normally calls non too shrilly.  It was least on my mind that it would descend for a decent shot as it seldom did on those occasions when it came to the taman.

But this time, the Grey-capped Woodpecker (Yungipicus canicapillus) suddenly did and to an area I've not spotted it there before so I naturally had to speed there.  It must be the soft soaked bark that lured it.

Almost pygmy size, it's not easy to appreciate this beauty from afar.

And to my delight the tiny red streak that's normally invisible was distinct this time suggesting that it's a male.

The red mark hardly visible when its crown feathers flatten now ever so faintly visible again on the other side of the head.

It's such a treat to have it so low, and against a gorgeous multi-hued background.

With the light coming in at the right angle it was doubly thrilling to view it right to its stunning huge round eye. 

It was another first for me to learn that its crown is actually of a fairer shade.

And finally just when I thought it was no longer around, it flew right in again as I was zooming in on another bird chasing it away, to afford another sighting of its striking red streak.

This time with the sun well down now and this part of the taman in the shade, its broken eyering could only be distantly appreciated.

Barbet's perfect blend

 What better match than this ...
The Gold-whiskered Barbet with its striking green, yellow and red colours and that of the MacArthur palm fruits.

It was as much a feast for the eyes as it was a feast for the Barbet as I watched it have a liberal go at the palm fruits with its predictable and repetitive scan-about and pick.

A red one is a red one to the human eyes but the barbet knew better as it stretched and reached for one behind and inside the bunch even whilst numerous looked easier of reach on the external.

An occasional upward and outward scan about before it continued feasting.

I guess a bird eats to live and not live to eat, when consuming equates to swallowing sans savouring.