The other beauty

Google AI:

A green crested lizard sheds its skin in small pieces, not as a whole like a snake, and you might notice a duller appearance on their skin, indicating they are about to shed; this shedding process helps them grow and replace damaged skin, and they typically eat the shed skin afterwards as a way to regain nutrients.

When spotted, this Green Crested Lizard was perhaps in the midst of getting rid of the last of its old skin, and its prolonged motionless stance was only comprehensible when the calls of a nearby Green-billed Malkoha was discernible.

Escaping to the less open and exposed area of the leaf.

And when the coast looked clear, it returned to its original position.

Eating its old skin.

And on the watch again.

When all's clear, it moved on to resume eating.

An hour had passed already, and it's still unfinished business with bits of old skin still visible.

Looked like another attempt to finish off what's left ...

... only to look rather 'feminine' at best, off an incomplete task!

A rather handsome fella notwithstanding the offensive bit!

Changeable Hawk-Eagle

What's excitement, at an inanimate object that's a thing?

How's excitement, at an animate object notwithstanding its passivity?

 

A young Changeable Hawk-Eagle perched at the same spot with practically the same pose except for the occasional stretches, and nary a call heard, for more than an hour and a half before it suddenly dived down and away.

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Is it a bird?  Yes, it is.

Is it brown?  Yes, it is.

Are you still interested?

If not, find that just one thing that can appeal to you, that spark in the average, the unremarkable, the unexceptional, the passable, the lacklustre.

A different angle, a closer shot, and this 'average-looking' one can hold your attention.

 

The other beauty

The other beauty

Green Baron (female)(Euthalia adonia pinwilli)

Pin-striped Tit-Babbler

It's the best one that will surely win, and deservedly in any environment.

And in the Pin-striped Tit-Babbler world, no tool nor display required, mere persistence will do.

The last one/male (presumably) standing ....

 

What's in a feather?

 What's in a feather?

Symbolism as some said, as I chanced upon this one on an early morning walk up the bukit, just as the new Chinese Year of the Green Wood Snake is just around the corner.

Symbol of renewal, new growth, for this bird owner has presumably shed naturally over the night for the feather to still appear pristine in the morning.

Not a small one by any means, it measures about 28cm which suggests that it could belong to a large bird, perhaps a raptor.

source: www.featherbase.info

The closest clue to identifying its owner is a comparison with similar feathers of an Oriental Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus).

And I would dare to hazard a guess that it could be that of the Crested Honey-buzzard that has been sighted lately in the vicinity.

A similar thrill was registered years back in 2017 following a fateful encounter with a pair of Brahminy Kites (https://rimbakiara.blogspot.com/2017/04/a-tragic-sight.html).

And almost 7 years later, the Kite's feather remains still almost as immaculate as the day I picked it up (and sans any preservation measure since then)!